The Simple Accountability System You Need

I’ve spent the last 9 years learning, refining, and implementing systems that streamline day-to-day operations. I’ve tried, used, and dropped many in the process, but one continued to make an impact and promote accountability — The silent hero of every successful venture.

This simple framework has completely changed how my team and I work, and significantly increased productivity.

Here’s the 3 step process you can follow to implement it and create accountability:

Step 1: List Your Ongoing Responsibilities

Every journey to increased productivity begins with awareness.

Start by listing all of your ongoing responsibilities. Yes, even the smallest gears help keep things running smoothly. If they’re not captured in your list, they will continue to be open loops in your mind, and you will not be able to guarantee their completion.

Step 2: Group Your Responsibilities into a Checklist

Now that you have your list, it's time to bucket them into checklists. First, create daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly checklists.

Then, assign each task from your list to one of these checklists by choosing the right cadence. And yes, every recurring task can and should be grouped into one of these.

Step 3: Create Recurring Time Blocks for Each Checklist

Now that you have your tasks organized into checklists, it's time to add them to your schedule. This is where time blocking can be helpful.

Time blocks are windows of time assigned for specific tasks. This minimizes distractions and boosts productivity. By assigning a scheduled "appointment" for each task, there's no confusion about when it should be completed.

Once your ongoing responsibilities have been defined by their cadence, added to a checklist, and time blocked, they become what I call Accountabilities — Systemized responsibilities that you can actually be accountable for. Expecting these to get done when they should on their own is a recipe for failure, and most have this unfortunate expectation.

If you’re implementing this for your personal life, I recommend coloring your calendar time blocks green when complete. But if you’re looking to implement an accountability system for your business and team, I’d incorporate a simple submission system for these accountabilities.

For a copy of my Company Accountability System, Click Here.

Lastly, when you’ve defined your accountabilities, it makes it VERY easy to remove or add new ones over time, continually adapting to you and your business. One of the many beautiful things about recurring checklists.

Go ahead and try it:

1. Identify your recurring responsibilities and their cadence
2. Group them into relevant checklists
3. Schedule recurring time blocks

See you all next Thursday 👋

PS. Whenever you're ready... Here are three ways I can help you systemize & automate operations:

1. Learn how to find, hire and manage virtual assistants → Free Access
2. Systemize company processes & automate accountability → Learn More
3. Let me help you automate operations and exit the day-to-day grind → Work With Me

More recent posts ⤵️