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Stay motivated, focused and encouraged by finding accountability for greater productivity in your everyday life and work.

As a wife, mom, and caregiver I’m always on the search for greater productivity. Recently, I discovered the power of goal setting. Goal setting is nothing “new”. I always had the thought that goals had to be big, vision-board worthy dreams. But, then I realized goals can be something as simple as “finish the laundry” on my daily task list.

So, in an effort to be more productive I started setting these smaller goals. Still, something was missing. Life kept getting in the way. I was only marking one or two things accomplished on my daily goals. Were my goals unrealistic? Too lofty? Was I setting too many of them?

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Chasing Greater Productivity

I’ve tried so many things in an effort to make my home run just a little bit smoother, to get everything on my to-do list accomplished. I’ve taken courses, read books, tried new planners, installed all the apps; nothing seems to keep me from chasing that productivity tail.

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I run around my home, picking up a sock here, a dirty dish there.

Squirrel! Must check Facebook.

Whew, I’m tired! I’ll sit here and play a quick game of Candy Crush.

Wait! My phone just notified me of a new planner app available. I must check it out.

Oh my goodness, I just spent two hours moving all my agendas to this new app but I know this will be the one that finally makes me feel productive.

And then repeat!

Finally, after all this chasing, I reach my breaking point. I look around and see last night’s dishes in the sink because I couldn’t get the baby calm enough to wash them. There are four loads of laundry waiting to be washed because I had two sets of sheets and a comforter to wash the day before. The floors weren’t swept yesterday because, well, kids and country. Defeated, I sit down and wonder why I am such a homemaking failure.

An Experiment in Accountability

In yet another effort to make myself more productive, I read a book by Crystal Paine Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. In her book, Crystal says to find someone to act as your accountability partner, even if it’s just your spouse. So I decided to experiment. Everyday, when I was seeing my husband off to work I told him my goals for the day. He usually responded with a casual but slightly confused as to why he needed to know this, “Ok.” I didn’t need him to do anything. I just wanted to speak my goals to another person.

Increased Motivation

Saying my goals out loud to an actual person made me more motivated to meet those goals and stay on top of them throughout the day. I had a clear plan and I made someone else aware of this plan making it more real for me than just writing it down on a piece of paper.

Less Distraction

I had more energy as I went through my day and the little distractions, like email, became ignorable. I found that not only did I accomplish my “big three” goals for my home, but I had more time and energy to spend with my kids and my MIL. By bedtime, I was all caught up with my housework and could spend guilt-free time working on my blog.

Encouragement

I told my husband my goal for that day was finish the laundry (pretty much a daily goal for me. I have A LOT of laundry!). But then *life* happened and by the end of the day I had barely made it through one load. I was frustrated and angry by my lack of progress. My husband, realizing my frustration and it’s cause, began to help me work through what had kept me from achieving my goal. By bedtime, I had a new plan and renewed motivation for conquering this laundry mountain.

Accountability for Greater Productivity

Now, every day I tell my husband what my priorities for our home and family are as he walks out the door to work. There’s no need for discussion. There are no “consequences” if life gets in the way and I’m not able to meet my goals. I *might* mention me crushing my goals at the dinner table. Because I have spoken these words to another human, I have committed and motivated myself. I’m extending my accountability to other areas of my life. My husband is my main accountability partner but I’ve reached out to others to hold me accountable on specific areas of my life.

A lady in my Bible study group holds me accountable on my daily quiet time.
I joined a group of seven other bloggers where we have weekly online meet ups to discuss our blogging goals.
My mom holds me accountable on my parenting and homeschooling goals
Our caregiving helper holds me accountable on my caregiving goals.

Having this accountability does not mean that all of my goals are met. Life still gets in the way and I still have days where nothing seems to get done. It does keep me motivated, focused and encouraged to achieve my goals, big and small.

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