Accountability CareBear Style
Hello darlings!
Are you ready to destroy this week? I hope so! Let’s get to it!
Okay, by popular demand, another Buzzfeed Quiz! That’s fucking right! This one is about your accountability style and is just for Rebecca Kreitzer. So the rest of you, stop reading (jk jk – you can all do the quiz if you want).
The quiz is about what kind of accountability you need and want.
So: go here and figure out what kind of Care Bear you are!
A few pieces of information so we are all on the same page:
The Care Meter is a measure of how much give-a-shit that you have left in you at any given point in time.
Swear words violate Buzzfeed terms of use so just imagine there are lots of fucks and shits sprinkled throughout the quiz
Yes, those are actual bears in the photos! (copyright, ya know. Plus, bears are cool).
There are (at least) four kinds of Accountability Care Bears.
Cheer Bear: The Cheer Bear likes to win – like, a lot. Winning = meeting goals. Losing = not meeting goals, other people disappointing you, you causing the ‘team’ (i.e., your coauthors) to lose. Accountability revolves around setting clear, concise goals for yourself and then ticking those boxes every day! Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, semester, yearly, five year, 10 year, and career goals are all very appealing for you. Cheer Bear’s Care Meter is usually full.
The Cheer Bear tips:
You are very deadline oriented and will abide by deadlines so set deadlines.
But – the Cheer Bear may internalize failures if you don’t meet the deadlines, so be accurate.
Break big goals into smaller, manageable and concrete goals and go after them
Cheer bear is not good at letting other people down. Don’t overpromise to other people. You will feel bad!
Set reasonable and realistic goals. Like, really. Keep track of what works and what doesn’t and don’t do the shit that doesn’t work over and over again.
Work with people that can deliver to you. You may need to be brutal here: cut out bad coauthors and don’t let them back in!
Be flexible in your goals if you find you have overpromised (to yourself or others). Get a white board and use the eraser to reset your goals if needed
Set goals for your health and wellness so that you also prioritize those things!
Cheer Bear’s worst case scenario is a full week of a to-do list with nothing checked off on Friday afternoon
Grumpy Bear: Grumpy Bear hates people and wants to be left the F alone. They don’t like goals. They don’t want any of this SMART goals nonsense. Shhh. Give Grumpy a quiet office and let them work at their own pace on whatever they want! Leave them alone! Grumpy Bear’s Care Meter rarely has anything in it.
The tricks for Grumpy:
You are going to get done what you decide to get done any day, so goals are kind of irrelevant
You really don’t like having others judge you – this is a problem in academia where we are reliant on advisors, peers, reviewers, and external evaluators to progress. Get over that shit.
Set up your cave: Grumpy bears like to have a nice, quiet office where no one bothers them. Get a comfortable chair and put some art on the walls. Make an office at home. Go on solo writing retreats.
Grumpy bears are not particularly good coauthors, especially because you don’t tolerate tomfoolery. But if you are going to work with other people, find people you trust.
When working with others, explain that you will want to work on the whole document for a while without their interference. Warn your coauthors to not expect regular communication from you
Grumpy Bears do occasionally emerge from hibernation for conferences and meetings; make sure to schedule alone time during conferences so you don’t bellow at other people!
Grumpy Bear’s worst-case scenario is working with others on a project with high stakes and lots of deadlines
Love-a-lot Bear: The Love-a-lot Bear loves people and that is their secret weapon! Working with other people is where Love-a-lot succeeds. This Bear is good at setting and meeting goals as long as there is a social component to them. You are way better at producing work when coauthoring and around other people. Your Cheer Meter is always full when you are around other people.
Some tricks for Love-a-lot:
Find a team of people you trust (one, two, three – who knows) and work with them over and over again. Don’t mess with a good thing!
Don’t let people tell you that you have to do solo work beyond the bare minimum. If it makes you miserable, don’t fucking do it!
If you need to work on solo projects, a social setting might be the trick. Find a weekly writing group, an accountability partner, or an online message board to keep you on task
Working in public spaces might be very energizing to you as you get energy from being surrounded by all those people
Watch out for betrayal! Love-a-lot can care really deeply about their coauthors and when people lie to you about getting their shit done, you take it very personally!
Figure out how to make your goals work even when other people don’t do what they say – how can you put your stuff first?
The Love-a-Lot Bear’s worst-case scenario is working on a project all alone. Second worse: letting down her coauthors.
Funshine Bear: The Funshine Bear is pretty freaking good at getting shit done. Funshine likes working with other people and by themselves. Deadlines are important to you. the Funshine Bear can be overconfident and get stressed because they overpromise. They also expect the best of other people and so can get dragged down by coauthors who don’t do what they say. The Funshine’s Cheer Meter usually full.
Some tips for the Funshine Bear:
You should set ambitious deadlines for yourself – you will respond well to them
Semi-regular check-ins on your goals will prompt you to stay on track, but you don’t always need daily to-do lists.
Good goal setting will just make you more productive
Funshine bears like talking about their progress and goals, but watch out – this can come off as braggy!
When in a time bind, Funshine Bears will be best off by picking easy wins
Funshine bears don’t understand when other people act irrationally – keep in mind that everyone else has their own story!
The drawback of being competent is that other people want you to do everything – don’t say yes!
Don’t over promise to others. You might be tempted to submit five papers to a conference – don’t. You CAN do this, but you will be stressed and sad while you do it.
Check in regularly with coauthors to make sure that they are on the same page as you
Don’t expect your coauthors to be able to handle shit the way that you can.
Have patience with coauthors who don’t handle things as easily as you do.
Sunshine Bear's worst-case scenario? Being stuck on an important project with a lot of jerks who won't do their work.
So, what do you do with this information? Well, whatever the fuck you want. But really – think about how you might want to develop carve out some space in your life to set yourself up for success.
What kind am I? Let’s just say I’m atypical… (just kidding – I’m a Sunshine Bear)
XOXOXO
Mirya