Learn Programming with the Motivational Power of Accountability

Web development is not for the faint of heart. After all, a single computer science degree alone isn’t enough to sustain a coding career. Programming requires constant learning and practice. That’s why it can be tough for advanced web developers to learn a new library framework and for beginners just to get started.

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or totally new to programming, motivation lies at the center of our success in tech. And the simple trick to motivation is accountability.

Motivation & Accountability in Programming

We all have goals. And regardless of your overall productivity, sometimes we lose motivation. And that’s completely normal. Fortunately there’s an easy solution. Checking in regularly with an accountability partner or group increases the chances we’ll reach our goals.

Relying on our own internal motivation means we’re subject to the whims of our natural rhythm. If one day we feel we’d rather eat Ben & Jerry’s and watch Netflix than work on our personal development, that’s fine! The issue is when we start centering everyday around hedonism.

Peer pressure fuels our motivation and helps us learn best together. When we know we have to check in with each other, we tend to get more done. We want others to see how much we care about our own development. But without external support, it’s easier to default to ice cream and television.

That’s why joining an accountability group helps us stay motivated. And we designed BuildFaast cohorts with this idea in mind.

How Do BuildFaast Cohorts Promote Accountability?

Building relationships with other web developers is a great way to stay motivated with your learning. By leveraging your new network and relationships, you’ll be more likely to feel responsible for completing individual projects.

From the moment you join a BuildFaast cohort, you’ll feel a sense of responsibility to complete the project. After all, you and your fellow cohort members are on a shared mission. You owe it to each other to complete the tutorial and hold each other accountable.

Cohort members can also motivate each other to sign up to new, related cohorts. And if you feel particularly motivated, you can even suggest your own project or tutorial! That’s the accountability we’re talking about. Cohorts give us that extra push to reach our goals when things get difficult.

Add in the limited time factor and completing a new project becomes binary. It’s now or never. Either you do it or you don’t.

But if you’re up to the task… The time to start is now!

How to Bring Accountability to your BuildFaast Cohort

Each BuildFaast cohort acts as an accountability group, as we motivate each other to work towards a shared goal.

Set yourself up for accountability the first day in your cohort. In addition to a quick bio and past experiences, make sure to share the reason you signed up to the course. This goal is your main motivation, and the cohort might use it to motivate and hold you accountable throughout.

Whenever you make progress toward the share goal, make sure to let your cohort know. This will facilitate accountability and perhaps even a competitive spirit.

During weekly check-ins cohort members should also share their progress, accomplishments and key new learnings from the past week.

The cohort runs for a limited amount of time, and if you don’t follow through, it’s time wasted.

This is our time. Don’t let it go to waste.

Sign up to a BuildFaast cohort to practice web development with an accountability group today!