ProductivitySuccess Blog

How to Use an Accountability Partner to Succeed

Ian Warner

5 min read

An Accountability partner is goign to check up on your progress in a given area. You could both hold each other accountabile to the same or different things. The key is that you find someoen you respect. Its the respect you have for them that will drive you to do what you should.

What Benefits Come From Having an Accountability Partner? 

There are a few benefits to having an accountabily partner that you will not want to miss out on. When you have an accountability partner, you increase your chances of success, but you get a lot more than that. 

• Be your authentic self and feel free to reveal your daily failures
• Get the opportunity to coach and serve others
• Push through plateus from knowing someone will know how you do
• It costs you nothing but effort and time 

6 Steps to Finding an Accountability Partner 

Step 1 – Figure Out What You Want to Improve

Before you get all excited about an accountability partner, the first thing you need to do is decide why you need one. You need a strong desire to improve an area of your life. If the desire is not there, you will resent your accountabiluty parrtnert for making your life harder. 

Choose the area that is holding back your success the most. You want to get the most bang for your buck with this change. If you fail to do this you will quit easy because you don’t have a reason to go through all of this. 

Step 2 – Find Someone Who is Strong In This Area

Once you know what you want to improve, you need to find someone who is a beast. For example, if you want to stop drinking, findi your friend that never drinks and hates when people do. Use your phone contacts and all of your social media channels to think of different names. 

Step 3 – Shoot Your Shot

You have to put yourself out there and just ask. Just remember that the worst they can say is no. You want to start the conversation by commending them for how good they are doing in certain areas of their life. The second thing you want to let them know is that the commitment is not a huge one. 

Step 4 – Discuss The Terms of The Partnership 

If they are on board to hold you accountable, you have to nail down the nitty gritty details because you can do this so many ways. Here are some details you need to figire out. 

• How often will you meet? (daily, weekly, monthly)
• How will you meet? (Text, phone call, meet in person)
• Who will hold who accountable and for what?
• How long will this last for?
• What other technology will you use?

You want to make sure you discusss everything that you can think of so there are no misunderstandigs. If you start this partnerships with different ideas of what  accountability likes it, it will lead to frusteration and most likely a failed partnership. No matter how hard the converation needs to be, lay it all out.

Step 5 – Set Punishments

One of the last things you want to do is set punishments. If the accountability is going to be pushed to the limit, you need to feel pain. You are more likely to avoid pain then you’re to seek reward. 

Whatever the punishment is, you want to give your partner control over when its executed. For example, if you have to buy someone something or donate money, it should be in their power to make that happen. Give them access to whatever account they need to make it happen. 

4 Ways to Ensure a Successful Accountability Partnership 

1. Don’t Forget The Focus

Whatever you do, don’t lose focus on why you have started the partnership. You’re moving towards certain goals you want to hit and you can’t let anything get in the way of reach your goals. 

2. Take It Serious

Nothing kills these partnerships faster than people who don’t take it serious. If you take it like its a joke, it will get you no where. Accountabily works best with two parties who are deas serious about achieving a desired outcome. Its not a game in anyway. 

3. Use Habit Stacker

Habit Stacker makes it easy to track your habits daily but it goes further than that because the app allows you to add friends. You can then share your check-ins, journal, goals and daily habits with your friends. They can hold you accountable right through the app.  

4. Don’t Judge or Lack Empathy

You don’t want to come into your partnership with judgement. You have to create a safe space for honesty. If you don’t do this, people will not be honest. When there is no honesty, there is no real accountability.