Hi, and welcome the amazing beeminder community. You’re definitely in a weird place of the internet but in my experience people here are super helpful.
I can’t really help with your specific problem because I don’t have the skills, but I’ll tell you how I tackle this specific challenge as a freelancer (oversleeping, not starting to work).
- I created a mh_walks goal. To send +1, I have to scan a NFC tag outside my house. I need to walk 1,5 times every day (so 1 each day, and 1 more every other day).
- I created a “morning_walk” méta goal that uses the “cap1” aggregation method and has a deadline at 9am. If I don’t enter data on my mh_walks before 9am, it’ll automatically derail. (I sometimes have to ratchet it; it’s not super sturdy but I always respect it)
- When I’m home, I’ll usually get motivated to at least work on a side project because I had the time to think about it while walking. If not, I would create a new goal linked to Toggl Track
What happens is the following:
- 5am, take brain pills. I’ll usually fall asleep again, but if not, I enjoy programming on side-projects
- 8:45am, my alarm goes off. I either snooze it a bit or start preparing myself directly
- I pull random clothes in record time, and a coat
- I get out of my house
- I scan the NFC tag before 9am (phew!)
- I walk around my neighborhood for 10-15 minutes
- I get home. I’m usually at least energized enough to work on side projects. When I’m extra motivated, I work on client projects directly. I always swift to client projects in the beginning of the afternoon (I try to have 33% fun, 66% work or I burn out)
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hope that you have found something interesting. If you have freelancing tips, I’ll gladly take them since I’m new (1 year and a half) and I have been facing tons of challenge with motivation and work/life balance!