5 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable to Your Good Habits

The first week is usually a breeze for everyone. Whether it’s going to the gym three times a week, eating healthy meals, or writing daily – our excitement and willpower are still high. However, by the second, third, and fourth weeks, things start to get tough.

Often, New Year’s resolutions mean almost nothing by February.

I was ill last week for a few days, and since then, I’ve found it challenging to publish daily in the morning as I successfully did during the first two weeks. I missed writing for a couple of days, but I’m glad to be back on track now.

The first step to staying consistent is feeling accountable for the things you want to achieve. In this post, I will share tips to help you hold yourself accountable in achieving your good habits.

Write Them Down Everywhere

By that, I mean e-ve-ry-where that your eyes can see.

I use my planner to jot down the habits I want to establish as my routine. I also write them on this blog and across social media. Seeing them frequently helps to keep me reminded.

Tell Your Family and Friends

Let your closest people know about the journey you’re embarking on. It becomes a promise to them and, more importantly, to yourself. If you share it on social media, even better. More people will know about the battle you’re fighting.

I used to be shy about sharing my goals openly. It’s normal because we’re unsure whether we can execute them well or not. Just like my daily 100 words, there’s a chance that I might fail, but guess what? Even if I fail, I’m going to own it and try to do better.

By telling people, I know that someone is waiting for my daily post. It might not be as important to them as it is to me, but I still don’t want to disappoint my readers.

Track and Monitor

By tracking and monitoring, you can assess your performance and visualize your consistency marked in numbers.

Whenever I successfully post an article, I tick the calendar in my bullet journal. My consistent ticks in the past inspire me to continue ticking and ticking. It feels like a game and keeps me motivated.

There are also many tools and apps to help you with this. You can simply search for them online and download them on your computer or phone.

Celebrate Every Progress

Appreciate every day that you manage to execute your plan. Remember, 10 years ago, 5 years ago, 1 year ago, and even last month, this habit was never executable. It’s okay if it’s not perfect. It’s okay if the result is not as you’ve expected. The consistent ‘doing’ is the more important thing here.

Don’t compare yourself with other people because comparing is a thief of your progress and consistency. This is your journey!

Keep It Small but Consistent

When I set up this habit last month, my target was to write 100 words daily, but I always end up with 300-500 words. One of my posts almost reached 2000 words. Even though I am capable of writing more, the target remains small, and I won’t change it for at least six months until the habit feels automatic to me.

Like this ‘quick’ post, it was hard for me to start at first, but I thought, it’s okay; I’ll just do 100 words to get it done. It’s already 570 words up to this point. See, I’ve passed today. Yeay! Signing off.