Do you have a great idea you want to bring to fruition, but you feel like your plate is already full? Accountability can help you stay focused and reach your goals, when you are feeling too busy to juggle everything.
Storytelling expert strategist and coach Katharina Brendel spoke to her mentee, Danelle Cloutier, about how he succeeded in realising his passion project: creating and launching a podcast. He did it during a cross-continental move while juggling their normal freelance job and handling those usual internal doubts that everyone gets when starting a project that truly matters to them.
Learn how they used accountability to reach their goals:
- Wrestle those thought demons: Don’t overthink or worry about having to have an absolutely perfect idea or outcome. Think about how you’d talk to and encourage a friend in your situation and be kind to yourself.
- Start small: You may have a grand idea but that can be overwhelming. It’s easier to stay accountable when you break it down into small parts. Cloutier, for example, wanted to create a podcast, so challenged themselves to do a 2-3 minute episode. This made going from thinking to doing less daunting.
- Create a structure and project plan with a due date: You’re responsible for your idea, and this will help create accountability and help you move forward.
- Seek external accountability: Whether that’s sharing your idea with your network, friends or even joining a club or class. For example, Cloutier joined a podcast class, using their initial podcast idea as a class project, to give themselves a set deadline and external expectations.
- Find a balance: Between work-life and your passion project you need to figure out how to juggle it all. Sometimes you temporarily have to sacrifice time spent in other areas of your life to get your idea off the ground.
- Be kind to yourself: Working on your passion project alongside your work can be exhausting. However, talking about your idea can re-ignite your motivation as you’ll get excited and feed of other’s encouragement.
- Celebrate your success: Not just when you complete your project but at each milestone. This will help keep your motivation going each step of the way.
Making a passion project is not all roses – it’s still hard work. Ask yourself if it is worth it and if it is, start planning. Working on it will fulfil your life in a different way, leading to more motivation and positivity in approaching other challenges in your life.
Get more tips in How to Leverage Accountability to Reach Your Goals by Katharina Brendel.
