# Optimal Number of Goals **URL:** \ **Category:** Akrasia\ **Created:** [June 21, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885 "2015-06-21T20:29:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![thephackt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@thephackt](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/thephackt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885/1 "2015-06-21T20:29:23Z")
I am curious if there is an optimal number (or range of numbers) of goals to have? I’m considering making more but I don’t want to get overwhelmed. Thoughts? Observations? ---
**Author:** ![byorgey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/byorgey/32/70_2.png) [@byorgey](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/byorgey)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885/2 "2015-06-21T21:10:44Z")
I think that depends entirely on things like your personality, what kind of goals you have, what your life and schedule are like, etc. Also, in my experience, becoming overwhelmed has a lot less to do with the absolute number of goals than it does with the way in which you add them. I suggest adding just one goal at a time. Write down all the goals you think you might want to add, and pick the most important. Add it (with a conservative rate) and try it for a week to see how it goes. Then you can think about also adding another goal, and so on. I wouldn’t try to add more than one goal per week, to give yourself time to discover what is or isn’t actually realistic, and to figure out how to adjust your life to accommodate the new goals. ---
**Author:** ![drtall](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/drtall/32/1341_2.png) [@drtall](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/drtall)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885/3 "2015-06-21T23:19:16Z")
+1 to everything @byorgey said. I burned myself out on Beeminder by creating a bazillion goals all at once. ---
**Author:** ![spookane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@spookane](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/spookane)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 4:19am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885/4 "2015-06-22T04:19:58Z")
I guess it depends on the person, what type of goals they have, and the time commitment each one takes. Me personally, I have created a 6 goal rule for myself. After that, I tend to lose focus and become more akratic. I don’t include “easy” goals in that count though, or goals that have been ingrained as habit thanks to Beeminder 😄 . Beeminder is really good at making you accomplish feats that would be impossible for the akratic version of yourself, which makes the concentrating/specializing even more satisfying. If I spread myself out, I either have to dial the road of other goals down accordingly. or more commonly, risk derailing more often. Motivation killer or lost money. That’s my personal preference though; other people’s brains might function differently. 😅 Also, a relavent blog post: [http://blog.beeminder.com/burnout/](http://blog.beeminder.com/burnout/) ---
**Author:** ![scarabaea](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/scarabaea/32/5475_2.png) [@scarabaea](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/scarabaea)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 6:25am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885/5 "2015-06-22T06:25:59Z")
From several months of beeminding, I discovered I am okay with about 24 goals in the frontburner. Moreover, I try to keep the number of those due within a week (with days of week, not number of days written on the graph) within the amount of how many are visible on the page at once (15, in the case of my browser and my screen). However, I am looking forward to several goals ending in a week or so. That’ll be a relief. (And an opportunity to create new goals 🙂 ) But definitely these numbers are highly dependent on the person and on the goals. Most of my goals are things “easy to do but difficult to remember”, so checking them out is easy. Other ones are things I do anyway and just like to track the progress. And only few are things that I should work hard to keep up with the due amount suggested by beeminder, or have to plan something special because it’s the due date. ---
**Author:** ![philip](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/philip/32/1505_2.png) [@philip](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/philip)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885/6 "2015-06-22T12:09:18Z")
Another factor is the ease of updating; the more that you can automate, the more you can focus on the **doing** and not on the admin. I asked myself a similar question a couple of years ago, and [this blog post](http://blog.beeminder.com/philip/) was the result of my analysis and thinking. My current count is 29 on the front burner, 4 of which are beemergencies today. ---
**Author:** ![thephackt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@thephackt](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/thephackt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885/7 "2015-06-22T17:07:44Z")
@philip Really great blog post! ---
**Author:** ![tomjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tomjen](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/tomjen)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885/8 "2015-06-22T17:35:20Z")
I think maybe that depends more on the type of goals than the actual number. I have a scale goal, which literally requires me to do nothing more than stand on my wifi scale - the rest is automatic (there is not exactly a goal weight, I just need to stay on top of how much I do weight). Having tens of such goals a day is easy. However I also have a get 10k steps so many days a week goal - that could potentially take me more than an hour to get from nothing to 10k on an eep day. Too many of these goals and I will go crazy. ---
**Author:** ![chelsea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a3d4f5/32.png) [@chelsea](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/chelsea)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885/9 "2015-06-23T01:55:57Z")
and just to explicitly state the probably-obvious - whether you end up with 25 goals or 5 goals, don’t be afraid to dial roads down or even archive the less-important if things start feeling unmanageable! anecdote: i was pushing 30 a few months ago, and it was fine… then my life/work _seriously_ ramped up. now i’m down to ~15, ~10 of which need regular attention, and that’s okay - i had to prioritize to keep going. when (okay, if) seas are calmer, i can restart what i’ve put on hold for now. better to continue half my goals then burn out & give up on all of them 🙂 ---
**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:** [July 31, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/optimal-number-of-goals/885/10 "2015-07-31T18:57:23Z")
Love this thread! Here’s @nepomuk arguing for an answer of 9: > [@Nine Greens for Two Days Running!!!](http://forum.beeminder.com/t/nine-greens-for-two-days-running/929): > > Sorry for bragging, but I’m so happy about this. I started using Beeminder in 2012, but I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever gotten all my goals into the green for more than one day in a row. It’s so ridiculously motivating, I can’t even tell you. I’d go to almost any lengths to keep this beautiful matrix of green going. I’ve been having a really easy and relaxed summer, which helps. I’m currently working from home and have a lot of paid downtime at my job, which is amazi…