# Preventing burnout by creating goals using the want-can-will test

**URL:** <https://forum.beeminder.com/t/preventing-burnout-by-creating-goals-using-the-want-can-will-test/490>\
**Category:** Akrasia\
**Created:** [February 8, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/preventing-burnout-by-creating-goals-using-the-want-can-will-test/490 "2015-02-08T20:14:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**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:** [February 8, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/preventing-burnout-by-creating-goals-using-the-want-can-will-test/490/1 "2015-02-08T20:14:50Z")

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We’ve made this point before but it’s kind of spread out in a couple blog posts ([Beating Beeminder Burnout](http://blog.beeminder.com/burnout/ "See also the linked articles from Inconsistent Universe about beeminding mental illness, akrasia and anxiety, etc") and [The Want-Can-Will Test for Akrasia](http://blog.beeminder.com/wantcanwill/ "This post is so old now, from October 2011, right after we publicly launched!")) and @mel recently made it particularly well in a support email:

When first creating a goal, pick an amount you absolutely know you can and want to handle, an amount that would be ridiculous not to accomplish. Some of us are over-optimistic and may find that that ridiculously bare minimum is actually hard. If not, [dial](http://blog.beeminder.com/glossary#dial "Glossary entry for the road dial, the three fields under you graph that you use to change the steepness of the yellow brick road") up the steepness later.

As Melanie put it, “even though I should be and want to be doing more, I don’t hesitate to keep a goal at a rate that’s less than ideal if it means I keep going (and keep tracking) vs giving up.”