Accountability Without Shame
Accountability sticks when it’s specific and small. Replace “Do better” with “Ship draft by Wednesday 5pm.” If it slips, ask what constraint blocked it and shrink the next commitment. No moralizing, just design.
Schedule hard cognitive work in your high‑energy window and admin in the trough. Track your peaks for a week and align work accordingly. Calendar math that ignores energy is why good plans die.
Weekly 45‑minute sessions compound. Start with a quick check‑in, review last commitment, then pick one constraint to work. End with a concrete next action. Heavy agendas kill presence; keep it light and focused.
If execution crowds out thinking, block two 90‑minute “maker” sessions per week. Protect them like meetings. No Slack, no email. Use them for deep work or walking reviews. Most teams don’t need more hours; they need more unbroken ones.
Write a one‑pager you can actually use: mission, the three outcomes that matter this quarter, weekly cadences, and “stop doing” items. Re‑read Monday morning. If it doesn’t change your week, trim it until it does.