6 Accountability Habits of Effective People, by Linda Galindo

Question: What is the most powerful personal accountability tool you can use today?
Answer: The OFF button.
Many, many people use overwhelm or over commitment as their excuse for poor work and low productivity. Getting out of overwhelm and over commitment and becoming powerful through personal accountability can be achieved through these 6 practices of effective people.
1. Effective people focus. Close all social media windows and put your smart phone in a drawer or completely silence it for 20 minutes at a time, (or longer if it suites you). Turn off all notifications. Email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. You will be astounded at the quality of your work when you are just doing work. When times up, you can go social media surfing, but set the timer and get back to focus again. Don’t cheat. You’ll be tempted if you hear that ding or buzz or see the email crawler pop up with a message. Experience the focus and it will be your new addiction.
2. Effective people do one thing at a time. This is similar to the idea of focus, but it is a deeper application of the concept. Let’s say you are going to write a blog post or complete a performance evaluation. Make a commitment to do it in time and just that time. Yes, you have a million other things clamoring for your mind’s attention but you have control. By setting a timer for say, an hour, to do this one thing, your mind has permission to stay present and the quality of what you are doing will skyrocket. And, you likely will find you need less time to do it!
3. Effective people close their door. So many managers tell me, “But I want to be accessible.” You are not a babysitter that has to watch the children every minute of every day. A note on your door that says “Focusing until 3:00 pm, please come back. Enter if urgent.” will work. Don’t close your door and start surfing the net. Actually focus on one thing. Three separate hours a day spent this way will at least double your productivity.
4. Effective people know multi-tasking is a crock. There are exceptions to this, like when I am cleaning the garage and listening to a business podcast or on the treadmill and reading a book. But if I am in a meeting or on a conference call and checking my phone screen or reading a report for the next meeting so I am only half listening, multi-taking is bunk. Do organizations actually have to put a “rule” in place in meetings to put down your device and pay attention? Don’t be that person. Commit to be present.
5. Effective people know activity lowers their stress. The reason so many people have to have a lot going on is because activity lowers their stress. You are better off taking a walk around your building when you feel a need to be busy. If you want to be someone who is productive and known for your quality of work, make sure you get activity outside of work. Activity lowers your stress. If you get your activity needs met outside of work, then at work you will experience a much better ability to focus for longer stretches of time.
6. Effective people calendar the night before. I hate structure but I need it. This is true for many multi-tasking, hair-on-fire, busy executives and business owners. To create quality and productivity in your work life, always look at your next day calendar the night before. Yes, there will be interruptions and unexpected additions to your day, but having your day in mind to begin with, sets you up to prepare for productivity and prioritization. To turn on your effectiveness and accountability for producing quality work and productivity, it is essential to turn off an unprecedented amount of self-imposed distraction. Many, many people use overwhelm as the excuse for poor work and low productivity. The bottom line, use the OFF button and focus.