The ⭐trick⭐ to achieving all types of goals

Plus, recipes for when you don't feel like cooking 🍲

View this email online This newsletter is brought to you by Life Kit producer Clare Marie Schneider Leah Shaffer lives outside of Houston, Texas. She spent many years raising her kids. But once they left the house, she decided to get serious about writing a book. A vampire novel, specifically.  Any writer knows taking on a book can be daunting and overwhelming. Where do you begin? Shaffer found another writer who wanted to meet regularly and work on their shared writing goals. “I was on TikTok and some random dude was like, ‘Does anybody want to be accountability buddies with me?’ ”  Shaffer says she wasn’t sure how the partnership would work, but she was willing to try it.  Leah Shaffer, left, and her writing partner Jamie Samland, right, who is based in Canton, Mich. They met over TikTok and have been meeting on Zoom for over a year to work on their individual writing projects. Photo courtesy of Jamie Samland “We met that same week on Zoom, and I don’t think either of us knew exactly what it was going to look like,” she says. “But we have been meeting every Friday at 9 a.m. for over a year now.”  Before she met her buddy, she had written maybe one draft of her vampire novel. But this year, she's rewritten it three times and written two more books, she says.“I don’t think I would have gotten the work done this last year if I hadn’t had my buddy.” For our recent episode on accountability buddies, I spoke with three other people who also use accountability buddies or groups to help them meet all sorts of goals – from fitness accomplishments like lifting weights three times a week to finishing daily tasks like cooking dinner and going for a walk around the block.  If you want to get an accountability buddy, here’s what to know.  I’m ready to be accountable Newsletter continues after sponsor message What kinds of goals should I set with my accountability partner?  Before you set out to find a buddy, think about a project you need help getting done. Maybe you want to get a new job or start that business or learn how to paint, maybe you want to cook more or do those exercises your physical therapist gave you. To find the right partner, think broadly.   The person should have a shared desire to accomplish their own goals and be willing "to check on you and follow your progress," says Ayelet Fishbach, a professor of behavioral science and marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Your partner does not have to be someone you already know. Ask around about an existing group that aligns with your interests. "In a sense, a book club is an accountability group" because it helps you stay committed to reading, says Cynthia Pong, founder and CEO of the career coaching firm Embrace Change. Pick a structure that works for you.  There's really no one recipe that fits all," says Fishbach. It's up to you and your partner to decide how often to meet, where to meet and what to talk about. Shaffer’s accountability buddy is also a writer and they share weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly goals with each other to stay on task.  Francisco Ramirez, who lives in New York, joined forces with an accountability partner to tackle everyday tasks: going for walks, cooking healthy meals and getting out of bed on time. Ramirez and his partner update a spreadsheet to keep track of their progress. It includes questions like, "How did I do? What worked? What didn't work?" It’s OK if you aren’t meeting all your goals together — check in and reassess. Do you need to change the time? Create smaller goals? Find a different accountability partner? Adjust as you go.  Help me achieve my goals More from Life Kit on getting stuff done Becky Harlan/NPR How to start a new habit: Think small. That's the counterintuitive idea in BJ Fogg's book, Tiny Habits. Fogg explains that making small behavior changes requires just a little motivation and lots of celebrating — and can lead to big change. Read the story here How to set “SMART” goals. Managing time is the key to success. Learning  to organize our time around our goals may mean saying 'no' to activities that don't align. Read the story here.  A behavioral scientist's advice for changing your life. When's the best time to start a new habit? What makes some stick while others fall by the wayside? Behavioral scientist Katy Milkman's book, How to Change, breaks down the research about how to leverage human nature instead of working against it to achieve your goals. Read the story here Tips for resetting (and recommitting) to your New Year’s resolutions. It's almost February, which means some of those New Year's resolutions might have fallen off. Here are some tips for giving your goals a reset. Listen to the story here. Support our work & listen sponsor-free Support public media while getting expert advice on health, finance, relationships and more with Life Kit+. You'll get sponsor-free listening and even some specially curated playlists of episodes by theme (Master your budget, Organize your life, Move your body, and more).   Check out all the NPR+ benefits available at plus.npr.org. Explore Life Kit+ We asked, you answered: What do you cook when you don’t feel like cooking? Some nights, a charcuterie board will do for dinner. Illustration by Mariá Toro, excerpted from You Gotta Eat by Margaret Eby (Quirk Books, 2024) That’s what we asked our readers last week in our story about how to make cooking less of a chore. Here are some of the easy, low-stakes meals you can prep when the thought of following a recipe sounds tiring.  Responses have been edited for length and clarity.  🥪 Grill a sandwich I love to bust out my panini maker! It works great for regular paninis but also for Reubens or grilled cheese. Add a cup of soup and salad and we are ready to go. —Amy Carroll  📋 Make a list of your easiest recipes  I keep a list of easy meals for days I don’t feel like cooking. Here are two of my favorites: Frozen dumplings with sour cream. Boil the dumplings, then fry them in one  to two  tablespoons of butter. Add garlic and pepper to sour cream for dipping. Tuna sandwich. Spread canned tuna on white bread. —Timo Triisa  👐 Try ‘hands-off cooking’  I use my pressure cooker or slow cooker to cook vegan bean soups and dals. I am gone five days a week for 13 to14 hours, so hands off cooking works best for me. —Sunshine Perlis 🍲 Make a huge batch of food and freeze the leftovers I eat leftovers! Whenever I cook, I make a HUGE batch and freeze vacuum-sealed meal-sized portions for home-cooked meals that just need to be thawed and heated. —Lynn Newdome 🌯 Make a simple meal that even picky eaters will like  A multigeneration standby in my single-parent household: bean and cheese burrito. It's cheap, filling, healthy and even the pickiest kid would eat it. I raised a child on this, and they went on to become a library scientist with a master’s degree! I'm sure this was the defining ingredient in our success. —Nancy Kowalski This week on Life Kit Malaka Gharib/NPR 'Ugh. Do I have to?' Honest questions (and answers!) about cardio, illustrated. If you're in the camp of folks who are dragging their feet to start working out again, this comic is for you. Read the comic here.  How to get into credit card points. Credit card rewards programs can offer big perks like airline miles and hotel upgrades. Finance journalist Katherine Fan explains how to choose the right card and what to know before signing up. Read the story here.  How to improve your posture. Posture doesn't mean standing up straight or gliding across a room with a book on your head. This episode, a physical therapist and a biomechanist break down the meaning of healthy posture and how you can nurture it. Listen to the episode here. 4 habits of highly effective communicators. Called 'supercommunicators,' these people have the exceptional ability of creating authentic connections with others — just by listening and talking. Read the story here.  Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: LifeKit@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Life Kit emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy