Goal Apps: Communication

This aspect is probably the simplest part of goal apps on the iPad, but one of the most difficult parts of goal achievement generally. The ending to President Monson's quote from my last post is this:

"when performance is measured and reported back the rate of improvement accelerates" 

This probably makes sense to you, you are much more likely to exercise if you know you are going to have to tell your friend how much you exercised. This is in fact one of the concepts that every 12 step program in the world is based on, and it has proved very successful for those who do it.

So here is where we are at in using iPads to set goals:

1. Write down goals and details
2. Track progress on goals
3. Report that progress back

In order to do this you will need an accountability partner. There are three qualifications I think you should look for in an accountability partner:

1. Someone you can help with their goals
2. Someone you have great respect for their opinion
3. Someone who loves you enough to be brutally honest

Number 1 is important because this is a partnership, you should both be in it together. You may have another person that you report back to like a mentor or a coach who is not sharing their goals with you. That is a good thing, but you should also have an accountability partner.


The nice thing about keep track of your goals on an iPad (or iPhone/iPod) is that you already have the communication right there. All you need to do is decided how best to communicate it. Some tracking apps of communication built directly into them through the share button (arrow). This is particularly useful if you want to share your progress with the world because it normally links you directly into Facebook and Twitter, for more private sharing it will also give you access to the mail and messages apps.

Essentially any communication app will do that lets you tell your accountability partner what you have accomplished: Here's a list of some useful ones:

Messages: this is just sending an iMessage to your accountability partner letting them know how you are doing. If they aren't using and iDevices you won't be able to use this option but there is a whole slew of other messaging apps (such as Facebook Messenger) that you could use.









Mail or another email app like Gmail or Mailbox can be very helpful in sending detailed information about your goal, this is especially useful if you can access it from the tracking or accomplishing app and send a report directly.








Facetime or Skype: at regular intervals you should have face to face contact with your accountability partner. This gives you both a chance to report to each other. If you can't actually get together a Facetime or Skype call will be helpful.








The important thing is that you regularly report your progress or lack there of. If you are doing goals on an iPad this does not really require anything beyond the stock apps that come with it, unless you want it to.

If you find this post helpful you can or if you think it can help others you can Tweet it to share.

To give you a simple way to remember what happened in this blog I've created what I call a summarygram of it.


Please share your thoughts on communicating your goals in the comments below.

That's all for now, and remember, live better.