There was an interesting comment made on a post over at Divine Purpose Unleashed last night. It got me thinking about accountability partners and the role they play in productivity.

In the original post which talked about making a commitment to living your purpose this year, CK Reyes asked us to find someone to support us and hold us accountable.
One of the commenters said that she didn’t agree with the concept of an accountability partner because it was like giving your personal power away.

Now, I have serious issues with giving my power away that stem from my background as a victim of abuse. I’ve been working for years to reclaim my own power and get my life back. So the thought that I might be giving it all away again was pretty disturbing, to say the least.

I ended up chewing on this for most of the day today, trying to figure out just how I feel about the relationship I have with my accountability partner, and whether it’s an empowering or disempowering relationship. Thinking about the whole issue of accountability and responsibility made me realize that for me, being accountable to someone in this way isn’t giving my power away, it’s empowering me to be better at what being who I am and doing what I do.

It’s like knowing that there is someone there who I can tell what I got done in a day and who will encourage me to do more is really freeing. By the same token I know that if I’m trying to do too much she won’t hesitate to tell me to slow down a bit either. I know that I work better to a deadline than I do when I just have a list of stuff to do. And even though I still set my deadlines for myself, just knowing that there’s someone else who knows that deadline is enough for me.

The fact that it’s MY choice to share my goals and deadlines and to ask for support and encouragement is what makes the difference. In recognizing that I have issues with procrastination and focus and asking for help to deal with those, I would classify an accountability partnership the same as I would classify a relationship with a coach or trainer — as someone who is there at my request to encourage me to meet my goals and to get better at what I do, not to usurp my power and impose their own opinions and deadlines on me.

I love the relationship I have with my accountability partner. We keep each other focused, and I think we’re both more productive for it. Maybe in light of that, a better term for it would be a productivity partnership. What do you think?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Please feel free to leave them in the comments or share them with me on twitter.

It’s that time of year again. Yep, that one… where we look back at what we’ve accomplished this year and set goals for what we want to do for next year. I’ve already started my planning and working toward my goals for 2009 since I really got off track this year and didn’t get near what I’d set out to do accomplished. In fact, with everything I learned at the Masters Seminar last week, I’ve already started revising my goals in order to make 2009 an even better year.

I know that setting goals and writing about setting goals is not a glamorous topic. But goals play such an important part in our success. Not only do they help us to discover what it is we really want, they also give us a sense of purpose. It’s really nice to have something to work toward so that you can measure your progress and feel that sense of accomplishment.

Goals can also create a road map for us, enabling us to get to where we ultimately want to be. Breaking them down, they become the stepping stones that help us to reach what it is that we desire. And without them, while we may know what it is we want, it’s really unlikely that we’d actually get it. I can speak to that one from experience.

As someone who exhibits all the traits of adult ADD, I’m really thankful for goals, and for my accountability partner. She makes me write my goals down, questions my commitment to them, and makes sure that I get done what I set out to do. Without them, I know for sure I’d still be flitting from one project to another, never reaching a goal and always moving on the minute boredom strikes. And believe me, it strikes often. The evidence is all over my office in piles of half-finished projects.

I think though, that the biggest thing I’m thankful for is that my goals give me hope. As long as I can set goals and be excited enough about reaching them, I have a reason to get up and look forward to the day. And that’s something that I really haven’t had in a very long time.

It occurred to me as I was sitting here trying to decide what to write today, that if I’m having a problem thinking about it on day two, it’s only going to get worse by day 31. And I’m determined to make it to the end of the month and really cement this habit of writing something fresh and unique every day. So I’m spending some time today doing my favorite thing in the whole world… planning and writing lists! (she says with tongue firmly in cheek whilst staring at the mass of notebooks and project folders on her desk.)

I was cleaning off my desk this afternoon and I came across a folder I haven’t looked at in awhile. It’s full of lists of ideas and projects and plans for websites. I’m so great at writing out the lists and making the plans, and absolutely dismal at the follow through. I actually have an accountability partner now, and this is the first week we’ve worked together. I’ve tried to be accountable to people before, but I’m so dang independent that I really resent being called out on my lack of productivity and my amazing superpowers of procrastination — two subjects which you will no doubt be hearing a lot more about if you stick around long enough. What’s really cool about it this time is that I know we’re only into the second day of the week, but even so I’m finding that I am more productive and able to focus a little better just for knowing that come Sunday I will have to stand up and say what I got done this week. And if it’s not what I said I was going to get done, then my partner has promised to announce on Twitter that little ol’ me didn’t do what I said I would this week.

The point of what I wanted to write here is that for me to succeed at blogging every day for a month, I need to have a list of topics to write about and so this afternoon I’m making up a list of twenty-nine possible posts so that if I end up having trouble thinking of something to write on any given day I can use these to jump-start my writing engine. I don’t think I’m going to have too many problems though. I found a great half-constructed plan that I was going to work on last December that involves a series of articles on… drum roll please… making plans for the new year! Between that and my new list of topics, I’m sure that the rest of my posts this month will be a lot more structured and less scatter-brained than this one.

Oh yeah, and just so that I stay on theme today, just let me mention how thankful I am to have an accountability partner that supports, encourages, and actually understands me, especially in my more flaky moments.