Motivating yourself to accomplish personal wellness goals can be challenging when distractions and other people’s priorities prevent you from making time for yourself. When you're only accountable to yourself, it's easy for exercise and healthy eating goals to get pushed to the end of your to-do list. We get it, and there’s no shame in it—or at least we feel there shouldn’t be. So today we’re covering how an external accountability service can help you crush your goals. Everyone has a unique lifestyle, goals, and motivators—what’s important is to find a source of accountability that fits yours!

Why accountability is powerful in combating procrastination

In his TED talk, blogger and illustrator Tim Urban shares his experiences as a serial procrastinator, from starting his senior thesis three days before the deadline to writing his blog “Why Procrastinators Procrastinate.” When reading the hundreds of personal procrastination stories in response to the blog, Urban realized the struggle was less about leaving work to the last minute, and more about procrastination stemming from distractions, shame spirals, and not having a clear plan to your goal. External accountability not only helps you reach specific goals, but can help you uproot those procrastination cycles and learn ways to be more actionable and motivated in the future.

Failure to reach goals because of a lack of accountability isn’t a problem exclusive to serial procrastinators. Even if you’re 100% on the ball at work, you might still struggle with procrastination in your personal life—don’t let this discourage you! Different environments mean different goals and different motivational drivers. 

Different environments mean different goals and different motivational drivers. 

Different types of accountability services: 

Accountability can come in many forms, but accountability services are support systems that check in with you to help you meet a goal. They provide external accountability, which can help you turn internal expectations into external expectations and make them easier to prioritize. Now you’re accountable to someone else, not just yourself, and so it may help you keep those to-dos at the top of your list! 

1-on-1 accountability service

‍A coach or doctor that prescribes detailed exercise or meal plans specific to your needs.

• Pros: They meet your individual needs and give highly personalized advice. 1-on-1 support from an experienced professional can be particularly important when dealing with chronic conditions, pain, or other medical issues.
• Cons: Sessions may be infrequent, making the follow-up accountability less effective, and these services can be expensive or rely on insurance.

Passive accountability service

‍These are services such as mobile wellness apps that provide resources like recipes, workouts, and meal trackers and often have automated phone notifications.

• Pros: These apps can help spice up your wellness routine by giving you guidance and new ideas. There are hundreds of options to choose from in the app store, and many of these apps have filters so you can tailor the content to your dietary preferences or workout goals. You’re bound to find the perfect recipe for your meal prep plan and the perfect workout routine to match the equipment, time, and fitness level you have.
• Cons: It can be overwhelming trying to find exactly what you’re looking for, and sometimes the search takes so long your motivation to cook or workout is gone by the time you find the perfect option. The advice can be impersonal, and the notifications are easy to ignore when your self-motivation runs out.

Social accountability

‍Although not technically an accountability service, a community built from friends, family, or connections on a group chat or through social media (Facebook groups, Instagram communities, etc.) can provide engaging, fun support.

• Pros: Having a social group to keep you accountable can be very effective because of the power in your shared experience. It can be a meaningful bonding experience to work on a goal alongside people you care about.. The feeling of “we’re all in this together” is motivating and it’s helpful to be able to share tips and tricks you’ve each learned along the way. You won’t want to let the group down and it’s fun to share wins!
• Cons: Because these groups are usually informal, if someone drops the ball and momentum starts to slow, you can end up with less effective, inconsistent support. Close communities can also bring biases and judgment, which can make it tough to be honest with the group when you hit roadblocks.

Wishroute

‍This is where we come in! A new type of accountability service, Wishroute is not entirely prescriptive or passive, but instead strikes a balance between personalized support and daily judgment-free accountability via text messages from real people—not bots. Wishroute will help you prioritize your wellness goals by building one healthy habit at a time like exercise, eating more veggies, or sticking to a meal planning and prepping routine. Find out more about our approach to accountability here.

So what can I do today to stop procrastinating?

Reflect on what’s holding you back and set up a form of external accountability that works for you. We recommend taking Gretchen Rubin’s 4 Tendencies Quiz. Gretchen is a happiness and human nature thought-leader, and our go-to accountability guru. Her 4 Tendencies Quiz is a great place to find some answers as to what could motivate you and help you combat procrastination if it’s showing up in some area of your life. If you’re an “Obliger,” external accountability through an accountability service may be especially helpful for you!