Welcome to The Self Accountability Project!
I have no clue how in the world you stumbled upon this page (lol), but you’re exactly where you need to be to learn all about the Productivity Planner and Goal Tracker that’s made my life insanely more productive!
My goal with The Self Accountability Project is to provide an instruction manual of sorts to anyone who could benefit from this productivity planner in addition to becoming a centralized location to track all my progress, findings, and various epiphanies.
I hope The Self Accountability Project inspires you to become the person you’ve always wanted to be and to achieve the goals you’ve always dreamed of!
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
About The Self Accountability Project
I’ve been on a quest for a productivity system that works for me (emphasis on “works for me”) for many years now.
I’ve read countless self improvement books, was on a mastermind group with several very successful online entrepreneurs, and even hired a high level personal coach for a minute.
Over time, I’ve been exposed to a slew of strategies to “get my sh*t together”, stop procrastinating, be as productive as humanly possible, and truly live up to my full (presently unrealized, lol) potential.
Through a lot of trial and error, I managed to sift through the sheer information overload (and the charlatanry), but I also realized that we’re all wired differently (see Myers–Briggs or the Enneagram of Personality) so what works for someone else might just not work for me.
About a month ago, I started making a weekly spreadsheet that maps out all my goals for the week and how many times per week each task needs to be completed.
I got the idea from musician Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, who years ago would post similar worksheets on his personal social media account.
What blew me away was the insane amount of things he’d get done each week. Each of his worksheets had over a dozen tasks from practicing the violin to composing, reading, exercising and so much more.
And week after week he’d post these sheets where he scored 100% completion on every single task that he set out to do for himself.
I’ve been doing the same for about a month now and am pretty excited by the results thus far, but most importantly I’ve been posting my worksheets on social media which is where The Self Accountability Project comes in.
First of all, I’m convinced that being accountable to my peers on social media has pushed me to go the extra mile every week in addition to making it a lot harder to give up.
Anyone can give themselves an objective and keep it a secret, try at it for a few weeks, and quit when the going gets tough. There’s a lot less on the line when no one knows about it.
But good or bad, I’m posting my results regardless and people close to me have started to notice. If I were to stop I’m sure there’d be questions asked.
Most importantly, several people I know have already reached out and told me that they had been inspired to start doing their own productivity planners and goal trackers!
So the purpose of this page is to keep me accountable on a larger scale and to centralize all my progress and findings in a single place but also to provide an instruction manual of sorts to anyone who could benefit from this productivity planner.
I hope this page inspires you to become the person you’ve always wanted to be and to achieve the goals you’ve always dreamed of!
“Make the most of today, every day, one day at a time.” — Helaryous
My Current Productivity Planner and Goal Tracker
| Task | Frequency | Multiplier | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun | Completed | Total | Completion % |
| Morning Prayer | 7 | .25 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Morning Pages | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Artist’s Date | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Artist’s Way Homework | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Slow Carb Diet | 6 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Nightly Self Reflection | 7 | .5 | 1 | |||||||||
| Daily Goal #1 | 5 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Daily Goal #2 | 5 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Daily Goal #3 | 5 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Start Goal #1 Before Lunch | Bonus | 1 | ||||||||||
| Finish Goal #2 Before Dinner | Bonus | 1 | ||||||||||
| Freeletics | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| TRX | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Alo Moves | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Reading (1h) | 4 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
| Online Learning (1h) | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Art (1h) | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Writing / SEO (1h) | 4 | |||||||||||
| Tim Ferriss Podcast | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Cal Newport Podcast | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| TED Talk | 3 | .25 | ||||||||||
| Cleaning (45min) | 5 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Social Events | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Mass | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Rosary | 4 | .5 | ||||||||||
| TOTAL |
How to Make the Productivity Planner and Goal Tracker
1. Open a spreadsheet or grab a pen and paper!
I’ve been making my productivity planners in Google Sheets. I find it’s an efficient way to reuse the previous week’s data to make the sheet for the following week. But nothing wrong with good ol’ pen and paper if that’s your thing!
Then, you just basically need one row for each of your tasks and one column for every day of the week! You can also add additional columns and rows to keep track of your totals.
2. Decide on your goals for the week
If this is your first week, I wouldn’t start with more than 3 or 4 goals. Take a moment to think about what are the few recurring tasks that would bring the most value to your life and would bring you closer to your long term goals if done on a consistent basis.
This is personal to you so I can’t help with specifics, but really take a moment to figure out what are the most important things you need to do regularly to get where you want to be in life.
Maybe it’s exercising 3 times a week or working on that novel for 30 minutes a day. Maybe it’s that side hustle you’ve been putting off forever or maybe it’s that book you haven’t picked up in forever.
Whatever it is, look for the things that will bring the most meaningful impact to your current life and just start doing them!
3. Track Your Progress
I personally like to print out my planner and stick it on the fridge. Then every time I complete a task I get extra satisfaction from using a bright highlighter to fill out the cell.
But whatever your system is, just start ticking those boxes!
4. Tally Up Your Weekly Score
At the end of the week, I tally the score for each of my tasks and compile a total percentage for the week. This gives me a neat metric that I can track over time as the planner gets more difficult.
( Number of Tasks Completed / Total Number of Tasks ) * 100 = Weekly Score in %
5. Rinse & Repeat
Take a moment to analyze your week: what went well, what didn’t go so well, were some of the tasks unrealistic, are there ways I can modify the planner to be even more productive, etc.
If you killed it, find ways to make your next week slightly more challenging. Increase frequency or add tasks.
If your week didn’t go so well, decide whether you want to give another go at the same planner or whether maybe you should make things a bit easier for yourself.
But no matter what happened, no resting on our laurels or sulking about an embarrassing defeat. Keep going no matter what.
So go back to Step 1 and make a new spreadsheet for the coming week!
Tips for Making the Productivity Planner and Goal Tracker
1. Start Small and Make it Increasingly More Challenging Every Week
The above Productivity Planner may look impressive but it was built over time and layer by layer.
The first week, I only had a few things on there, and at the end of each week, depending on how well I did, I added additional tasks.
As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Don’t make it so impossible that you’ll get discouraged right away.
2. Print it Out and Display it Somewhere Prominent
I’ve had goal tracking apps on my phone in the past or I’ve worked off Google Sheets, but for some reason getting to a computer or a phone was always an extra hurdle for me and made it harder to stay on track and not forget to tick boxes.
I also get a weird sense of satisfaction from highlighting my sheet of paper which adds positive reinforcement.
And if you’ve read David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds, he uses Post-it notes on his bathroom mirror to stay focused on his goals.
I personally have my productivity planner on my fridge so it’s on my mind at least three times a day.
It’s a lot easier to forget about an app or a spreadsheet if you stop looking at them.
3. Give Yourself Leeway and Be Very Careful with Daily Tasks
In case you haven’t noticed, I only have 2 daily tasks. I personally feel daily tasks bring with them an extra mental block and feel a lot more like chores.
“Ah $%^!#, I have to do this thing EVERY day?!?” Sounds familiar? lol.
We all have bad days and bad weeks, sometimes even bad months! So I think it’s completely unrealistic to demand perfection of ourselves in the form of daily tasks.
They leave no room for error and don’t account for the fact that life can be unpredictable.
Leeway also makes it possible to get over 100% on some weekly goals and to make up for any bad days you may have. Just get a few extra credits on some of your objectives and you’ll be right back on track!
4. Make it Challenging Enough and Constantly Reevaluate
The purpose of the productivity planner is to challenge yourself to get more things done. If it’s too easy and you’re crushing it every week, what’s the point?
I think a good rule of thumb is that you should score 80-85% on a good week and 85-90% on outstanding weeks.
If you’re getting 100% or more on a consistent basis, then your planner is probably too easy, which brings us back to what’s the point?
Also, make sure to reevaluate your goals every time you’re building next week’s planner.
Was this goal too easy? Too difficult? Should I do it more often? Less often? Is this objective still useful to me? Should it be removed from the planner? Is there anything else that I should be adding on this week? Is there a particular event happening this week that will impact my productivity? etc.
5. Be Kind to Yourself and Be Stoic About Your Results
You’re not going to do this thing perfectly from the get-go or on a consistent basis for that matter.
Don’t take it personally, don’t get emotional, don’t beat yourself down about it, and no matter what just turn the page, get back up, and try to do better the following week!
Also make sure to remember that whatever your results, you’re probably getting a lot more done than before you started, and if you’re on week number whatever then you’re also getting a lot more done than you were on week 1!
“Be better today than you were yesterday, and be better tomorrow than you are today.” — Lorenzo Snow
6. Share it With a Close Friend, Loved One or on Social Media
Don’t keep your goals a secret. Find yourself an accountability buddy to do the productivity planner with or at least make sure to find a close friend or loved one with whom you can discuss your progress.
I’ve been posting my worksheets on social media, which is ballsy and not for everyone, but it’s definitely helped to keep me going and push a little harder every day.
Books I’m Reading
In the spirit of self accountability, here are all the books that I’m currently reading and need to finish someday!
Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!
Tools Of Titans by Tim Ferriss
The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
Fabric Surface Design by Cheryl Rezendes
Painting, Stamping, Rubbing, Stenciling, Silk Screening, Resists, Image Transfer, Marbling, Crayons & Colored Pencils, Batik, Nature Prints, Monotype Printing
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Expanded and Updated)
Online Classes I’m Enrolled In
In the spirit of self accountability, here are the online classes I’m currently working on.
- Advanced Content Marketing with Brian Dean (Semrush Academy)
- Progress: Lesson 8 of 21
- Flutter & Dart – The Complete Guide [2023 Edition] (Udemy)
- Progress: Lecture 9 of 379
- Graphic Design Masterclass – Learn GREAT Design (Udemy)
- Progress: Lecture 5 of 227
TV Shows I’m Watching
A League of Their Own (2022)
Finished watching. Pilot was great but the series started to fall flat a few episodes in and became overly focused on LGBTQIA2S+ issues leaving behind the initial themes of baseball, team building, coaching perseverance, overcoming adversity, etc. Very average overall.
Productivity Planner and Goal Tracker Archives
March 12 to 18, 2023 Productivity Planner and Goal Tracker
| Task | Frequency | Multiplier | Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Completed | Total | Completion % |
| Morning Prayer | 7 | .25 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.75 | 86 | |
| Morning Pages | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 65 | 7 | 86 | |
| Artist’s Date | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
| Artist’s Way Homework | 1 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
| Slow Carb Diet | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 83 | ||
| Nightly Self Reflection | 7 | .5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 71 | ||
| Daily Goal #1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 15 | 80 | |||
| Daily Goal #2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 15 | 80 | |||
| Daily Goal #3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 20 | ||||||
| Start Goal #1 Before Lunch | Bonus | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| Finish Goal #2 Before Dinner | Bonus | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Freeletics | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 33 | ||||||
| TRX | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 33 | ||||||
| Alo Moves | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50 | ||||||
| Reading (1h) | 4 | 1 | .25 | .5 | .5 | 2.75 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 175 | ||
| Online Learning (1h) | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Art (1h) | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Writing / SEO (1h) | 4 | |||||||||||
| Tim Ferriss Podcast | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Cal Newport Podcast | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| TED Talk | 3 | .25 | ||||||||||
| Cleaning (45min) | 5 | 1 | .33 | 2 | 2.67 | 5 | 5 | 100 | ||||
| Social Events | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 167 | ||
| Mass | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Rosary | 4 | .5 | ||||||||||
| TOTAL | 70 | 112 | 62.5 |
Notes
Stopped tracking for a bit again. Definitely see how the KPIs are very useful to go the extra mile every week. Just need to keep trying until it sticks.
Changes for next week
Sundays aren’t a day where I can be very productive, so will start my weeks on Mondays from now on to make sure that I always start the week off strong.
February 26 to March 4, 2023 Productivity Planner and Goal Tracker
| Task | Frequency | Multiplier | Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Completed | Total | Completion % |
| Morning Prayer | 7 | .25 | X | X | ||||||||
| Morning Pages | 7 | 1 | X | X | X | |||||||
| Artist’s Date | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Artist’s Way Homework | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Slow Carb Diet | 6 | 1 | X | |||||||||
| Nightly Self Reflection | 7 | .5 | X | X | X | |||||||
| Daily Goal #1 | 5 | 3 | X | X | ||||||||
| Daily Goal #2 | 5 | 3 | X | |||||||||
| Daily Goal #3 | 5 | 3 | X | X | ||||||||
| Goal #1 Before Lunch | Bonus | 1 | X | |||||||||
| Goal #2 Before Dinner | Bonus | 1 | X | |||||||||
| Freeletics | 3 | 2 | X | |||||||||
| TRX | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Alo Moves | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Reading (1h) | 4 | 1 | X | X | ||||||||
| Online Learning (1h) | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Art (1h) | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Tim Ferriss Podcast | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Cal Newport Podcast | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| TED Talk | 3 | .25 | ||||||||||
| Cleaning (45min) | 5 | 1 | X | |||||||||
| Social Events | 3 | 1 | X | |||||||||
| Mass | 2 | 1 | X | |||||||||
| Rosary | 4 | .5 | ||||||||||
| TOTAL |
Notes
Same thing happened. Stopped tracking again. Think I’ve been pretty productive, but definitely think I get more done when I’m tracking and I know that this is just the better way to make progress in all areas of my life. So just have to keep trying until it sticks!
Changes for next week
Just going to double check that I’m really focused on priorities and that all the tasks aren’t too overwhelming.
February 12 to 18, 2023 Productivity Planner and Goal Tracker
| Task | Frequency | Multiplier | Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Completed | Total | Completion % |
| Morning Prayer | 7 | .25 | X | X | X | .75 | 1.75 | 43% | ||||
| Morning Pages | 6 | 1 | X | X | 2 | 6 | 33% | |||||
| Artist’s Way Basic Principles | 6 | .25 | X | .25 | 1.5 | 17% | ||||||
| Artist’s Date | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Artist’s Way Homework | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Slow Carb Diet | 6 | 1 | X | 1 | 6 | 17% | ||||||
| Nightly Self Reflection | 7 | .5 | X | 1 | 3.5 | 29% | ||||||
| Daily Goal #1 | 5 | 3 | .5X | 1.5 | 15 | 10% | ||||||
| Daily Goal #2 | 5 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Daily Goal #3 | 5 | 3 | X | X | 6 | 15 | 40% | |||||
| Goal #1 Before Lunch | Bonus | 1 | ||||||||||
| Goal #2 Before Dinner | Bonus | 1 | ||||||||||
| Freeletics | 3 | 2 | X | X | 4 | 6 | 67% | |||||
| TRX | 3 | 1 | X | 1 | 3 | 33% | ||||||
| Alo Moves | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Reading (1h) | 4 | 1 | 2X | 2 | 4 | 50% | ||||||
| Online Learning (1h) | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Art (1h) | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Tim Ferriss Podcast | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Cal Newport Podcast | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| TED Talk | 5 | .25 | ||||||||||
| Cleaning (45min) | 5 | 1 | X | 1 | 5 | 20% | ||||||
| Social Events | 3 | 1 | X | 1 | 3 | 33% | ||||||
| Mass | 3 | 1 | X | X | 2 | 3 | 67% | |||||
| Rosary | 5 | .5 | X | .5 | 2.5 | 20% | ||||||
| TOTAL | 24 | 109.5 | 21.92% |
Notes
Stopped tracking for a week and a half. Not sure what happened exactly. Got sidetracked by art projects and maybe the whole spreadsheet had become a bit overwhelming. I was still productive (I believe), but I really have no clue how much exactly and would have no way to see progress over time without this exercise. So getting back on track and starting again this week. “And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”
Changes for next week
Going to reassess everything and try to keep things a bit more simple and prioritize really important tasks.
February 5 to 11, 2023 Productivity Planner and Goal Tracker
| Task | Frequency | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Completion % |
| Morning Prayer | 7 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 100% |
| Morning Pages | 6 | X | X | X | X | X | X | 100% | |
| Slow Carb Diet | 6 | X | X | X | X | 67% | |||
| Nightly Self Reflection | 7 | X | X | X | X | 57% | |||
| Daily Goal #1 | 5 | X | X | 40% | |||||
| Daily Goal #2 | 5 | X | 20% | ||||||
| Daily Goal #3 | 5 | X | X | X | 60% | ||||
| Goal #1 Before Lunch | Bonus | X | X | +2 | |||||
| Goal #2 Before Dinner | Bonus | X | +1 | ||||||
| Freeletics | 4 | X | X | 50% | |||||
| TRX | 3 | X | X | X | 100% | ||||
| Alo Moves | 3 | X | X | X | 100% | ||||
| Reading (1h) | 5 | X | X | 40% | |||||
| Online Learning (1h) | 5 | X | X | 40% | |||||
| Tim Ferriss Podcast | 2 | X | 50% | ||||||
| Cal Newport Podcast | 2 | X | 50% | ||||||
| TED Talk | 5 | X | X | X | X | 80% | |||
| Cleaning (45min) | 5 | X | X | X | X | 80% | |||
| Social Events | 3 | X | X | X | X | X | 167% | ||
| Rosary | 5 | X | X | X | X | 80% | |||
| Art | Bonus | X | +1 | ||||||
| TOTAL | 83 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 74.7% |