After years of trying out a variety of hobbies, habits, and routines, I am happy with many of the ones I’ve picked up along the way. The problem I’ve been facing recently has been maintaining consistency. Many of my habits have weakened over time. To rebuild them, I’ll be experimenting with the app BeeMinder.
Purpose – The Point
With many trials under my belt, I’ve found myself hanging onto just a few habits I’ve tried out. While some of these are still going strong, others have fallen into disarray. With recent travel especially, I found myself looking for a way to get back on track and stay there.
When thinking about what this trial would be, I didn’t want to start anything new. Instead, my focus would be better spent rebuilding the structure that was supposed to be in my daily life. As I wrote down ideas, the idea of trying out products, services, and software came up, and with that an accountability app called BeeMinder did as well. Using BeeMinder, I could focus on rebuilding my poor habits, while still experimenting with a system that may benefit me in the long-term.
Methodology – The Plan
For the duration of this trial, I’ll be sticking with the app BeeMinder. There are some other accountability options out there, but I’m most familiar with BeeMinder. Admittedly, there’s a steeper learning curve than I expected, so it may take some time until I get things set up exactly as I’d like. In the long run, I may look further into alternatives, but for now, my focus is getting started.
The core premise of BeeMinder is that you are charged money for not completing specified goals. There are a variety of options for how to set goals, from the frequency to the threshold to the way BeeMinder gets updates on progress. Having the external pressure of losing real cash for simply not doing what I want will, in theory, get me to better execute on those goals. Loss aversion can be a real motivator.
As of writing this post, I made two goals in BeeMinder:complete the blog post by Tuesday night and be in bed by 11 PM at least 3 nights per week. I wanted to start small and work up to other goals over time. I’m also looking to add an additional goal to help me stay on track with long- term projects. Something to the effect of a number of hours worked, pages written, or otherwise, depending on where I decide to put my focus for the next few months. Reviewing my annual goals, I imagine it will be something in writing.
Hypothesis – The Goal
Willpower is a fleeting resource that cannot always be relied on. Rather than assume I’ll be ready to make the right decisions when needed, using an accountability app should help push me in the right direction.
My goals from this experiment are to increase my compliance in long-term goals, increase the consistency in my sleep schedule, and to have my blog post drafts finished earlier in the week. A friend of mine offered to help with editing posts, and a few weeks now I’ve gotten them to her late in the week. Dropping them on her so late wasn’t fair. If she’s helping me out, I want to do right by her.
I hope not only to see progress for the specific goals above, but to continue using BeeMinder to keep me on track over time.
Trying Out Before Buying In 