I want to talk about something that has made it significantly easier for me to feel motivated to get up on those cold dark mornings.

It has also driven most of my success with daily habits.

Having an accountability partner.

Every morning, I wake up and text my good friend Ashley Richmond two simple letters. ‘GM’ (good morning) and then the time I woke up. She does the same thing back. Just two letters are enough to spark that accountability and drive to get up out of my warm bed in the morning.

We do better with our goals and our habits when we have either a partner or group accountability.

“In my years of working with thousands of people, there’s one thing that drives accountability more than anything else: If you want to keep people doing a behavior, get a buddy.” — Dr. Tim Church, a well-known exercise expert

A 2018 North Carolina State University study of 704 people enrolled in a 15-week online weight-loss program found that participants with buddies lost more weight and waist inches than those who took the course without buddy support.

Why does it work? An accountability partner is there to support you, to problem-solve, and to celebrate even small victories.

Without an accountability partner, it can be easy to feel alone, and overwhelmed. Left to your own devices, you may forget to do your habits or worse, convince yourself that taking those steps towards habits isn’t worth it.

Have you ever heard of a mastermind group? In the productivity and business world, you hear about them a lot. People like Pat Flynn, Matt D’avella and Tim Ferris talk about them all the time.

What I had originally heard about a Mastermind was how they skyrocketed your business and productivity through both accountability and sharing ideas with a like-minded group.

Hearing all this, I literally googled ‘How to join a mastermind?”

All I could find was a couple of mastermind groups with people that weren’t interested in the same topics and were behind $2000 paywalls.

Instead of going down this road, I decided to create my own mastermind. I lay out the process down below in step 2. Spoiler, it’s as easy as sending a text to your best friend or coworker.

How to Harness the Power of Accountability:

1. Create your own Accountability:

Accountability can be achieved by simply setting reminders, timers, or calendar notifications on your phone. Start by planning something like a morning routine and assigning specific times to get each task done.

2. Creating your own Mastermind. (Highly Effective)

As mentioned above, being part of a Mastermind group where you can meet up, check in, and help each other achieve similar goals is incredibly helpful.

Ashley and I are in constant communication about new daily habits we’re trying, fitness routines, and wins with our productivity. For over 2 years now we’ve helped each other substantially in our overall lifestyle, business, and fitness. We have a highly successful mastermind driving that growth.

Here’s how you can create your own Mastermind:

a) Make a list of at least 3 friends or family members who might be interested in similar goal or goals as you. For example, getting more active, writing more, or growing your business.

b) Reach out to them. Ask if they’re interested in working together and checking in once a week or once a month about that goal or topic.

If only one person responds, great! You have an accountability partner. If more respond, you have a mastermind group.

c) Make a plan to do at least one task/habit together that will move you closer to your goal. Don’t overcomplicate it.

If your goal is to wake up earlier, do something like text each other ‘GM’ every day.

If your goal is to be more active, text each other your daily steps.

Before you go

Here are 2 ways I can take your productivity and well-being to the next level:

1) One-on-one coaching​
I have a 12-week coaching program that is dedicated to helping people wake up energized, achieve more, and become the best versions of themselves.
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​2) Get the Weekly Newsletter​
Every week I send out strategies and tips like the ones outlined in this article in my weekly newsletter.