Hey friends and fellow procrastinators!
Wait, what? I’m the only one putting stuff off while I watch just one more NCIS? Hmmmm… I don’t think so (she typed in a sing-songy voice…)
Today I’m thinking about accountability. And I’ll be honest with all ya’ll; for me, accountability is one of those words like leverage or robust, synergy and scaleable. Overused until the meaning’s a little lost.
But here’s the thing, a few months ago Jeff, my partner in business, life and (imaginary) crime and I embarked on one of the super cleanse diets that’re so popular on the interwebs, Whole 30. For any of you not familiar, Whole 30 means thirty days of no gluten, legumes, sugar, booze, dairy, chemicals, preservatives, snacks (seriously, three meals a day only) and… did I mention no booze?
It was a long 30 days, fellow procrastinators. But it ended up being an amazeballs 30 days. I learned that dairy is not my friend and dropping all that stuff ^^^ makes me really thirsty, not hungry and super sleepy by 9 p.m.
And I learned a lot about accountability – see, this was the first time in 20 some years of valiant, bright ideas about giving up sugar, carbs, snacking after 7 pm that I was 100% compliant from day one.
So…. wanna guess what was different this time?
You got it – accountability.
Here’s the top three things I learned about being accountable – and keeping someone else on track – that transfer super easy into our days as business owners…
Social media
It’s good for more than cute goat videos (although it still rules when it comes to goat videos.) I blabbed about our Whole 30 adventure a LOT on Facebook (my usual social media poison of choice.) Full disclosure; I live in a small town and am part of a close knit business community (meaning all restaraunts/likely sources of off-plan wine and cheese are owned by friends) that made it easier keeping it clean! But there was something really FUN about putting it out there for all assorted friends and family to read. I didn’t blather on about it, or complain (much), but I did post updates and those updates drew lots of engagement! My accountability buddies were crowd sourced and self-selected!
Partner-in-crime
This tactic requires a close relationship with someone who’s down in the trenches WITH you, but when it works… it works so, so well. Jeff and I started on the same day and we balanced each other out. So the evenings when I wanted to kill for spaghetti were Jeff’s rock-solid times. And when it came to morning coffee, which, lacking the customary cream and sugar, nearly killed my soul-mate, I was doing just fine with my coffee + coconut oil and my strength helped him get though (as his helped me.)
A plan
The Whole 30 plan is quite regimented. One of the biggest changes for us was that one of the rules is to eat three meals a day with no snacking. This was a huge change for us because we tend to graze throughout the day. But it was that regimented plan plus strict list of ‘allowed’ and ‘not allowed’ foods that helped us be successful. Everything was laid out for us so we knew exactly what to do. It was a little more monotonous than we were used to, but the benefits were TOTALLY worth it! In fact, we’re gearing up for another Whole 30 right around the corner!
Are you looking for a partner in crime and some Facebook accountabilabuddies for your indie/Main Street business? Then come on over to our Facebook Group – The Indie Retail Collective. It’s brand-new and totally FREE to join. We’re all there to share techie tips and marketing ideas (and support) to make our small businesses rock.
But no cheese, please….
