Holding Yourself Accountable as a Small Business Owner
How many days have gone by where you had big plans to get things done but then bedtime rolls around and you have one, maybe two things checked off your to do list?
I know how this feels because it feels like I battle this every single day as a one-woman show. I am able to get my deliverables done for my clients that have deadlines but when it comes to my own business development, I push it to the back burner. I say to myself, “As long as my client work is getting done is all that matters!” or “I will post that to Instagram tomorrow.” but then you know what happens? The client work continues to get done but my growth becomes stagnant. My Instagram post goes from being posted tomorrow to looking back at my feed and realizing I haven’t posted in over a month! By not holding myself accountable, I am hindering my own growth.
I know that I am not the only small business owner who faces this dilemma. In fact, I have many of my clients request that I hold them to deadlines so they are accountable and get tasks done. I have been doing some soul searching (read: thinking in the shower) and I have some tips that can help small business owners hold themselves accountable to help reach their business goals.
GET A PLANNER… AND USE IT!
Planners are great but only is you actually use them. Find what works for you — which can take some trial and error! I also want to note that what has worked for you in the past may not be what works best for you anymore. You may have always been a paper person but are finding now that your Google calendar is more convenient now.
My favorite planner is hands down the Passion Planner. I love that it breaks down your day by hour and that there is space for you to write down your goals and reflect back on them later (see point 4)
Lately, I have also been relying heavily on my phone calendar and setting reminders for events (like appointments and meetings) 1 day before, 1 hour before and 15 minutes before because #PregnancyBrain
I have also heard from people who love using a bullet journal to map out their days.TELL OTHERS ABOUT YOUR PLANS/GOALS
Go yell it from the mountain tops! Tell your friends, your family, your IG followers — tell anyone who will listen about your goals. Not only will this hold you accountable because people will be asking you about it later but these people are probably some of your biggest fans and hype peeps!
SET ASIDE TIME TO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
You make time for the things that are important so set time aside for your business too. I have started to carve out an hour of my Thursday mornings to make sure I write a blog post. This time is specifically set for writing and nothing else. It makes sense when you think about it too, I mean, you set aside time to do what you need to do for your clients, you plan phone calls, set appointments, host game night… it’s only logical to set aside a time block to do what you need to do for your business too.
REVIEW YOUR GOALS OFTEN
As mentioned earlier, a reason I love the Passion Planner is because it has sections to write out your goals which gives you the opportunity to look back on them often. Think about how good it will feel when you look back at the goals you set for yourself and you reached them or surpassed them. Set your goals, make them realistic (but not too easy!) and look back on them often. I also like to jot notes down on my goals to mention what worked and what didn’t in a separate color pen. Personally, I think this helps for future planning.
HIRE HELP
If all else fails and you are really struggling with focus to grow your business, hire help. A virtual assistant can help you do the mundane tasks of writing blog posts, creating social content and sending out newsletters to your contacts. These may be things that you have a hard time finding time to do where as it’s a virtual assistant’s job. When you hire someone to focus on your business, you will be surprised to see the growth that can occur!
What are your goals? What do you do to hold yourself accountable?