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Accountability & Goal Setting 💭📬

Accountability & Goal Setting 💭📬

Behaviour Idea of the Week

Hi There!

A Habit is not a goal, it is the means to reach a goal. Sometimes we confuse the two, into an inflexible ritual that leads to failure. How do we become better at it. One word. Accountability.

This second, slightly more personal, article is about how we navigate this messy, chaotic world of ours. The degree of complexity that we face, including the kind of interactions we have, the kind of tasks we have to perform, and the tools that help us in both these endeavours has grown. We have innumerable platforms that allow us to keep in touch with each other, with all of them leaving us just a little bit more distant (Do you stare at an incoming call, waiting for it to end so you can text back a few hours later to inquire what it was about? But also respond almost immediately to the memes you get sent on Instagram? Yeah, me too!).

We have information and entertainment at the tips of our fingers, so much so that we spend hours in a week just browsing to find something that's just perfect (I know you know what I mean. Bonus points if it's something you've seen before and now just use as white noise!).

Mental health is now a focal point, but brings with it immense baggage (Get it?) of a number of conditions and symptoms of the kind of life the complexity of this world has bestowed upon us, insomuch as we now ironically schedule self-care and meditations into our daily planners (Any recommendations for a new planning app? I think I'm done trying most!).

I look into the theme of Accountability for goals, habits, and life - one that occupied my mind endlessly at the beginning of the pandemic as I attempted to find order in the chaos of a home that was too full, and a routine that depended on more variables than just me.

Defining Accountability in Context

Everyone from the government to your shoe company talks about Accountability. Just what is Accountability? Generally alluding to the idea of being responsible for one's actions, which have reasonable justifications, accountability adopts a variety of connotations in different contexts. The most crucial aspect however, is who or what one is being accountable TO.

A public official is accountable to the public that has elected the official to office. A young startup leader is accountable to her / his team or investors. Any public sector programme implementing organization is accountable to its grant issuing entity. All of these people and organizations account for their actions, reflect on their journey and map their path forward crossing one milestone after another.

Productivity and Goal Achievement: The Struggle

Applying this concept to the idea of habit formation and goal achievement at a micro-level, there is evidence to support the notion that the establishment of an accountabilityframework, leads to improved adherence and achievement of goals. Behaviourally, this sets up an interesting question of how individuals perceive and value different relationships - with themselves and with others, and how these interactions result in implemented behaviour. Specifically, with respect to the relationship with ourselves, it can generally be acknowledged that we all face a similar struggle of the choice between being productive and being entertained - a struggle we often lose if we consider being productive as a win and a step towards goal achievement. This series of studies by the University of Scranton found that a staggering 92% of people did not follow through with their personal New Year's resolutions! This struggle was also evident during the uncertainty filled period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The degree of isolation and movement restrictions placed on people put them in close quarters with themselves, driving many of them to make resolutions and social commitments for the adoption of personal habits and goals - from the most common ones such as eating healthier andexercising more to adopting a zero waste lifestyle. However, this may have been a bar set too high for many. This study explored how beliefs of self efficacy deteriorated under the weight of the various challenges posed by the pandemic, but also found a wealth of coping strategies that participants tried to use in an attempt to remain committed to these goals.

Factors Influencing Goal Achievement

So, what are some factors that influence the rate of goal achievement? Studies have identified Norms of both one's in-group and out-group* and Identity (status, credibility) of those we are accountable to (if at all) as some of the factors that influence goal achievement.*One's in-group refers to the group of people who they are surrounded by and identify themselves as members of, whereas the out-group is a group they don't identify with.

Another factor could be the type of accountability measures we chose to commit to- process vs outcome. It becomes important here to also reflect on which of these parts of the goal achievement journey benefits more from accountability- the process or the outcome?

This study at University of Pennsylvania suggests that a mix of both are important. It emphasizes that accountability in the process stage leads to greater control, versus accountability in the outcome stage leads to heightened creativity and innovation in how the individual chooses to get the job done. It finally concludes that the messaging behind accountability frameworks creates all the difference in ensuring a balance between the two. Empowering, growth focused messages shared pre-intervention, are what lead to better outcomes, versus messages that indicate a tone of lack of trust. Transposing this principle to individual habit change- the message we use for our narrative with ourselves becomes imperative.

Applied Behavioural Science: Accountability Frameworks that could WORK!

There are examples of Behaviour Science being used to encourage adherence and promote accountability - such as the commitment device using website stickk which was launched in 2007. Stickk offers people the option of making a public commitment to a goal, along with an action plan, within their communities - most notable examples being to exercise more and to smoke less. Using behavioural principles, the website asks users to sign a contract, failure to adhere to which leads to money being transferred to Friends, 'Foes', Charities and Anti-Charities. I suppose there's no bigger motivator than the idea of your money being donated to a cause you absolutely abhor!

Another great example is Focusmate. Using an open calendar and allowing people to block 50 minute sessions (now even a Pomodoro 25!), Focusmate creates a platform where people come together in pairs and outline their targets for each work session, with a requirement to update on progress at the end of the session. Given the norm of keeping video on and mikes muted, the atmosphere may not be suitable to all kinds of users, but proves immensely beneficial to those who do use it.

The Power of Community

The element to focus on in these mechanisms is that of the power of community. Community led accountabilitymechanisms are powerful tools to the process of habit formation or goal achievement. People adhere better when they are held accountable, especially when they are held accountable to people they respect and who care about them. What better way to strategically ensure that this happens, than community? Establishing mechanisms for the same is a great way to get things done - such as the app Supporti that matches people to accountability partners for mutual goal achievement. Irrational Labs calls it Mutually Assured Non Complacency.

On the other hand, we would be remiss not to point out that the power of community may not always be the most effective strategy for those who suffer from social anxiety and associated discomfort arising from social interactions. The focus on accountability partners does not always take into account the discomfort it may cause the people for whom social interactions are inherently stressful. While there are examples of using Accountability systems themselves to help people using certified medical support, and other virtual platforms suitable for individual users. it is imperative to remind ourselves to work on the spectrum where it suits us best and allow others to do the same.

Smart Accountability for Achievement

In our productivity driven culture, it is important for us to break our big goals down to smaller, achievable goals and begin the process of finding accountability buddies for ourselves, while also improving ourselves as buddies. Cultures that have evolved over generations have known about the importance of accountability for achieving goals, but with experimental behaviour science and creative lifestyle products that strengthen accountability systems, we can keep ourselves accountable towards our goals smartly.

and everyone else @TBR.

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