# beeminding a broken habit **URL:** \ **Category:** uncategorized\ **Created:** [August 12, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-a-broken-habit/1531 "2014-08-12T05:45:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chelsea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a3d4f5/32.png) [@chelsea](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/chelsea)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-a-broken-habit/1531/1 "2014-08-12T05:45:36Z")
I’ve been using and following Beeminder for about 4 months and just now figured out what Akratics Anonymous is… anyway. I created a goal to break a habit, which I would now say is officially broken (haven’t done it in 2+ months, no particular desire to do it anymore). The “issue” is that I set the official “success date” for myself as November 1. Every day I’m entering a zero data point, which is good and successful, but it doesn’t feel like a big success the way it used to. Has anybody else gone through this and felt strongly about keeping up with the beeminding vs. shortening the term & focusing effort elsewhere? I kind of want to see the thing out, but it just feels like a silly formality at this point when I could create more useful goals to track. – You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Akratics Anonymous” group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![drmaciver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/drmaciver/32/80_2.png) [@drmaciver](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/drmaciver)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-a-broken-habit/1531/2 "2014-08-12T05:51:08Z")
You could turn off pessimistic presumptions (it’s in the “terrifyingly advanced” section of settings) so you don’t have to report zero days, but leave the goal active in case you resume? Makes it zero effort to maintain it until the deadline unless you relapse (in which case you should turn the pessimistic presumptions back on) On 12 August 2014 07:45, cm [cnmiller7@gmail.com](mailto:cnmiller7@gmail.com) wrote: > I’ve been using and following Beeminder for about 4 months and just now > figured out what Akratics Anonymous is… anyway. I created a goal to > break a habit, which I would now say is officially broken (haven’t done it > in 2+ months, no particular desire to do it anymore). The “issue” is that > I set the official “success date” for myself as November 1. Every day I’m > entering a zero data point, which is good and successful, but it doesn’t > feel like a big success the way it used to. > > Has anybody else gone through this and felt strongly about keeping up with > the beeminding vs. shortening the term & focusing effort elsewhere? I kind > of want to see the thing out, but it just feels like a silly formality at > this point when I could create more useful goals to track. > > – > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > “Akratics Anonymous” group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). – You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Akratics Anonymous” group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![amesha1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@amesha1](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/amesha1)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-a-broken-habit/1531/3 "2014-08-12T05:52:48Z")
If the goal isn’t serving you any more, just archive it. Or alternatively, with a do-less goal (as this seems to be), turn off pessimistic presumption and stop entering data, but know that you’ll have to enter a positive datapoint if you backslide before November 1. On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 8:45 AM, cm [cnmiller7@gmail.com](mailto:cnmiller7@gmail.com) wrote: > I’ve been using and following Beeminder for about 4 months and just now > figured out what Akratics Anonymous is… anyway. I created a goal to > break a habit, which I would now say is officially broken (haven’t done it > in 2+ months, no particular desire to do it anymore). The “issue” is that > I set the official “success date” for myself as November 1. Every day I’m > entering a zero data point, which is good and successful, but it doesn’t > feel like a big success the way it used to. > > Has anybody else gone through this and felt strongly about keeping up with > the beeminding vs. shortening the term & focusing effort elsewhere? I kind > of want to see the thing out, but it just feels like a silly formality at > this point when I could create more useful goals to track. > > – > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > “Akratics Anonymous” group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). – You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Akratics Anonymous” group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![dreev](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/dreev/32/4311_2.png) [@dreev](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/dreev)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 6:05am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-a-broken-habit/1531/4 "2014-08-12T06:05:08Z")
I agree with David and Adam (who apparently replied simultaneously; great minds, etc)! And the official line is that anything outside the akrasia horizon is totally fine to change your mind about. So go ahead and move up the goal date to a week from now! (That’s done with the road dial underneath the graph, just in case you weren’t sure. You didn’t know about Akratics Anonymous all this time, so… :)) PS: Thanks for mentioning how long it took you to learn about this forum. Great reminder that we need to tout it more (or its successor, in the form of a [Discourse.org](http://Discourse.org) forum which we have all the technical parts ready for and just need to do some housekeeping before inviting everyone in (also some strategizing on how to smoothly move everyone from here to there!)). On Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 10:45 PM, cm [cnmiller7@gmail.com](mailto:cnmiller7@gmail.com) wrote: > I’ve been using and following Beeminder for about 4 months and just now > figured out what Akratics Anonymous is… anyway. I created a goal to break > a habit, which I would now say is officially broken (haven’t done it in 2+ > months, no particular desire to do it anymore). The “issue” is that I set > the official “success date” for myself as November 1. Every day I’m > entering a zero data point, which is good and successful, but it doesn’t > feel like a big success the way it used to. > > Has anybody else gone through this and felt strongly about keeping up with > the beeminding vs. shortening the term & focusing effort elsewhere? I kind > of want to see the thing out, but it just feels like a silly formality at > this point when I could create more useful goals to track. > > – > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > “Akratics Anonymous” group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). – [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves” Goal tracking + Commitment contracts == [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com) ---
**Author:** ![aamaras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@aamaras](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/aamaras)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-a-broken-habit/1531/5 "2014-08-14T14:24:28Z")
Off topic but: I for one will spend a lot more time on here\* when you switch to Discourse, so let’s go! Google groups must be the least-friendly “community” system going. - not here. On Tuesday, August 12, 2014 8:05:08 AM UTC+2, Daniel Reeves wrote: > I agree with David and Adam (who apparently replied simultaneously; > great minds, etc)! And the official line is that anything outside the > akrasia horizon is totally fine to change your mind about. So go ahead > and move up the goal date to a week from now! (That’s done with the > road dial underneath the graph, just in case you weren’t sure. You > didn’t know about Akratics Anonymous all this time, so… :)) > > PS: Thanks for mentioning how long it took you to learn about this > forum. Great reminder that we need to tout it more (or its successor, > in the form of a [Discourse.org](http://Discourse.org) forum which we have all the technical > parts ready for and just need to do some housekeeping before inviting > everyone in (also some strategizing on how to smoothly move everyone > from here to there!)). > > On Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 10:45 PM, cm \<[cnmi...@gmail.com](mailto:cnmi...@gmail.com) \\> > wrote: > > > I’ve been using and following Beeminder for about 4 months and just now > > figured out what Akratics Anonymous is… anyway. I created a goal to > > break > > a habit, which I would now say is officially broken (haven’t done it in > > 2+ > > months, no particular desire to do it anymore). The “issue” is that I > > set > > the official “success date” for myself as November 1. Every day I’m > > entering a zero data point, which is good and successful, but it doesn’t > > feel like a big success the way it used to. > > > > Has anybody else gone through this and felt strongly about keeping up > > with > > the beeminding vs. shortening the term & focusing effort elsewhere? I > > kind > > of want to see the thing out, but it just feels like a silly formality > > at > > this point when I could create more useful goals to track. > > > > – > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > Groups > > “Akratics Anonymous” group. > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send > > an > > email to [akratics+u...@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+u...@googlegroups.com) \. > > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). > > – > [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves” > Goal tracking + Commitment contracts == [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com) – You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Akratics Anonymous” group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). ---
**Author:** ![chelsea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a3d4f5/32.png) [@chelsea](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/chelsea)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/beeminding-a-broken-habit/1531/6 "2014-08-18T20:12:02Z")
Belated thanks to everyone for their input! I ended up setting the goal to finish and will be extra-mindful about slipping back down the rabbit hole. As a bonus, this discussion prompted me to think about some of my other goals/future goals and whether they were truly valuable for me, or whether I just wanted to do what I told myself I would. Answer: not valuable, redefining. On Thursday, August 14, 2014 7:24:28 AM UTC-7, Aaron Maras wrote: > Off topic but: I for one will spend a lot more time on here\* when you > switch to Discourse, so let’s go! Google groups must be the least-friendly > “community” system going. > > - not here. > > On Tuesday, August 12, 2014 8:05:08 AM UTC+2, Daniel Reeves wrote: > > > I agree with David and Adam (who apparently replied simultaneously; > > great minds, etc)! And the official line is that anything outside the > > akrasia horizon is totally fine to change your mind about. So go ahead > > and move up the goal date to a week from now! (That’s done with the > > road dial underneath the graph, just in case you weren’t sure. You > > didn’t know about Akratics Anonymous all this time, so… :)) > > > > PS: Thanks for mentioning how long it took you to learn about this > > forum. Great reminder that we need to tout it more (or its successor, > > in the form of a [Discourse.org](http://Discourse.org) forum which we have all the technical > > parts ready for and just need to do some housekeeping before inviting > > everyone in (also some strategizing on how to smoothly move everyone > > from here to there!)). > > > > On Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 10:45 PM, cm [cnmi...@gmail.com](mailto:cnmi...@gmail.com) wrote: > > > > > I’ve been using and following Beeminder for about 4 months and just now > > > figured out what Akratics Anonymous is… anyway. I created a goal to > > > break > > > a habit, which I would now say is officially broken (haven’t done it in > > > 2+ > > > months, no particular desire to do it anymore). The “issue” is that I > > > set > > > the official “success date” for myself as November 1. Every day I’m > > > entering a zero data point, which is good and successful, but it > > > doesn’t > > > feel like a big success the way it used to. > > > > > > Has anybody else gone through this and felt strongly about keeping up > > > with > > > the beeminding vs. shortening the term & focusing effort elsewhere? I > > > kind > > > of want to see the thing out, but it just feels like a silly formality > > > at > > > this point when I could create more useful goals to track. > > > > > > – > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > Groups > > > “Akratics Anonymous” group. > > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send > > > an > > > email to [akratics+u...@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+u...@googlegroups.com). > > > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout). > > > > – > > [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves” > > Goal tracking + Commitment contracts == [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com) – You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Akratics Anonymous” group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:akratics+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/d/optout](https://groups.google.com/d/optout).