Writing and Accountability
Why accountability is important in writing.
Ever happened you grabbed your cup of coffee and sat down at your laptop to write the next article, but you just ended up staring at a blank screen for hours?
You got nothing. Blank. Empty.
No words were written down. Just hours wasted away.
Or consider another scenario: You have a project due and were unable to finish it on time.
Regardless of the scenario, you struggled to finish the task. You struggled to maintain a consistent schedule. You struggled with accountability.
Firstly, let’s talk about what is accountability.
What is Accountability?
Accountability is basically taking responsibility for your own actions.
It is a key part of being a leader.
It implies a willingness to be transparent about your actions, and letting others evaluate your performance.
Okay, now you know what accountability is, let’s move on to why it is an important part of both, our personal and professional lives.
Why do We Lack Accountability?
A lack of accountability can stem from various reasons. Some of these are:
- Procrastination: People usually delay their tasks unnecessarily due to fear of failure, perfectionism, or simply the burden of starting a new project that feels too daunting.
- Unrealistic goals: When you’ve set your goals too high or too low, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. This translates to a lack of accountability.
- Lack of motivation: If you’re not motivated to write, you sure as hell won’t be taking responsibility for yourself.
There are a bunch of reasons why people don’t take responsibility for themselves or their work. But these three, I’ve found to be the primary ones.
Lack of accountability leads to multiple problems, both in personal and professional lives. Therefore, it is important to identify the cause and eliminate it.
How do You Know You Lack Accountability?
The signs and symptoms of a lack of accountability can be found everywhere in your workplace, starting with your attitude:
- Blaming others: This is the classic sign of an unaccountable person. Blaming other people for a mistake shows you lack responsibility for your actions and decisions.
- Excuse-making: Another classic tell-tale sign. Coming up with excuses to cover up your mistakes tells others you lack responsibility and won’t admit your shortcomings.
- Failure to meet commitments: If you consistently fail to meet promises, commitments, or deadlines, leaving tasks unfinished or unfulfilled, you can be called an irresponsible person.
- Defensiveness: When confronted about your actions or mistakes, you may become defensive and resistant to feedback, often making it difficult to have productive discussions.
- Lack of Transparency: You may withhold information or be evasive when asked about your progress or actions, leading to a lack of transparency in your work.
These are the classic signs of a person not being responsible for himself or his work.
Moving on…
Why Accountability is Important in Writing?
Accountability is an important part of both our personal and professional lives. It helps to develop and maintain relationships with others.
Here’s how accountability helps you in writing:
#1 Consistency and Progress
By being accountable to yourself, you take responsibility for yourself.
Writing is an art. It takes practice. Lots of it.
By sticking to a regular writing schedule, you’re maintaining consistency in your schedule. As a result, you’re making progress in your project, be it a novel, article, or essay.
#2 Quality Control
Holding yourself accountable for your work ensures a higher level of quality control. It encourages quality edits, proofreading, and refinement of the content. which makes it more enjoyable and engaging.
#3 Feedback
Accountability isn’t just limited to pushing out article after article on time. It also extends to feedback from the readers.
Any writer looking to grow accepts critiques from their readers and tries to work out their flaws. In the end, that’s what makes them grow.
After all, who are you writing for if not your readers?
#4 Achieving your Goals
Everyone has goals in life.
So do writers. Whether it’s publishing an article by the evening or finishing a novel, writers DO have goals. They do not just sit at the screen idling away.
How do you make sure you stick to the goals?
By being answerable to them. This way, you can keep track of your progress and make any necessary changes you need.
#5 Corporate World
Accountability is an important part of the corporate world. Being responsible for yourself makes you look trustworthy and confident.
So, naturally, writers, to survive in this jungle, must be responsible for themselves.
To make it as a professional writer, it is important to deliver on commitments, submit projects before deadlines, and make sure you stick to the guidelines.
How to be Accountable for Your Writing?
#1 Set realistic goals
The first thing you do when you start writing is set your goals. The goals you set serve as a benchmark for you to target.
Setting goals too high or too low demotivates you. Instead of pushing yourself, you go in the other direction.
If you set them too high, you won’t be able to make it. Set them too low, you’ll be idling away.
It’s a balancing act. You gotta learn to maintain your balance.
Your goal can be in any form: time spent, number of words, or even number of articles published.
Supposing you wanna write for 3 hours/week. That’s 180 mins spread throughout the week (excluding Sunday). That translates to 30 mins/day. It’s up to you to find that 30 minutes in a day.
#2 Maintain a Schedule
Most new writers (including me) struggle to maintain a proper writing schedule.
Whether it’s a hobby or a potential career, we just can’t get it together.
Developing time management skills is an important part of pretty much any field, including writing.
By maintaining a proper schedule, you can:
- Manage your time and resources effectively and efficiently
- Have a better life-work balance
- Be Accountable
So, create a schedule today and make sure you stick to it.
Sure, it takes some time to make a proper schedule and some effort to adhere to it. But once it’s done, it’s great.
#3 Be Honest with Yourself
Writing is a form of art. It’s a form of expressing yourself in words.
The truer you can be with yourself, the truer your words will be, and thus your work.
The more honest you can be with yourself about why you’re writing, the more likely you’ll improve.
#4 Get support
If writing’s getting a bit disinterested for you alone, then perhaps it’s time to get yourself a partner.
Maybe it’s time to join an accountability group.
These groups work because you don’t have to be accountable just to yourself, but to others as well. They encourage you to push yourself and help you understand your obstacles and how to overcome them.
#5 Go Public
Written any good pieces lately? Bravo.
Have you posted them somewhere for the world to see? If you have, GREAT!
If you’ve written something great and haven’t posted it somewhere for the world to see, how are you going to improve?
Social media is a great tool for writers. It’s the supporting pillar of any creative industry in today’s world.
Not only can you interact with others who share the same interests, but you also get a ton of feedback, which serves as a great insight for your next piece.
So, get your piece posted. And wait.
#6 Learn from your failures
“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” — Denis Waitley
This quote perfectly captures what failure is. It’s not the opposite of success, it’s a part of it, and an integral one.
Don’t give up if you failed that one time. It doesn't mean it’s game over.
Instead, find out where you went wrong. And don’t repeat that mistake again. Simple as that.
To summarize,
Accountability is crucial in writing. Lack of accountability leads to procrastination, unrealistic goals, and poor quality work. To be accountable, set realistic goals, maintain consistency, accept critiques, and deliver on commitments. By doing so, you can make progress, maintain quality, and achieve your goals both in your personal and professional life. Remember, accountability is the key to success in writing.
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Your support helps me to write.
Until next time, bye-bye!
