Is Your Life in a Rut? How Accountability Can Help

How I Put Myself in a Rut

Mid-2016, I decided I wanted to launch a blog giveaway for Unstuck’s “Making a Change” Life Course. You know – the same one I launched here: http://bit.ly/2HqYJzY

For the longest time, I deliberated on whether I should even do the giveaway. Then, even after I felt fully committed to the idea, I failed to launch the damn thing for almost two years. Yep, TWO YEARS!

Why so long, you ask?

Well, there were multiple times where I’d start working on it for a few days, and then my enthusiasm would slowly wane. I’d get pumped about it for a while and then doubts would start to creep in:

• Would anyone even like this?
• How would I get people to see it?
• What if I launch and it flops?
• What if I launch and can’t keep up with the influx of traffic?
• Is this the right direction for my blog?

I repeated this cycle of starting and stopping multiple times, at times making legit progress and other times just going with a completely different giveaway idea.

In my head, I knew that I really wanted to do the Unstuck giveaway, and I accepted the possible outcomes. However, I eventually got to a point where I just stalled. I had all the resources and time I needed for a successful launch, but instead of moving forward, I just looked for reasons to delay. I let my doubts and uncertainty get the best of me.

For most of that time, I felt like I was in a rut. I felt like I needed a sign from the Universe to hit the gas.

So what was it that propelled me forward and enabled me to finally launch the giveaway?

Accountability.

Why does accountability work when you’re in a rut?

Let’s face it. We live in a busy, competitive society where achievement is second nature. As such, we often create goals with clear-cut tasks, but underestimate the amount of willpower to see them through. We start our work projects, home DIY projects, killer workout routines, and new business ventures with loads of enthusiasm. Then over time, the excitement of those projects turns into stagnation.

As things progress, we start to run into roadblocks, life challenges, and plateaus, and before you know it, we’re so discouraged that we just throw things to the back-burner.

There’s nothing wrong with embracing things as they are and just stepping back for a while, but if you want to move forward, you eventually have to take action. You have to make a change. And with your willpower on low reserves, that will be challenging.

Low willpower isn’t the only the issue though. When you’re in a rut in one area of life, other areas tend to suffer too. For example, being stuck in your career or business can easily seep into your home life and relationships, adding undue stress, anxiety, resentment, and even depression.

Adding some accountability helps with both willpower and restoring your mental energy. It not only motivates you and keeps you honest, but it also takes some of the burden off your shoulders so you can enjoy other areas of life.

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) actually did a study a few years back and published some interesting findings on accountability. One of those statistics was that your chance of completing a goal is 65% when you commit to somebody that you’ll do it. If you hold a specific accountability appointment with a person you’ve committed to, that number goes up to 95%.

So how can we establish accountability in our lives to get unstuck?

Here are four ways to get you started…

1. Get an accountability partner

A study from 2017 looked at couples’ health behaviors in the UK. It revealed that one partner’s habits have a significant influence on the other’s. That is, if you make a commitment to your significant other and he/she does the same, then you are both much more likely to follow through.

Know someone with similar goals as you? Or someone who’s stuck in the same place as you? Become accountability partners.

Make sure to find someone you respect and trust. Define your goal or habit and strike up an agreement with each other to hold the other accountable. Have regular check-ins to make sure you’re each making consistent progress. Also, set up some consequences for not following through on your commitments. Put some money on the line if you have to.

2. Join an accountability group

Accountability and mastermind groups offer many of the same benefits that coaches and partners do. They offer a fostering environment for you to share your ideas and problems. Additionally, they allow you to share your goals and problems publicly. This might seem intimidating, but for many, it’s the perfect incentive, especially if you’re stuck in a rut.

Like many sports teams and clubs, accountability and mastermind groups have the added benefits of feedback and motivation from multiple angles. Many also create a sense of camaraderie, which is perfect if you come from a military or sports team type of background.

Like the group pressure approach? Check out sites like meetup.com or Facebook groups based on the specific area you’re stuck in.

3. Hire a coach

There are coaches out there for every area of life. Business. Financial. Relationships. Career. Productivity. Time Management. Sport-specific coaches. The list goes on and on…

Coaches usually cost money, but if you’re serious about changing your life or you’re really in a rut, think of it as an investment in yourself.

Here are a few fun statistics to consider if you’re thinking about hiring a coach:

• Coaching increases your well-being and life satisfaction by 53%
• Paying money for coaching has average return on investment of 500%
• Working with a coach boosts your productivity by 90%

You can usually find coaches by Google searching for an “x” type of coach in your zip code, but if can’t find one that way, here are a couple great sites that offer professional coaching services:

• Coach.me (highly recommended) – cost-effective and has a vast array coaches that give feedback through in-app check-ins, messages, and optional phone/video/Skype consultations
• LiveCoach– another site similar to coach.me with thousands of coaches available and coach communication provided through in-app messaging or phone/video consultations
• LifeCoach.com – a life coaching service provider that specializes in 1:1 executive and business coaching
• Life Coach Spotter – a site that’s dedicated to helping you find the best local or online life coach for your needs
• Noomii – a massive life coach search engine designed to help you find the right coach for your needs

4. Use an app

Technology goes a long way when it comes to accountability and keeping your commitments. The apps below provide a number of mechanisms to help with this. Notifications, email/text reminders, remote monitoring, automatic screenshots, social pressure, motion sensors, and more… These not only help you move forward on your goals. They also help break bad habits and reinforce positive ones.

One of the biggest benefits of using an app is that it’s generally much more affordable (free in some cases) than a coach. You lose some of that human element in the process, but you still get shit done.

Here are five killer apps that can help when you’re in a rut:

• stickK – create a goal, sign a commitment contract, and put money on the line if you fail
• Accountable2You – kick-ass software that tracks web activity and app usage across all multiple devices with email/text alerts, partner email notifications, time limit alerts, and detailed reporting
• Truple – this sneaky app, which also works across multiple platforms, takes random screenshots and forwards them to a specified accountability partner
• Go Fucking Do It – similar to stickk, use this site to set a goal and a deadline, and pay up if you don’t meet the deadline
• Beeminder – set a quantifiable goal, leverage data integrations to auto-report on your progress, and lose money if you go off track

The Irony of it all…

The irony of my story is that it was the Unstuck Life Course that clued me in to the need for some accountability. I had gone through the course for a different reason altogether and had enrolled my sister for some support with a change I wanted to make.

Seeing the boost I got just from that accountability, I decided to hire a coach to help in other areas as well, including the giveaway I’d been putting off.

So I strolled over to coach.me and hired a coach. At that point, I had someone to keep me accountable for my actions and progress on my goals. I had someone to not only help me get clear on my goals, but also light a fire under my ass to get moving. Even with minor setbacks along the way, my coach checked in, kept me moving, and helped me launch a successful giveaway.

Are you in a rut? How will you get some accountability in your life and get moving again?