The secret to doing hard things and getting stuff done

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2025-01-16 00:00:09

Over the last year, NPR graphics reporter Daniel Wood — a busy dad of three — says he's been able to maintain "a workout cadence I've never, ever had before."

Wood and a few dads in his neighborhood in Cheverly, Md., wake up before their childcare morning duties to drink coffee and lift weights in one of the dad's garages.

Accountability buddies or groups can be powerful and effective in helping you complete tasks and reach your objectives, says Ayelet Fishbach, a professor of behavioral science and marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

We're social animals, says Fishbach. "We know that people work in groups. People have been working in groups from the beginning of time."

Research has shown that people accomplish more when they buddy up. A 2015 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that couples were more likely to make healthy behavioral changes, such as working out more or cutting back on smoking, if their partner adopted healthy changes too.

So if you've struggled to check boxes off your to-do list or achieve your goals, you might benefit from an accountability buddy or group. Here's what to know.

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