The evolution of accountability in a longer project

[00:00:00] You're listening to the Daily Five, an experimental podcast by Aurooba, where I talk about something for five minutes. So let's get to it, shall we? Once in a while I'll set up my iPhone beside me and record a video in time lapse mode. For one, I weirdly enjoy time lapse videos of other people working or doing mundane things.

[00:00:31] Two, it's fun to share because I like to imagine I'm not the only one who enjoys videos like that, and three, on days when I'm having a tough time working or feeling like I'm never going to get in the zone and get a good amount of work done – I can watch the videos for proof that I have definitely been in the zone before.

[00:00:55] It's also kind of a fun way to keep yourself accountable to yourself even if you never share the video with anyone else. It's a comparatively harmless way to force yourself to do something well, or at least try to, with this slightly weird simulated feeling of being watched. Accountability is pretty important when you're trying to get some big hairy goals accomplished.

[00:01:21] Whether it's you keeping yourself accountable by ruthlessly tracking your progress, having an accountability partner, or even just broadcasting your progress on social media for a double whammy of accountability and build-in-public-esque marketing . I find that different parts of a long project require different kinds of accountability.

[00:01:45] Usually at the beginning of a project, I have enough momentum that the only kind of accountability that's really needed is where I'm tracking my progress myself, and checking in with my systems. A little bit into the project, sometimes you need a pep talk or an external check-in, and then an accountability partner that you trust yourself to be honest with can really help.

[00:02:10] And of course, one that can help keep you going without making you feel judged when you don't make as much progress as you might have wanted to. Then when you find yourself getting a bit of momentum again and start to feel significant progress in your project, it's fun to share your progress on social media as extra motivation to keep going, and also to share what might be coming down the pipeline soon. Near the end of the project, you usually have to focus inwards again and get your personal check-in systems working hard for you to help you nail down those final pieces of the project and catch anything you might have missed.

[00:02:52] And as you start to see that light at the end of the tunnel, it's often really, really helpful to share your work or walk through your work with someone you trust so that they can share that extra perspective and help you tweak anything that might be slightly off. Actually, it's probably helpful to share your work with someone, someone you trust, more often, but personally, that's not something I've yet been able to accomplish very well.

[00:03:22] Maybe I'll try for it in the next project. It can also be tough because you don't want to become a burden or be tiresome to the person you're asking for feedback from. So it's probably good to clear it with them and see if they're open to giving feedback more regularly, since that takes a good amount of effort too. I've started to slightly share my course stuff on social media now, outside of this podcast.

[00:03:50] Because I'm getting to that point in [the] project where I'm a little more than halfway through and I have something to share. And also of course, I need to start prepping for the marketing aspect of creating anything for an audience. I'm also definitely one of those people who struggles with imposter syndrome, especially when it feels like things are going well and it's helpful to share what I'm doing publicly so that I don't self-sabotage and stop doing what I'm doing because I'm afraid of the thing that's going well.

[00:04:26] I probably sound crazy, but it's a fairly real thing that I deal with on a regular basis. It's also why I don't always do well with compliments [although I appreciate them]. So anyway, that's kind of what's been on my mind today.

[00:04:45] Thanks for listening. Talk to you tomorrow.