This accountability system is designed to facilitate and maintain comradery on any agreed upon topic chosen by 2 people. At it's core it is simple, only requiring 3 things to form an alliance with someone.
There are 2 ways to start an alliance, either by choosing a topic, then seeking out someone to ally with, or by choosing someone you already know, then figuring out a topic you both want to support in each other on a regular basis.
Here is more information about those 3 required aspects to an alliance:
A topic can be any subject, activity or interest as specific or as vague as you desire. You can start the process by first choosing a topic you want to improve on or enhance in your life. For example, you could choose a topic as broad as exercise, or as specific as tennis. Some other examples are: lucid dreaming, creative writing, drawing, music, diet, life purpose, and spirituality.
When you have chosen a topic it is recommended to write out your intention, motivation and goals around this topic. Writing 1 paragraph is enough to clarify to yourself and others why you want to be involved in that topic. It also helps you set your intention and desire to find someone to partner with on that topic.
Simply by setting intention to find someone who is interested in a particular topic can set things in motion. It is important to take action by actively being social and seeking out events and meetups that are related to your chosen topic with the goal of finding an ally.
You are not finding someone who is going to help you achieve your goal. Instead you are finding someone who is also interested in that topic, and also has their motivation to stay in communication on that topic. An ally has no expectation to help you, they are only agreeing to listen to you, and share in some form. An ally does not have any obligation to give you feedback, or contribute to one of your ideas in any way. They are on their own path. As allies you support each other by communicating what you have learned recently, and by listening to what the other ally has to share. It is not a collaboration, as much as it is an accountability system to keep you learning and growing on your chosen topic.
This step requires both allies to decide on how frequently to communicate, and in what form. For example every first friday of the month by phone. Or every Sunday by email. When choosing a style of communication, it's important to commit to communicating even if your ally is unavailable or does not respond. If you call your ally and they do not answer, you leave a voice message sharing about your experiences, and you have completed your obligation. Your goal is to communicate your process with them, and be open to listening to their process. You are not always going to be able to meet in person, or talk live, so rely on a chosen messaging system in case your ally is not available.
A good structure for communication on your chosen topic is to review what has happened since you last communicated, and declare what you plan to do next. This does not require any input or feedback from your ally but a 2 way conversation would be ideal. Keep the communication balanced by allowing your ally to share at least an equal amount of time you shared with them. If you try to talk too much without putting equal energy into listening, it may cause your ally to avoid communicating with you, which could lead to the end of the alliance.
The core of your alliance is in holding each other accountable for what you say, and to help each other to keep moving forward. Your ally is not there to do work for you, they are only there to listen. If they choose to give feedback or help in some way, this is a gift above and beyond what is expected of them. Likewise, you don’t have to help your ally in any way other than to listen to what they have to say and maintain a positive and enjoyable relationship. You get what you give.
Once you agree upon those 3 things with a partner, and maintain communication on the agreed upon frequency, then you in an alliance. It is highly recommended enter in the future dates that you will be communicating into a calendar with a reminder system, such as Google Calendar or a calendar app or alarm clock app on your phone. If you don’t communicate on the chosen frequency, then you must revise and or re-commit to the 3 points above, or the allies ends.
You can also choose to gamify your alliance by signing up for Habitica, and creating a party for your alliance. You can setup a reminder system in Habitica, and gain points for checking off tasks you create regarding your alliance.
You can use the paper version of collective allies to get started, and guide you through the process.