Thanks for the input, guys! Love hearing the different angles. 
av-updates
I do contracting for a single client on the side, and my email updates had been becoming less and less frequent. This goal will ensure I send an update at least once weekly. Pretty straight-forward. I think this will solve the issue.
Next Action: None.
banned-sites
This goal has been archived. It’s still early days without it, so we’ll see how things go.
I’m definitely going to keep this in mind. I’ve already purchased Focus, which is great because it has an API that can be scripted together with Beeminder’s API fairly easily. I’m not going to jump to that right away, as I’m interested in experimenting with how I can affect the issue indirectly.
Next Action: None.
bm-journal
I’m really enjoying the thought that publicly journaling is forcing me to put into my systems, not to mention the great feedback you guys have contributed! This goal looks to be a huge success.
Next Action: None.
commit-early
This goal compliments my work-commitments goal by requiring that I commit before 8pm at least four times a week. I may increase this commitment in the future, but it seems to be working fine as-is for the moment.
Next Action: None.
dishes
This goal is the first chore-specific goal to replace my previous help-michelle goal. Currently it’s a little lax at 3 / week.
Next Action: Increase to 4 / week.
frogs
This goal is fantastic, but I gave myself sooo much buffer when I created it. It’s time to retroratchet!
Next Action: Retroratchet.
games
This goal replaced my previous no-games goal.
Since switching to a do-less goal for computer games instead of an outright-ban, I’ve found that just the act of setting a timer before starting an akrasia-prone activity has a much larger effect than I had anticipated. I think it’s for a couple of reasons:
- When I spend half the night playing a computer game or watching YouTube, it’s because the motivation has shifted from feeling good (“YouTube is fun!”) to not feeling bad (“As soon as I stop watching YouTube I’m going to feel soooo guilty for wasting my time and sooo tired and I better just keep watching stupid videos”). Setting a timer for how long I’m going to spend addresses the guilt part of that, by explicitly giving me permission to do X for N minutes.
- Having a timer go off, signaling the end of my decided time, creates a natural break point which most compulsive-behavior-inducing activities lack, and it’s so liberating!
I like this idea! I’m a little unsure if the upkeep it creates would add much value beyond a standard do-less slope. I do think that this goal might lend itself to autoratcheting, since I don’t necessarily want a couple of weeks without computer games to warrant a 24-hour binge.
I could also try automating something with Focus, since it can block software as well as websites—say, only let me open my games if I’m in the green on these N goals.
Next Action: None.
read
This goal still feels too lax, but the increased slope only kicked in a few days ago, so I’ll give it a while longer before I decide to crank it up again.
Next Action: None.
screen-free-meals
This is a new goal I created to help me stay off my computer / phone while I’m eating. It may be a little lax, but I’m tentatively ok with that for now.
Next Action: None.
todo
I literally just created this goal, but I’m already pretty stoked about it.
The biggest problem I have with todo lists is how quickly they go stale. After ignoring the list for a day or two, it’s a little less relevant, a little less aligned with reality. This lack of relevance makes it more likely I’ll continue to ignore the list, which means it becomes more stale, and the cycle continues.
Enter Taskwarrior. Taskwarrior is a command line task manager which stores its data as JSON files in a user-configurable directory. I’ve committed this directory to a GitHub repository, and included a Taskwarrior hook script that attempts to pull from the remote and then commits and pushes any new changes back. What this results in is a dumb sync service AND a way of tracking any change (add, complete, modify) made to the list that’s accessible to Beeminder via the GitHub integration.
With a little help from @bee, I’ve set up this goal to require at least four changes of any kind to my Taskwarrior todo list per week. I’ll probably end up increasing this commitment later on, but I’m just happy to have it working at all at this point!
Yay for task lists that stay relevant!
Next Action: None.
walk
Forcing myself to get out of the house and take a walk (almost) every day has been a very good thing! I think this one is something I need to make working from home sustainable.
Next Action: None.