I wanted to get back to my 4AM wake-up and 8PM bedtime.
But it kept not happening.
Something would get in the way.
Dinner would run late. A study session would stretch. One more task. One more message.
And then the morning would start later…
Which meant the evening shifted later a bit too.
You know the loop.
And then magic happened.
I moved into a new household. Someone in the house goes to bed at 8PM sharp every night.
Watching them do it.
Talking about it.
Sharing the same rhythm in the same house.
Suddenly it became easy to… just do it.
No heroic discipline.
No complicated system.
Just social gravity pulling things into place.
A friend of mine was struggling with something similar. He wanted to work on his side hustle consistently, but life kept getting in the way.
So I said I’d check in on him.
And then magic happened again.
He started doing more than he committed to.
Life didn’t suddenly become easier. But somehow it started getting in the way less.
I wanted to post more videos on LinkedIn. Consistently.
But somehow something always came up.
So I asked a friend to make a pact with me.
We check in.
We keep each other accountable.
And I suspect next week… magic will happen again.
The magic of social accountability.
I recently heard high-performance psychologist Michael Gervais talk about habit formation.
His first piece of advice?
Don’t try to do it alone.
Get someone to keep you accountable.
Behavioral science has a well-known framework for creating change developed by the Behavioural Insights Team.
It’s called EAST.
If you want people to change behavior, make it:
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Easy
-
Attractive
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Social
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Timely
Social. Here it is again.
Humans are deeply relational creatures. We calibrate our behavior constantly based on what others are doing around us.
And often, the fastest way to change your habits…
…is not more willpower. Not even more systems.
It’s more right kind of people.
As I plan my week ahead, I’m asking myself one question,
If something is important enough to deserve my time, energy, and focus, who do I need to invite onto my accountability team?
Over to you, dear reader,
Who's on YOUR accountability team to check on you with the change that matters?
Pick one doing goal. Pick one accountability partner.