3 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable (Writing Edition)
WAys to hold yourself accountable writing
3 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable (Writing Edition)

It’s one thing planning your week, deciding that you would like to write one thousand words a day and highlighting everything in the right colours, but how do you actually hold yourself accountable?

Read on to find out my top three tricks for holding myself true to the task in my diary – you are more than welcome to try them.

1: Reward Yourself

I talk about rewards a lot because withholding those small luxuries – an hour of your favourite tv show, for example – as a reward for a task completed really works. It’s part of the act of creating a writing habit that sticks, and it’s something that you can set up immediately.

If you’ve completed that writing goal for the day, reward yourself. The reward will not only drive you through the task, but you will be more likely to sit down to complete it next time.

2: Be Clear and Realistic

You can’t hold yourself accountable for something if you’re not sure what success looks like, or how you are supposed to reach it.

When you are setting your writing goals for the week, be realistic and clear. Can you actually write 1,000 words a day, or is that setting yourself up for failure? There’s no shame in it, I write 4,000 words a week and am very happy with that. Some write more, some write less.

This is your journey, so be clear with yourself from the start. It’s better to have a realistic goal set that is moving you forward and keeping you positive, than one that is unrealistic and keeps being missed.

Ready to write 3,000 words? Great. When will you write them? How will you reach that word count? Holding yourself accountable is all about setting goals you can reach in the first place.

3: Don’t Start Tomorrow

We all love to put things off until tomorrow and say that we’ll begin with great gusto then. However, often that day never comes. Great change comes from small actions and steps forward.

If you want to make a change and hold yourself accountable for your tasks, begin today. If you falter, that’s okay, it is the trying that really matters.

Take the small step of writing one hundred words right now, and get ever closer to that weekly word count.

These three steps can help with holding yourself accountable for being that writing superstar you want to be!

Are you ready to take it one step further, investigate your writing process and discover your writing routine?
Click below and get in touch – I’d love to have a Zoom coffee and a chat!

Rachel Grosvenor

Rachel Grosvenor

I’m a writer, writing coach, and editor.

I know how hard it is to find the time to work on your passion project, and I know you want your novel to be the best it can be.

With a PhD, MA, and BA in Creative Writing, and as a Certified Professional Coach, I’m well poised to help you with whatever issue you are experiencing.

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