Episode 66: [GUEST] Finding Consistency Through Accountability with Amanda McKinney

In this week's episode, Elizabeth talks with Amanda McKinney about the following and more:

The Three Levels of Accountability
Creating a 90-Day Writing Strategy
Overcoming the "Perfect Conditions" Trap

Accountability is the secret weapon of consistent writers, but you might need a different level depending on your needs. When you listen to this episode, you'll learn about those levels and you can decide what works for you.

As you listen, ask yourself: What level of accountability do I currently need for my writing goals?

We've found incredible benefits from peer accountability. If you're seeking this kind of accountability comment on this video with the words "co-working" and we'll send you details about how you can join our Zoom room.

One of the practical approaches Amanda shares is breaking down a writing project into 90-Day chunks of time rather than trying to tackle the entire thing all at once. Listen to the episode and you'll learn the steps for setting yourself up for success. If you're interested in a deeper dive into this approach, then the PATH program is for you.
Find it ​here​ and use code INSPIRED to get 20% off
 
As you listen, ask yourself: What's one writing goal I could realistically accomplish in the next 90 days?

"PATH helped me create a 12-week plan so I'm set for the next 3 months! 100% worth it!" - Amber

Amanda encourages you to show up to write for 10 minutes every day as the strategy for overcoming the notion that you have to wait for the "perfect conditions" to get your writing done. When you build the habit of showing up, even if you're not sure what to write, it helps create consistency and accountability. 

Challenge: Set a 10 minute timer after reading this and write!

Connect with Amanda:

Website
Free Resources
Podcast
Book
Instagram
LinkedIn

Listen to Amanda's episode from her podcast, Accountable, about the 3 Levels of Accountability for Goal Achievement here

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If you prefer video versions of the podcast or want to leave a comment on this specific episode, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

We hope you've found guidance and inspiration for your own writing.

Here are two resources for you:

Get your list of 4 Essential Reads for Memoir Writers

Get your Character Coffee Chat Guide for Character Development

Transcript

Elizabeth: 0:00

Welcome to this week's episode of the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. This is a previously recorded conversation with Amanda McKinney, an accountability coach. Since recording this episode, we have become affiliates of her Path program, A DIY goal setting course that has been fundamental and helping Stephanie and I move the needle in meeting our writing goals. You can go back and check out episode 58. To listen to. Stephanie and I talk about our initial experience with that program and the goals that we set for this last 90 day period. Also tune in next week where, we'll, we will have a recap conversation with Amanda about how that process went, and also her insights into creating this program in the first place. If you decide to take part in the PATH program, please make sure you use our discount code for 20% off. That code is inspired and you can find the link within the show notes. Enjoy welcome back listeners to this episode of the Inspired Writer Collective. I'm so excited to have Amanda McKinney joining me today. She is an accountability coach for ambitious women entrepreneurs, including writers. And I am I get questions all the time about how I find the guests for this podcast. And this is one that came through a kind of different means. Our previous guest, Adrian, our yoga instructor that we talked to a couple of weeks ago at this point, um, this is her accountability coach, and this is who she's been working with to get that book finished. And so I listened to an episode that Adrian was on, On Amanda's podcast, Accountable, and just knew that this audience needed Amanda's message. Since then, I've done a deep dive into all of the episodes of Accountable. Luckily, that's a newer podcast of Amanda's that just came out in December. So I was able to breeze through a lot of those early episodes that are about 15 minutes long, but super foundational and great for, you know, getting started, holding yourself accountable, finding the right type of accountability. And so Amanda, welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast.

Amanda: 2:12

Elizabeth, thank you so much for having me. This is, that is probably the most fun and the most heartwarming intro I think I've ever had. Like someone telling me they just binged my whole podcast. I know it's a newer one, but that is so sweet because as a podcast host, you know, Sometimes we don't hear anything and this can go for people who don't have a podcast too. Sometimes we're putting stuff out there and we don't know what's resonating with people. We don't know when you're writing your book, you don't know how it's going to be received later. And so when you can hear. That it's helpful. It's like the most sweet time in the world.

Elizabeth: 2:49

Yeah. I mean, beyond helpful. Um, you're, you're being too, I don't know. You're downplaying yourself. It's like fundamental life changing. I can't tell you, like I've been blasting people like share this episode, share this episode. Oh, listen to this one. And then they give me feedback. Oh, that was great. I'm like, okay, next you need this episode.

Amanda: 3:07

Oh my gosh. Well, thank you.

Elizabeth: 3:10

I'll put some of these in the, um, in the show description, particularly one that we're going to kind of build off today. So you have an early episode because it's a foundational one about the three levels of accountability. Um, and I wanted to kind of strip that down in our conversation today to apply that directly to writing. So I'm going to post the original one in the show notes so people can get the overview from you, which again is about 15 minutes. It's not, um, Super long, very informative, and then we're gonna really dissect that today.

Amanda: 3:40

Yay. I'm here for it. I love it. Thank you. I,

Elizabeth: 3:43

I, I wanted to have conversations as I was listening to it with you, because there was so much that I wanna be like, yes, yay. That, or, oh, that was a struggle for me too.

Amanda: 3:53

Oh. Oh my gosh. I'm so excited. This is like, I love podcasting. I can tell you do too. It's so fun. It's so fun to connect with other people. But those solo episodes are really neat because what I. And so the, the back story for anyone who does not know who I am, I had a podcast, a previous podcast for five years. And so this isn't my first go round with podcasting. So I did things differently. And I love how much you are talking about those first few episodes, because this time around. I realized people jump into a podcast with a single episode that's often shared from someone else and then they realize, Oh, I kind of want to know more about this podcast and you're thrown in the middle of a conversation basically. And so I thought, you know what? The first few episodes of this podcast I'm going to make super short and foundational, which you use that word, which is so fun. And that way, if someone is like, Where should I start? It's very, very clear. So, right now, the podcast, if someone's listening in real time, like in terms of like early 2025, there's only a handful of episodes still. I'm doing weekly episodes, but there's not so many. You can scroll back and find it. Eventually, like with my previous podcast, had 264 episodes. Scrolling back is a nightmare. And so, it will be pulled out, and it will be a playlist. I need to, it's on my to do list. Of getting that done but it's as you know about me since you've learned so much The priority of what's the most important like that's not the most important task for me to focus on right now But in the coming weeks it will because these foundational episodes get shoved down. That's the backstory of that

Elizabeth: 5:35

I love it. All right, so let's jump right in. So the three levels of accountability, which I learned from you are personal accountability Peer accountability and paid accountability. Um, and you know, as, as a writer, I know plenty of other writers where they are so good at holding themselves personally accountable. Like they say they're going to sit down and write and they do it. They, they do it. Have a lot of times the means to where that is their job that is their focus and they can take out that time I struggle When it comes to balancing the goals with my writing, with my other values, especially those were around my family and carving out that time and being able to hold that space. Whether I schedule it, whether I, you know, I've tried to build routines around, Oh, I write at this particular time or this particular day. And as we know, and as you've talked about numerous times on your podcast, like life happens and we have to be flexible. But I'm a person that really thrives with routine and systems, as you can see with podcasting. So it's really hard for me to like, accept that I can't have the same sort of rigid system and routine that I'm used to, and that I feel like is helpful for habit building. I'm, I just feel like I'm constantly overcoming that, um, I forget the word they use for it, but like that initial starting resistance, because I'm just not in that routine.

Amanda: 7:11

Oh, this is so good. I can tell this is going to be one of my favorite episodes to listen back to because I had such a flood of things. First of all, you are not alone in this. So it's really important. Like, you didn't say this, but I could just feel like you're like, other people can do it, but I can't. First of all, I would challenge that those people probably struggled with it too. They figured out what works for them. And that is the key to everything. What works for you. So, very specifically in this season of life, right? You've got kids, you've got other responsibilities, you've got other things. I don't have small children at this home anymore, right? I married someone older than me. And so, and I always caveat that because people look at me and they're like, how do you have kids that are already out of the house? And um, it's because I married someone who's older than me. And so both of his kids are already out of the house. I have more flexibility now with my schedule, with my calendar, than I did five years ago, seven years ago when I was starting my We were in the thick of teenage living when I was starting a business, right? There's things that neither one could drive at that point. I'm a taxi driver. My days looked very different from, you know, we're just trying to do things. And I bring that up because a lot of people, very specifically, I work with women, majority of women, and they're trying to juggle a lot of things. And then there's this guilt, like you alluded to, of, I want to spend time with my family, but I really want to finish this book. How am I going to do this? And so I just want you to know you're not alone. And so what you have to do is almost like, it's really hard not to compare yourself. To anyone else, but you have to like put those blinders on and be like, this is my season of life right now. That's why I love 90 day chunks of time. 90 day goals. I work with clients in 90 days. Because if I think about a year down the road, I have no idea. I mean, it's a, it's a shot in the dark at 90 days, right? But our brain can really look at it because of seasonality of the year. of, oh, okay, summer, real hard, right? Summer's a tough time. And so we have to look at our schedule very differently. So first, you're not alone in that. Second, everyone struggles with it. Everyone has to find what works for them. And I say that because a lot of people look to me and they say, oh, Amanda's together. She can, she can do all this stuff. No, I know this stuff because I, I struggled, right? Holding myself accountable. Now I will say there are characteristics about myself, about other people who, who have an advantage. I have an incredible ability, which is a gift I have been given to focus on something. It is a gift and I love it. I can focus in for more than 90 minutes on a specific task. That's not something that everyone can However, your girl, can be a workaholic, is terrible with celebrating things, and my self care and taking care of myself takes a backseat. So there, it's a gift and something I struggle with all at the same time. And I say that because there's people that I work with, like Adrienne is one of them. She is really, really good at taking care of herself.

audio1987784829: 10:30

She is

Amanda: 10:31

good at understanding, I, this is my emotion that's happening today. Um, and she is great. I, so for me as the coach, I'm holding her accountable to do the thing she wants to do, which is finish the book and get it out in the world. But I don't have to remind her to think about how you're feeling today, make sure that you're taking care of yourself. I don't have to remind her of that. Now my coaches. They have to remind me to do that. They, they have to remind me to step away. So all of it to say, like, there can be characteristics that help you, but generally speaking, it's going to hinder you too. You kind of have to look at both of them.

Elizabeth: 11:08

For sure. I mean, that's one example that comes to mind immediately is that I share custody with my ex. So I have a week where I don't have very much time. It's very focused. And then I have a week where I can really dig in, you know, as long as I'm ready for it, I'm there, I'm feeling it. Memoirs a little bit trickier because sometimes I have to be in the right headspace to write certain stories But I I do luckily have enough work left to do that Like I can still sort of pick and choose like okay I'm I can write a more emotional story this week or I can write on a more emotional piece I could write about that post divorce grief that I felt or Or I can pick something happier like, Oh yeah, those sober game nights we were having when I was finding my sober community around me and starting to socialize again with other sober people, you know, but yeah, it's, it's, it's a gift and a curse. Right. It's like, and I'm pulled away for a week at a time. A lot of times on the weeks that I have my kid and then, but then I can dive back in and the more. Intensive way the following week. And some of it is really just recognizing that I'm not going to be like an every Tuesday writer, or I'm not going to be, uh, you know, I can start carve out two hours every evening. Or I even tried the whole waking up early tactic. And when you know, my kid suddenly decided four 30 was the time she wanted to wake up in the morning,

Amanda: 12:33

right? So It's not, for those of us, like I said. I love structure. I love plan just like you and I create a plan for everything. The, the process of creating a plan and outlining your idea of what could work is a fantastic exercise. The thing we have to remember is that there is a very, very, very slim chance it's going to go according to that plan. The problem is, is if we don't expect that we're pissed off, we're frustrated, we're really struggling to get back on track and we're thrown off. But if you can go into it knowing. I created this plan. The exercise in and of itself is super helpful. It is going to get thrown off, but I have done hard things before in my life, and I can get back on this plan. You can course correct so much quicker. And the other thing to remember is that so much, I mean, there's some things that like, Is not ideal, right? Someone going into the hospital, someone you're yourself or someone you love getting sick, that sort of thing. Like emergencies like that, like that's not ideal. However, so many of us, I work with a lot of entrepreneurs. So if you're not in the entrepreneur bucket, this may not apply a hundred percent, but I bet you can think about how it can apply. So many of us wanted to start a business so that we could be present for ourself, for our family, for our friends. So when we're thrown off our plan. I, my, my previous Amanda would be, Ugh, I told myself I was going to write this thing today, or I, I was supposed to, blah, blah, blah, whatever I was supposed to do. Now, I do the best I can, and everything I do, I aim for 70%.

Elizabeth: 14:13

I love that.

Amanda: 14:15

Like, I do not aim for a hundred. It is too impossible. I mean, I shouldn't say that. I hope and, and aim, but I am very much Okay, at 70 percent because if I can do something at 70%, my gosh, that, that, that is a progress. I am winning. Um, I had a teacher tell me after I had lost my mind when I got a C on a test one day because I was one of those not surprising. I have to have a student, you know, and I lost, I'm crying. I'm so upset. And she looked at said, Amanda. C's get And I have carried that with me forever, and some people hate that, because it's like, that's probably not the good thing to tell a kid, but I needed to hear that message. I needed to hear that it's okay not to get an It's okay, because sometimes C is the best you in that season, and you're doing the best you can. And so if you know, okay, I'm going to get thrown off my plan, you can then come back and be like, okay, I can get back on track. And I can remind myself at least 70 percent of the time, I chose this. I chose to be an entrepreneur, to write this book, to, I actively made the decision and I also really want to be present and myself and my friends. My friends are so important to me. Oftentimes a family is very important, but friends are like, these are the people you choose to have in your life, you know? And it's like, oh, they're so sweet and they're so precious. And so that's what I'm doing. Pres, being present with my friends and family, people, anyone who I love is so important to me. And the only way I can be present is if I focus on the task when I'm supposed to do it. And I close that door, I close that task and I enter into. Being present with my friends, or whatever it is. And so I have to remind myself that I chose this hard. We all choose our hard. And that helps me get back on track. And I hope that that helps anyone, yourself, and anyone listening. it's, we're always going to be thrown off track. And it is hard, and frustrating, and sad, and all of those things. We're allowed to feel those emotions. But we're also capable of keep continuing to go and picking ourselves up because you've seen it It's evident in your life And so if you're trying to write this book that you really really really really really want to write you can do it It's going to be hard, but you can absolutely do it because you have done hard things before

Elizabeth: 16:48

Beautiful and now I want to move to like the next layer that peer accountability because in those Particularly particularly in those seasons that were really tough for me um which is summertime when I am doing child care way more often. Um, I really relied on peer accountability. So Stephanie and I, we've talked about it a number of times on this podcast. We've had these time to write sessions that have been open to. Whoever wants to join us and we're happy to open those up again if there's ever any interest, but it has been super valuable for at least the two of us, knowing that she is going to show up on that computer screen with me and that we're just going to have a brief conversation about what we're going to work on that. You know, 40 minute segment. We don't make them super long. Um, and then to be able to come back at the end of that and be like, Oh, I did this or I got a thousand words down, or I finally got through the edits on that one really tricky paragraph, whatever it ended up being for me, knowing that somebody was Um, so I love what you had to say about like the idea of like someone else counting on me and that, and I even was talking to another guest about the concept of like body doubling, which I think is really common in like the neurodivergent world. Um, there's that idea that like someone else is like there with you in the struggle. Um, that can be really helpful from just a mental standpoint as well. Um, so I love what you've had to say about peer accountability, but the thing that, um. Not surprised me, but like I hadn't really put together was your kind of warnings about being more equally matched as far as you know what you're striving for and what the your peers are striving for and how there's even different levels of peer accountability as far as like Sometimes you just need to tell someone what you're gonna do and that that in itself holds you accountable but again that kind of maybe plays into the whole like comparison game that we play as far as like well if this person is Spending all this time to work on their book and I'm chipping away in my one hour twice a week, right? you know like I I think that was such a great insight and something I hadn't really calculated into How I seek out fellow writers, um, for accountability.

Amanda: 19:12

I love that that's the thing that struck a chord with you because finding people who are at the same commitment level Which is how I describe it in the best way possible, like for me, is critical. Like that is the thing. When people say, oh, I have an accountability buddy, fantastic. I think accountability buddies are amazing. You talking about working with Stephanie on a Zoom call, like people pay me to do that because it works. It's very effective, right? That's a different level. But when you can find someone who is as committed as you. And you enjoy spending time with them. Let's be frank about that. Right? Like, do it in a way, find someone fun that you enjoy. And at the same commitment level, and you two can seriously focus for a short amount of time. Like you said, I mean, this could be 20 minutes. It could be whatever it is if you wanted to do that live time. But if you can truly do it, it is unbelievable how you can move the needle forward. Because you're at the same commitment level and when you get stuck, that person's going to pull you up. That person's going to be like, you've got this, because you'll be able to say this is really hard. Because I don't know about you, Elizabeth, but I do this all the time. When I hit a roadblock in my head, it is like the world is ending because I can't figure out this problem. I then go to Voxer to my, I call all of my accountability buddies in the entrepreneurial space, like my biz besties. Because if you are also an entrepreneur, you understand. that there's a really hard thing that other entrepreneurs cannot understand. Like when, like you and I had a tech issue today, which we solved in 10 minutes, which was phenomenal, right? But we did that because we understand that like someone who doesn't run into those problems doesn't necessarily understand that problem. super fast and you have to explain it, it's hard. So my biz besties are the ones that I'm like, I go to Voxer and I say, I am just really struggling with this. And nine times out of 10, I work through the problem in the Voxer message. It's not that hard. I just walk myself through it because I know that my friend who supports is on the other side and is not listening live, is going to listen in three hours or whatever. And I'm like, by the time I get to the end, and they do it too. We all laugh at this. We get to the end and we're like, okay, I answered my own question. Thank you for listening to my TED talk today.

audio1987784829: 21:37

And

Amanda: 21:38

we move on with the day, but it's finding people who are as committed as you, because we've also most likely all experienced the time when we say, okay, we're going to be accountability buddies to run this marathon, to finish the book, to pitch these podcasts. Like I can think of a million different ways that we use accountability buddies and it doesn't work. It's because the commitment level was off of one of the people. And I'm not saying there's something wrong with it. There's nothing wrong with where anyone is. We just have to buddy up with the same commitment and then it actually works.

Elizabeth: 22:15

Yeah. My example of that is, like I said, we had these time to write sessions and we, Stephanie and I would alternate initially, like when we started the business a little over a year ago. We would alternate like who led the Monday morning session who met led the Tuesday afternoon session, right? But like it was crickets It was essentially me showing up on those sessions her showing up on the other session to go in from like We just weren't getting the draw in we were hoping it would be something that people would be Seeking, wanting, attracted to, and it just wasn't. So then it ended up just being personal accountability, which we were both running out of, right? Um, so then we started to like, be like, okay, when can you come? So at least I know that you're going to be there. So I'm not showing up and I'm just there alone trying to hold myself accountable in this time. So like I could get to that place in that time because I was. Hopeful that there would be other people there, but there just wasn't that commitment from the other side as far as the, you know, internet.

Amanda: 23:13

Right. And that's so hard when you're trying to, like, there's a lot in there because you're, you're trying to build this thing, you're, you're testing something. There's a lot in that. And the other part of that, that, that really plays into it is, is interesting is like finding a time that works for a lot of people is very, very hard. Finding a time that works for two people, much easier. So when you, that's like the, the buddy system is like one or two people that works really well. If you're trying to get a group together, that's when it creeps into, you've got to charge for it. Which I'm putting on the entrepreneur hat right now. And, and I'm saying that because I have tried to. I have tried to do this for free to help people. And the commitment is not And so it's, it's just, you have to call it what it is. And just know that that's what, that's what we need. And we, and that's why when I thought about, I am an accountability coach. And people do pay me to hold them accountable. Right? That's what we need in certain seasons of life. I do the same thing with I need it too. We all need it at different times. But we don't always need paid accountability. So that's when I really understood, okay, there's these different levels. And so the personal is like, oh, no one has to ask me, Amanda, are you going to release a podcast episode this No, I can hold myself accountable for doing that, right? But when I first started my podcast. I was very nervous and I, I went through, um, I bought a few things, like a course to help me figure out a few things. So that, the courses are not paid accountability, but I did pay for something to learn. Um, but it was really pure. I told someone I was going to do it and they asked me about it. Like it wasn't even formal. It wasn't like we met every Tuesday. It was my biz bestie knew I wanted to start a podcast. And so she asked about it. Randomly, how's that podcast coming along? What are you doing? When is it launching? What do you, you know, like just ask about it. So it doesn't even have to be like live time. It's like find what you need at the place where someone has the same commitment or capacity to help you with that. And that's that peer accountability. So it can look different than like live calls. It can look like I had one friend that was, you know, Trying to, she was in a, like a totally different business. She was trying to get investment. And so in order to do that, you have to pitch a lot. You have to really get in front of a lot of investors to get the few investors that you need. And so she was trying to send like 75 outreach And she's one of my best friends and has an amazing company. And so she said, Amanda, wait, can you just text me every Friday and just ask if I did it? I said, of course I will. And that really helped me understand how I could support clients even better. And now I have different systems because all she needed me to do was ask her if she did And then that really translated, this was several years ago before I really focused on helping clients in that capacity. And so it, it really start, it can be so many different things, so it doesn't have to be a live call. It could be like check ins and in whatever way works for you. And I think that's always the theme of what I share is like, take the information that I'm sharing, that you're sharing on this podcast, whoever's listening and say, how can I make this work for Because a lot of people will get stuck with the idea of that won't work for me. My life isn't the same as theirs, but if you then switch it and say, how can it work for me? It's a game changer.

Elizabeth: 26:46

Absolutely. Well, that's why, you know, listening to those couple of like episodes of your podcast and the concept of, I love the way you talk about goals and this 90 day milestone. I'm like, yeah, that's what I need. I need, I need to figure out like, sure. Writing the book, finishing the book is the goal. That's been the goal. That's the goal. Everyone knows, you know, I've told everyone and people ask me all the time. It's, you know, I've got all that, but You know, what can I reasonably do in 90 days? And this might be a great place to talk about the fact that you have a capacity Capacity calculator. Yeah. Yes on your website Um, and we'll put the link for that in the show notes, but amandamckinney. com Calculator and so it can help you see how much time you really do have to Move the needle. And so I, I sat down, I thought about, okay, what could I do in 90 days? Like, I can't finish all the edits in 90 days. Like that's not, that's not where I'm at, but I've been sitting on these rewrites. Like I did a massive like outline shift, um, last spring. I recognized that I wanted to add a whole stack of new stories, more like more current stories than what I had originally planned for the memoir. And so then, I figured, okay, I think I've got 12 weeks, you know, I can, I can write these stories. I wasn't sure how many there were at that point, but I was like, that's what I want my 90 day milestone to be. And so then I sat down with Stephanie at a planned meeting where we met at a coffee shop to write and work on our stuff. And I wrote, I looked through my manuscript about which stories I still had that I needed to write. Turned out it was about like. 10. It was less than I thought, honestly. And isn't that funny too? Like when we actually sit down and do something, we're like, Oh, like I thought it was a lot, but I have actually been working on this. I have actually gotten some of this done. So then I made individual post it notes, and I know Stephanie and I will make a whole podcast episode about this. I don't know if it'll be before this one comes out or after, but then I wrote my post it notes with each chapter or section that I needed to write, and then put them on my calendar for each week. And then I'll move them to the particular day depending on what that week looks like, but at least I know like which ones I need to write when I keep looking over to the side because that's where my calendar is of the ones that I need to finish up for this week and what I'm planning for next week, but they're post it notes. So if I'm not in the mood to write that certain one, I can switch it with the one, you know, later in the calendar that I'm like, yes, I'm ready to write this one. This is a good one for me to write this

Amanda: 29:26

Oh my gosh. I love this so much. So I'm applying what I'm

Elizabeth: 29:29

learning from you.

Amanda: 29:31

This is amazing. And I just love this so much because what you did is you took the idea and you applied it in the way that works for you. Looking at something, you looked over your shoulder, right? I'm looking at my calendar too because I've got one right over here. Yeah. And mine is like a whiteboard. So I can write with a marker, but I can always change something. Yours is post its, and so you can always change it. That is the key. Another thing that you did is you looked at weeks instead of days, which I love. Love, love, love, love, love. It is, that helps us not get thrown off. Because let's say you said, I'm gonna, you know, write on Tuesday, and you wake up and you don't feel good. To write on Tuesday or your best friend calls and you need to help her with something or whatever and then it throws you off. But because you're saying, I'm going to do it this week, your mind is simply saying, Oh, I'll just change the day. It's so much easier to plan week by week versus day by day. And I'm a big fan of using, like, planning out your day and, and. you know, doing that as you do, as you go through the week. So it's not that you can't plan the day, but saying by the end of this week, these are the three things I'm going to get done. And that is like game changing. And most people are like, three, only three, that's not enough. Well, if you can move the needle on three things in a week, my gosh, you're really ahead of the game. So I love what you're doing. I think it's amazing of how you're doing that. Um, and yeah, I love that you were able to do it simply from scratch. Thank you so much. What I shared on the podcast, that's incredible to hear. So yeah, your

Elizabeth: 31:12

stuff's working. It's working, but let's look, this is a great transition. I think too, when that's not enough, right? When, when someone has put these systems in place where they maybe have. Appear or maybe they are struggling to find a peer and, and they're out of resources and they need some paid accountability. And I liked that you brought up earlier that that doesn't mean a DIY course.

Amanda: 31:39

No,

Elizabeth: 31:39

because those are not accountability. And I felt so validated when you said that on your episode, because I have my memoir writing course and people keep asking me like, Oh, do you have a downloadable? Do you have a whatever? And I'm like, no. And I don't know that I ever really want it to be that way. One memoir is a very emotional, personal writing experience. And I think people need that support. But also if you were motivated enough and had that personal accountability enough to do it on your own. You wouldn't be looking for my course.

audio1987784829: 32:15

Right.

Elizabeth: 32:15

You know, like, I can help you figure out the core message. I can help you figure out what stories fit with that. I can help you build that outline. And then from there, you can sit down with that very detailed outline and know exactly what you have to write at each time. And there, that's when you can go back to peer accountability or personal accountability. But let me help you get to that step. Not through a DIY course.

Amanda: 32:40

Yeah, I, it's really interesting because you're catching me at a, at an interesting moment in my journey of courses. So the reason I feel so very strongly about this is not just because I read something on the internet. It is because I have a lived experience of creating an awesome course. Course not just one. I've created several courses and when you know how many, how few people actually get to the end of the course and implement what you do as a course creator, it is devastating. If you hit 30%, you are rocking 30% of people going through a course. That's devastating for the course creator. And so for the longest time, I had a few courses and they sold really well. So it was a great revenue generator. My heart hurt. Knowing that this was the end result. Like I love people. I love helping people achieve the goal, right? I just love that. And so that's where, I really struggled with it. So I took all the courses away. Had no courses, but you're catching me at an interesting time because I, I have released a DIY course. But it is so different, It is so different this time. And to your point. Well now it's what?

Elizabeth: 33:56

Three or four hours. Right? Like it's a. And. Consume and use.

Amanda: 34:00

Right. And I'll give you a code. We can put it in the show notes if you want it. A discount code for your listeners. I'm happy to do that. Um, because, and what I did is I sat down and I thought, because there are people who don't need or have the finances, resources, time, whatever, to pay me on a weekly basis to hold them accountable. I recognize that. However, they still want to. achieve the goal. They still want to make progress. They still want to do the thing. So I thought, what can I do? Because I cannot hold anyone accountable in a DIY course. That is That is not possible. If anyone tells you that is a lie, they cannot do that. In a live program, that is accountable. accountability is, is weaved in there. They're holding you accountable, but the other person has to show up, all these things. And so I was like, do I want to do that? No. How can I, what is the process that I can do? And so I extracted the one thing I can actually help people do on their own, which is setting the goal and the So basically what I did is I said, okay, what do I do with the people that I work with on a single day? So I have a VIP full or half day option. And I just looked at what do I help them do? And it's creating the 90 day plan. So that's what I packaged into a course. So the course doesn't hold anyone accountable to anything. However, it gets you started. It gets you to create that plan, to put those post its on the calendar, to do whatever you can so that then you can try really hard to hold yourself accountable or have a peer. I also very much encourage anyone who's going to go the route of purchasing a course or trying to do something on their own. Find a buddy to go through it with. Use the peer accountability. So if you buy a course or something and you know you're, it's going to collect digital dust because we all do it. If that, if you know that about yourself, say, it's okay. That's where I am in life. There's no shame in it. I just need to recognize it and find someone who also wants to go through it. Or wants to go through a different course. And you can go simultaneously, week by week, through a different course and hold each other accountable to not just, not just learning. Implementing what you're learning is the key.

Elizabeth: 36:14

Absolutely. That's how my sister and I started writing our books. She signed up for this. I love it. Non fiction writing 30 day email course and we were like, she was like, Hey, you want to do it with me? And I'm like, sure. I love it. Well, the course was not built for something like memoir. It was really built for like people writing sort of their business expertise into a short book that they then immediately publish on Amazon. And. Can move on. So I've now taken this, you know, two years down the road, and that's what's partly what made me want to write my memoir course and create that because that other course was, you know, totally not hitting the mark when it comes to something like memoir. But that's exactly how we got started and we did it together and we both completed the course and wrote, I don't know, like 40, 000 words in that. Oh, that's awesome. Um, You know, and we held each other accountable way better than the course did. The course didn't do anything.

Amanda: 37:13

Again, the course is just the tool, but you two held each other accountable. So you can do those two things together, you just, most of the time have to find somebody.

Elizabeth: 37:22

Exactly. Exactly. Um, and you're right too, look, in course creation, we put so much of our heart into it. And and the stuff that like that I I write for the reading portions But then I have like this whole other list of things that I say in the actual live meetings And then the things that I follow up with on in an email and the resources i've created Oh, it would it would break my heart for someone to like start that process and then still not be able to get to the point Where where they're ready to sit down and write their story, especially one You That, you know, they feel so strongly about, which memoir is usually like that nagging story that you're just really know needs to get out into the world.

Amanda: 38:10

Yeah. Um, I mean, I hear it all the time, as you know, as the accountability coach for people who are trying really hard to finish a book, because when, as soon as I published my book, people were like, Oh, can you help me finish mine? I had no idea how many people in my audience had started books. Like, I had no clue. And I also didn't realize how many people start books that don't actually finish them. Like, the, the number is astronomical. And so I love helping people. I'm not a book coach. I'm an accountability coach, but I can certainly help people finish like, you know, Adrienne working and, and just, just me asking her, what are you going to do next week? What did you do this week? That sort of thing. It's so nice to have someone just checking in on that because you want to finish the dang thing. You want to get the book out. And if it's your goal, if you really want to do it, it's like, I just think that we have to release the idea of shaming ourselves for needing accountability at a different level. And I also think it's, it's important for me to give the definition when I talk about because it includes that idea of no shaming and no judging yourself. Because most people think You can hold yourself accountable if you cross everything off your to do If you don't, you didn't hold yourself accountable. And that is not how I define accountability. Because when I think about an accountable person, I think about it's the person who takes total ownership of their actions or lack of actions. If someone doesn't do something, it doesn't mean they're a bad person. But if they say, I didn't do it because so and so came into my office, and if we're putting the blame on someone else. But the person who says, I didn't do it because I did not feel good, and that's just how it went today. Ownership, right? And the more we can have ownership of our actions or lack of actions, the more progress we're going to make. And so it's doing it in a nonjudgmental way. Anytime a client comes to me and says, Amanda, I did not do what I told you I was I don't shame them for it. That's a jerk move to do. Because what happened is they got thrown off. Life happened, whatever it is, it's simply taking ownership. So I hope everyone hears that message today of like, Just because you didn't do something that was on your list doesn't mean you're a bad person or you can't hold yourself accountable. It's taking ownership and saying, well, why? Why didn't I do it? You said something recently to when we were chatting on Instagram is you realized Oh, I've been saying this one thing, but my actions are telling me something totally different

Elizabeth: 40:51

Yeah, I was wondering if we could spend the last few minutes talking about when people Come to that realization or how to come to that realization that maybe the thing that Has been your goal for a while is no longer your goal. I can say that my sister is going through this and her own business endeavors. You know, I've been asking her like, how's that going? How are you feeling about this? And, and now she's kind of at the point where she's like, I don't know that that's actually my goal anymore. And I'm like, Beautiful. Listen to this episode

audio1987784829: 41:17

of Amanda's

Amanda: 41:19

Podcast. I love it. Well, congrats to her. And that's hard. Sometimes we have to grieve that. Sometimes we have to just let it go. And sometimes we have to tell other people that we let it go because they'll be asking us about it. And yeah, I think goals change. If I had, if I go back to Amanda at 16 years old. And it said, what are your goals? They're not the same ones that I have today. And that's okay. And I think we get in this place of, I almost am like starting to like not use the word goal anymore. I'm playing around with this because I think that a lot of people have feelings about setting goals and achieving goals. We want to do it, but we feel shame that we haven't done it before. We are changing goals. And we just have to say, okay, that's why I like 90 days. Because we can generally look at 90 days. Maybe someone says, I want to write this book. I want to write this book. Um, I don't know when it's going to happen. I'm going to write this book. So they look at their calendar, they calculate their capacity, they look at what they do, they set the goal. And along that journey, they realize, I really don't want to write this book.

Elizabeth: 42:27

Or, I didn't know what it would take to write this book, and it's going to take a lot longer than I originally thought.

Amanda: 42:32

Yeah, and those are two different things, right? Of like, if you realize, oh, the timeline is going to change, and I'm sad about that, that's fair. But the timeline simply changes, and you expect it, and it's, it's easier once you go through that sadness. If you are like, I actually don't want to do this, Then we have to deal with this thing called sunk cost Sunk cost is like we value things that we've already paid for invested in our time money, whatever More than things we haven't So like i'll give the example of Like, if I was writing a book, I kind of sort of did this a little bit with my book.

Elizabeth: 43:10

I was about to say, you have an example. Yeah.

Amanda: 43:13

Like, I started writing and was doing all this stuff thinking I was going to write this one book because I, in my previous world, I, I know marketing, I have a marketing background and I thought I was going to write a marketing book and I did not want to write that dang book. But that was my expertise. That's what I had built my business on, all these things. And my book coach says, Amanda. It seems like you're writing the book that you feel like you should write, and I want you to write the book that What do you want to write? And in that moment, I did not have the answer. I did not have that answer that week. I didn't have that answer right away. But I knew he could see it. I could feel it. Something had to And so, but I had thought, oh my gosh, but I've, I've recorded three years of podcasts on marketing. I had done all these things. I had all this sunk cost. I was saying, oh, I need to use all of this versus I need to create. All of this new stuff. And so I was really valuing it so different. And we do this with clothes in our closet. We do this with time invested in things. And so this sunk cost idea, but once you realize like the quicker I can cut that tie, I can move forward with the new. that I'm going to do. And sometimes that takes some time. It's not like, but as quickly as you can do it once you know is the better thing because you're, you're just going to accumulate more sunk cost if you wait and wait and wait. So that's the thing is like, you just have to recognize it and be okay with the fact of letting it go. And most people, that I have worked with, including myself, get to the point where it's a very confident decision. Before it's really confident in terms of like, well, I'm wrestling with this. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. It's tough. As soon as you cross over and are like, yep, that's what I'm, that's the next thing. That's the thing I'm going to do. It's way easier to let go of the previous goal. And, you know, and let it go because then you can share about it, you can talk about it and people, like, you're not worried about what is someone else going to say because you're so confident in the decision. But the confidence comes after the action. The, you know, you have to take the, do you be like, this is it. I'm doing it. And because of the confidence, oftentimes we wait for that feeling before, and that's just a risky move. Sometimes you can get the feeling before, but chances are the, the confidence will come after you're, you make the decision, stop doing the thing, you start doing the thing. Like after you take that initial action, then it's like, okay, now I can, now I can feel more confident

Elizabeth: 45:54

That's just like the inspiration to write, you know, if you wait for the feeling to come, it might come, it might not, but if you can take that action of sitting down at a time, maybe with a peer, maybe not, you know, and just like doing something, like I love how Adrienne talked about on your episode with her about how sometimes she just sits and reads what she's previously written. You know, I can't read what I've previously written without starting to edit. Like, I have to start tweaking stuff. And then you can get into it, and then you might feel inspired to write something new, or different, or go to the next task on your list.

audio1987784829: 46:28

Um,

Elizabeth: 46:29

and, and so, you're right, like a lot of times it just takes doing some smaller action first, and then those those feelings of either confidence, or inspiration, or creativity flow afterwards.

Amanda: 46:42

Yeah, and I always like to say 10 minutes. So oftentimes we really get, like you were talking about earlier, like, Oh, I had 10 stories. I thought I had a hundred, right? Like, it was like, we really overcomplicate things. And so like, and we all do it. So if you can say what, like, I'm going to set a timer for 10 minutes and I will not stop writing. Even if I write, I don't know what to write, I don't know what to write, I don't know what to write, I don't know what to write for 10 minutes. That's what I'm gonna do. Yeah. Yeah. And 10 minutes, generally speaking, is not going to throw off your day. 10 minutes, the reality is, you probably scrolled on social media, whatever your chosen platform, for more than 10 minutes.

audio1987784829: 47:24

So

Amanda: 47:24

it's just, again, it comes back to that ownership and what you really want to do. And so, I use this in my life with working out. My rule for myself is 10 minutes a day. Every single day I have to move my body in some capacity for 10 minutes. Now the reality is that 10 minutes usually turns into longer and it usually helps me go on an extra walk later that day because I'm feeling good because of the energy I had from the workout in the morning. It leads to more. But my rule is 10 minutes and some days I am grinding to, I am looking at my watch like when is this 10 minutes over? I am ready for this to be over and, but that's okay. That's okay. It's like my 10 minutes a day is how I do it and I have applied that, not just with working out, but like things are really, like, Writing was very, very difficult. I share about it more on my podcast, but I mean, I was in such a difficult time of life. I did not know it was going to be such a difficult time, but that's how life works. And my plan was shattered, right? Like my, I'm going to write on Wednesdays. It was a laughable joke as, uh, when that started happening. But I knew I wanted to finish the dang book. Also I was paying to be in a program. So I knew that about myself, that I don't, I don't know how to write a book. Like I didn't, I didn't know, I didn't have the capacity to learn. I needed to be in a program. So I paid to be in a program. So there was paid accountability there with weekly calls. But I had to fit it into my day. So the personal accountability came into, how the heck am I going to get this in? in those pockets of time, right? You, you find those pockets of time. And sometimes it was like in the hospital waiting room, in the car, uh, like it was like in the most random places. And sometimes when I really had to focus and do those edits, which I did, I booked an Airbnb for and did

audio1987784829: 49:21

it.

Amanda: 49:21

And I figured, I know that that's not everyone's availability, but there's some version of that. I knew I have to get my butt out of this house. Because the edits were harder than the initial writing for me. And I had to get away from laundry. And I had to get away from all these things. And so I booked in the same town that I live in. I didn't go anywhere crazy fancy. I brought food in. And I just stayed there for three days and finished the dang edits. Because that's what I had to do.

Elizabeth: 49:55

Right. Oh, well, this has been such a great conversation. Amanda, thank you for being here today with us, and we'll have all the links where people can find you. I hope people will go and listen to especially those early episodes of the Accountable podcast, and we'll follow along. I know you have free resources. You have your book, um, Why Not You? An Accidental Entrepreneur's Guide to Success, and, um, Again, thank you for being here, and thank you for having such a passion for sharing your wisdom, your experience, and your expertise with everyone.

Amanda: 50:31

Oh, Elizabeth, thank you so much for having me. Thank you everyone for listening, and I would love to stay connected, so please reach out, use those links, the free resources, all the good stuff, and never hesitate to ask a question. My favorite place to hang out is Instagram. So if you're on Instagram, you can find me on there at the Amanda McKinney and that's always fun to ask questions So never hesitate. I think it's so fun to talk to especially other writers It's really cool for me to see and encourage, uh, specifically writers because I know how hard that is At least i've done one book. I haven't done any more, but who knows what the future holds, but it was tough, but The cool part is, is that it was released two years ago, almost two years ago, and it's still a topic of conversation for me. People ask me about it often. We're talking about it today. It's something that lives on, which is a really cool thing. So anyone who's inspired to write a book, like get it done, whatever it is, like you can do it. You'll be so proud. And if you're like me, I got really hung up with like, but I can't change any words once it's printed. And the is, it's okay. People understand that. And, uh, I just say, like, if you find a typo in my book, please don't tell me. I don't need to know.

Elizabeth: 51:44

I love that. Unless there's, if you are looking for some more accountability, whether that's peer accountability or paid accountability, and you want some writing help, please reach out. Let us know what you're looking for. You know Stephanie and I have, uh, the numerous iterations of things and it doesn't look like it's what you want. So tell us what you want and we're happy to build whatever it is that you feel like you need, um, beyond these weekly podcast episodes. But if nothing else, we're here to cheer you on and to say happy writing. Oh, I love that.