How to Stay Accountable as a Solopreneur

Now, if you are building a business, doing a side hustle on your own, you probably understand those moments of loneliness, of lack of inspiration, and I would even argue, just complacency with the status quo.

I have been there, especially in this wintery weather, and I understand how hard and also the discipline needed to show up when you are the team of “me, myself, and I.”

So I want to give you some really practical tips and tricks I’ve used as well as I’ve seen other solopreneurs to stay accountable in their business journey.

Time Blocking

Time blocking is something I learned from Laura Vandercam’s book 168 Hours (which I highly recommend if you haven’t read it, please do!).

She argues that we all have the same 168 hours in the week, but how people use those hours and optimize those hours are very different. And if you can go in and plan your time appropriately, you are able to maximise your productivity and not drown in that boring monotonous to do list.

For me, time blocking is really important because it actually segments your amount of time to be dedicated for a certain task. A simple way you can do this is by time blocking in your Google calendar so that it is there unavoidable.

Then, you will get the notification 15 minutes before and gives you the time and space me to really set aside some time to do some deep work to do that creative stuff rather than drowning in those list of emails.

Pomodoro Method

I love the Pomodoro method. If you have not heard of it, it is the ‘tomato timer’ method where you basically take a 20 minutes brain sprint, being really focused accomplishing the task at hand, and then taking a 10 minute break.

But this is all done under the discipline of a timer. One of my favorite timers is by LaShonda Brown’s beautiful Youtube Timer. It is a short enough amount of time you can commit to a couple of times throughout the day without feeling brain drain.

Get a Community

Everything is better with a buddy. Having a community allows you to show up — both mentally and physically — to work on your business.

One that has been recommended to me is Groove. Groove allows small community productivity sprints with other creators and business owners online. It’s like an espresso shot in your business, with its 50 minute punchy virtual co working session.

Now, there are also communities available in the real world, like membership groups and coworking groups. Much like going to a gym to workout or coffee shop to write and get work done, there is something powerful to working in public. I recommend signing up for free day passes or hot desking first before committing.

(Some of my fave’s in the UK are X+Why, &Co, and Impact Hub.)

Virtual Assistant

So VAs can be incredibly useful in busy periods of your time or even just in your day to day. I have hired virtual assistants in peak periods where I’ve had tones of projects to do to allow me to kind of share the burden share the load of all of the things I have to do as an entrepreneur.

And you can get VAs from a various range of prices. Having an extra set of hands (and eyes) will allow you to take some elements off your plate as a solo entrepreneur, so you can focus on the true business at hand.

These are just a few ways you can become more accountable to yourself and your business as a solopreneur. But, if there are any tips or tricks you enjoy, drop them in the comments below.

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