After a few weeks of tracking my goals with BeeMinder, I realized I needed to shift my focus in my sleeping goal. Otherwise, I have a goal in place that I hope will compel me to stamp out a long running bad habit of mine, a failure to complete projects I start.
Focusing on the Real Goal
One of the goals I set for myself for this experiment was to go to bed by 11 pm at least three nights per week. The pressure to get into bed would help me build the habit of getting to bed earlier, thus waking up earlier, my real goal.
After thinking about the goal further, I decided to focus on waking up instead. Changing the BeeMinder goal to wake up by 6:30 am will instead influence the real behavior I want to change. Now, not only is there pressure for me to get up when my alarm goes off, but I still need to get to bed earlier so waking up is easier!
Accountability can be used to influence either the desired outcome directly or the behaviors leading to that outcome. Different goals may need different approaches in accountability. In the case of my sleep schedule, even when going to bed earlier, I rarely woke up at the time I wanted. I realized that I needed pressure to get out of bed in the morning, not into bed at night.
Long Term Focus
Something I realized about myself in the course of writing this blog is that I am a serial starter. I find it easy to dive in and try out anything and everything. The first few weeks are often a blast; I learn a ton and make some things along the way. A problem I have is that I am a terrible finisher. I have countless started drafts, projects, and ideas that never developed into anything further.
While not every idea or project has a definite complete state, or is even something I’m interested in pursuing, I have many ideas that I do want to complete and put out for the world to see. My major problem is a failure to finish. Getting through The Dip, as Seth Godin would put it. The project rolls up to a point where the effort needed increases and the results aren’t as immediate. At this point, it becomes easier to start something new and begin the process all over again – feeling the rush of the first few insights gained that really develop a new understanding. The problem is, this cycle has left a lengthy backlog of shelved, half-completed projects that I really do want to share with others.
In an attempt to fight this problem, I have set the goal to release a completed project every month for the next year. Instead of a small amount, a dollar here or there, I’m putting $100 down for each missed opportunity.
What will come out of this, I don’t yet know. I have a growing backlog of story ideas, game concepts, computer programs, and more. My experience in game jams has taught me that a simple idea and a limited scope can lead to interesting outcomes. For those unfamiliar, game jams are events that take place both online and offline where the goal is to create a game in a set period of time. Some jams last as long as a weekend, a week, or even a month. Others really push creators by limiting the time to one hour. The concept is simple, make and finish something.
While I’ve long struggled to complete my projects, I hope a little more pressure and a set deadline of the last day of the month will help. With $1,200 on the line, I guess I should get started on this month’s project.
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Trying Out Before Buying In 