# spearfish4400 Beeminder Journal

**URL:** <https://forum.beeminder.com/t/spearfish4400-beeminder-journal/11793>\
**Category:** Life\
**Created:** [July 8, 2024, 2:53pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/spearfish4400-beeminder-journal/11793 "2024-07-08T14:53:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![spearfish4400](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@spearfish4400](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/spearfish4400)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 2:53pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/spearfish4400-beeminder-journal/11793/1 "2024-07-08T14:53:11Z")

</div>

Hello, I am new to Beeminder. I am starting a journal for extra accountability with my goals.

# School Related Goals

- [essence of calculus](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/essence-of-calculus) @ 60 minutes a week
- [professor leonard’s calculus 1 series](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/prof-leonard-calc-1) @ 180 minutes a week
- [calculus practice](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/calculus-practice) @ 45 minutes a week
  - This is working through Calculus problems for instance problems on Khan Academy to accompany the lectures I watch.

- [calculus bootcamp](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/calculus-bootcamp)@ 180 minutes a week
  - This is a bootcamp my school offers that is a refresher on pre-requisite skills you need for Calculus I.

These goals are all important since I will be resuming school on August 15th with one of my classes being Calculus II.

# Daily Goals

- [drink water](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/drink-water) drink 96 fluid ounces of water
- [limit youtube to one hour or less](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/limit-youtube)
  - This is a simple yes or no (1 or 0) goal
  - Once I get to Akrasia horizon (July 14th) I will increase this goal to one hour and 10 minutes (the extra 10 minutes is for catching up on news). Although, I can change this at any time since I can edit the y-axis label or goal description. I will try to be honest with myself maintain the goal until the Akrasia horizon.
  - Another change I am making is changing the goal to 6 days out of the week instead of daily.

- [gratitude and accomplishment journal](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/gratitude-accomplish)
  - Yes or no (1 or 0) goal

- [shut down electronics by 9:15pm](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/shutdown-electronics)
  - Yes or no (1 or 0) goal

- [wake up at 7:00am](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/wake-up-on-time)
  - Yes or no (1 or 0) goal
  - Once I get Akrasia horizon (July 14th) I will change this goal to “wake up at 6:30am” or “wake up at 6:00am.” I am leaning more towards “wake up at 6:00am.” Although, I can edit the y-axis label and goal description anytime…I will try to be honest and I will not change the wake up goal until July 14th.

- [important task first thing in morning](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/morning-task)
  - Yes or no (1 or 0) goal
  - My important task currently is Calculus.
  - I am having an issue where I begin my day with YouTube. I created this goal with the hope of starting my morning productively instead.

# Exercise

- [AX-1](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/ax-1) AX-1 is a workout program I got a couple of years ago that I have not finished. I want to finally finish it!
  - Complete 5 exercises a week

- [Jogging](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/jogging)
  - Minimum of 60 minutes a week but ideally 90 minutes a week.

- [Pull-up sets](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/pull-up-sets)
  - I suck at pull-ups and want to get better at them.
  - To start I have the goal of 4 sets a week. Next week, it will increase to 8 sets a week.

# Programming/Computer Science

- [teach yourself CS](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/teach-yourself-cs) is a self-taught computer science curriculum. I have a goal to try to log in 200 hours in one year.
- [cs61a](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/cs61a) is part of the teach yourself CS curriculum. I plan on logging 4 hours a week.
- [cs-primer](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/cs-primer) This is a collection of CS related courses with a monthly subscription. The courses have an emphasis on learning via practice over lecture. I will complete the two courses I have started then I will probably cancel my subscription and look for free alternatives for CS/programming practice. The goal is two complete 3 problems a week (one module in a course).
- [game engine](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/game-engine) I currently have multiple components planned for my simple 2D pygame engine. I am currently working on an animation system. I need to write up the pseudocode at the moment. I am planning to spend 4 hours a week on this project.
  - I am planning on working animation component of game engine then archiving this goal to work on building a home server.

# Drawing

- I have always been off and on with drawing so I am hoping to be more consistent.
- [NMA](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/nma) this is a drawing school with a variety of online courses. I have been enjoying going through the courses. I currently have the goal set to go through NMA courses for 3 hours a week.
- [Drawing exercises](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/drawing-exercises) @ 50 minutes a week

# Misc. Goals

- [Language Transfer Italian](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/language-transfer) Language Transfer is channel on YouTube who has a playlist for Italian. I want to make it a goal to go through the entire playlist. I planning on investing 50 minutes a week on this goal.

# Final Notes

- I tend to be someone who adds one to many goals so I am hoping the monetary punishment of beeminder helps keep me on track and prevents me from putting too much on my plate.
- Finally, I have beeminder for this weekly journal as well: [beeminder accountability journal](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/journaling)
- I am excited to use beeminder and I will probably write in the gratitude journaling and new months resolution thread.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![spearfish4400](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@spearfish4400](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/spearfish4400)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 12:27pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/spearfish4400-beeminder-journal/11793/2 "2024-07-24T12:27:58Z")

</div>

# Ground Rules

- Setting up a weekly budget of $20 as Honey. If I exceed my Honey amount then I need to descale my goals. Ideally, I should be keeping up with my goals so that I am not charged.
- If three or more days in the week I am working late to keep up with my beeminder goals then I will descale or archive my goals.
- Most of my goals have pledge caps of $5. Although, I will be transitioning all my goals to a $5 pledge cap. This will be less damaging if I miss multiple goals in a day.

# Reflection

- This week, I put $20 into my Honey balance. I currently have $5 left.
- I struggle with [waking up on time](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/wake-up-on-time). I initially tried 7:00am to 6:00am although I derailed. When I transitioned to 6:30am, I was able to wake up at this time consistently. This week I tried waking up again at 6:00am although I have been derailing. My plan will be to gradually move wake up time earlier by 15 minutes every three days. I will also be transitioning [shut off electronics](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/shutdown-electronics) earlier by 15 minutes - I was not doing this before.

# Ratchet Goals

- Every Sunday I will ratchet these goals so that they have two safe days:
  - [Language Transfer](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/language-transfer)
  - [Calculus Practice](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/calculus-practice)
  - [Math Experiments](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/math-experiments)
  - [Essence of Calculus](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/essence-of-calculus)
  - [Professor Leonard Calculus I](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/prof-leonard-calc-1)
  - [Beeminder Scheduling App](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/beeminder-sched-app)
  - [Develop Portfolio](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/develop-portfolio)

- I begin school on August 15th so working on the Calculus goals is urgent.
- I was initially thinking of adding my [NMA](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/nma) drawing goal as I have been exceeding the red line. Although, I have decided against it. I want to keep drawing as a stress-free activity although I may adjust the commitment dial.

# Changes Since Last Post:

- I deleted [calculus-bootcamp](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/calculus-bootcamp) and decided to dedicate more time into Professor Leonard Calculus, Calculus Practice, and Essence of Calculus.
- I archived [jogging](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/jogging) in the future I will add a more generic cardio goal. This is because AX-1 includes conditioning days that still involve cardio that is not jogging.
- 7/24/2024
  - **Change** [important-task-first-thing-in-morning](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/morning-task)
    - 7:00AM Start Drawing or Journaling
      - Was just drawing

  - **Add** [vacuum-home](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/vacuum-home)
  - **Add** [fold clothes](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/fold-clothes)

- 7/23/2024
  - **Archive** [game-engine](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/game-engine)
    - I will return to this goal. I have another project currently that is more pressing.

  - **Delete** exercise at 9:30am goal
    - I found this goal a bit redundant and stressful.

- 7/22/2024
  - **Change** [calculus-practice](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/calculus-practice)
    - Time spent on practice problems in Paul Online Math Notes and Khan Academy
    - 45 minutes a week → 90 minutes a week

  - **Add** [math experiments](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/math-experiments)
    - Time spent answering questions that arise when watching lectures or testing scenarios that may arise when watching lectures
    - 60 minutes a week

  - These changes were made because I felt my Calculus Practice was going into testing scenarios that I thought of during the lectures or trying to work out questions I had.

- 7/20/2024
  - Change [cs-primer](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/cs-primer)
    - 3 questions a week → 240 minutes a week (4 hours)

- 7/18/2024
  - **Change** [prof-leonard-calc](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/prof-leonard-calc-1)
    - 300 minutes a week → 480 minutes a week

  - **Change** [essence of calculus](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/essence-of-calculus)
    - 60 minutes a week → 120 minutes a week

  - **Add** [essence of-linear-algebra](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/essence-of-algebra) for 60 minutes a week
  - **Add** [professor-leonard-precalc](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/prof-leonard-precalc) for 120 minutes a week
  - **Change** [cs61a](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/cs61a)
    - 240 minutes a week → 360 minutes a week

  - **Change** [develop portfolio](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/develop-portfolio)
    - 45 minutes a week → 90 minutes a week

  - **Add** exercise at 9:30am goal (yes or no)
  - **Add** [git-commit-notes](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/git-commit-notes) once a week
  - **Add** [movie-video-game-app](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/movie-video-game-app) 240 minutes a week
  - **Add** [beeminder-app](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/beeminder-sched-app) 120 minutes a week

## Ideas Moving Forward

- In my next post, I would like to include more derailments and troubleshoot ways I can prevent derailments in the future.
- I may add a goal where if I exceed Honey budget or work late on three days then I would derail if I increase the commit dial on one of my goals or I add additional goals.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![spearfish4400](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@spearfish4400](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/spearfish4400)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/spearfish4400-beeminder-journal/11793/3 "2024-08-01T12:42:10Z")

</div>

# Ground Rules

- I am removing the ratchet goals from my prior log. I initially did not not understand the commitment dial. I had my ratchet goals set to conservative values and I was accumulating an excess amount of safe days. I used the graph editor to adjust my commitments accordingly. At the moment, I feel like I am accumulating a good balance of safe days.
- My new post-derailment amount is 2 days (was initially 0).
- I still have the weekly budget of $20 for my goals. I have decided that I must descale or remove goals IF I spend the entirety of the budget NOT exceed it (this is a change from my last post). I can not add any goals a week after I spent entirety of my budget with the exception to urgent goals. For instance, I start school August 15th and I need to get school supplies then I would add a school supplies goal. The reason for this rule is to prevent overscheduling as a result these goals will fall outside of my budget:
  - [drink-water](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/drink-water)
  - [gratitude-journaling](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/gratitude-accomplish)
  - [shutdown-electronics](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/shutdown-electronics)
  - [limit-youtube](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/limit-youtube)
  - [wake-up-on-time](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/wake-up-on-time) (being archived)

- If three or more days in the week I am working late to keep up with my beeminder goals then I will descale or archive my goals.

# Changes

- I also archived calculus-practice - it just entered my archive today. I wanted it to be more specific so I replaced it with [Paul’s Online Math Notes Calculus 1](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/pomn-calc-1)which is a 4 hours a week goal.
- 7/31/2024
  - Add [“push-up”](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/push-up-exercise) goal
    - 3 times a week
    - I added this goal since I consider it urgent. Every month [ax-1](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/ax-1) ends with a challenge. The current month I am on involves a challenge with a lot of pushups. I suck at pushups so I want to practice and hopefully be able to pass the challenge.

- 7/30/2024
  - Archive [“wake-up-on-time”](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/wake-up-on-time)
    - I will instead focus on [“shutdown-electronics”](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/shutdown-electronics) and getting to bed at the correct time.

- 7/28/2024
  - Archive “movie-videogame-app”
  - Archive “beeminder-sched-app”
  - Change [“prof-leonard-calculus-1”](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/prof-leonard-calc-1)
    - 8 hours a week → 5 hours a week
      - (8 hours a week was not applying yet since I did not understand the commitment dial)

    - This will change to 2 hours a week starting August 12th (week I start school).

- 7/25/2024
  - Archive “cs-primer”
  - Archive “prof-leonard-precalc”
  - Archive “essence-of-algebra”
  - Change/Mistake “movie-videogame-app”
    - 7 minutes a week → 240 minutes a week (I entered my commitment amount incorrectly at start up)

  - Change [“shutdown-electronics”](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/shutdown-electronics)
    - “9:15pm devices shut off” → “9:30pm devices shut off”

- 7/24/2024
  - Change [“morning task”](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/morning-task)
    - “7:00AM Start Drawing” → “7:00AM Start Drawing or Journaling”

# Archived Goals I Would Like to Resume at a Later Date

- CS Primer
- Beeminder Scheduling App
- Movie & Video Game App

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![spearfish4400](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@spearfish4400](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/spearfish4400)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/spearfish4400-beeminder-journal/11793/4 "2024-08-11T19:03:50Z")

</div>

# Transitioning my goals to paper

I have decided to do a major rehaul of my goals. Most of my goals will be tracked manually on paper. Some of these goals will have a due dates while others will be daily. Instead of paying beeminder I will be putting the money into a savings account. All expenses from beeminder/paper goals are taken from my free spending budget (this is meant for fun expenses such video games or movies). When I miss a goal I need to pay $5 for each missed goal (daily goals not completed or goals not completed by due date) OR if it is cheaper I can pay the penalty for derailing on “[complete goals](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/all-goals-complete).” [complete goals](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/all-goals-complete) is currently set to $0 but has a pledge cap of $90. I can only decrease the current pledge amount at the end of the month. I will use beeminder for goals that are difficult (or tedious to track), for instance goals or tasks that are not weekly or daily.

- QUICK EDIT: I have been enjoying to use beeminder. I am only making these edits because I want better flexibility with weekly goals. And, at the moment, I feel like I should start putting some money towards savings and this feel like a productive way of doing so.

## Due Dates for Goals

- The following goals are due August 18th:

- The following goals are due August 21st (7 days to complete goals w/ Thursday to Saturday excluded):

- My next beeminder journal entry is due on August 22nd.

## Ground Rules

- Changes to post-derailment amount: My default post-derailment amount is 2 days. These goals have post-derailment of 0:
  - [drink-water](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/drink-water)
  - [check goals](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/check-goals)
  - [complete goals](https://www.beeminder.com/spearfish4400/all-goals-complete)

- Changes to descaling or removing goals or adding goals: If I miss five goals that are due on same day THEN I need to descale or remove goals. For instance, if I miss 5 of the goals that are due on August 21st OR if I miss 5 of goals that are due on August 18th. I also can not add new goals when when I schedule my next set of goals unless they are urgent.
- ~~If three or more days in the week I am working late to keep up with my beeminder goals then I will descale or archive my goals.~~
  - I added movie or video essays 4 hours a week and video games 2 hours a week to ensure I am getting enough freetime throughout the week.

- Saturday is an off-day
- Friday is an off-day IF I have an outing with family or friends OTHERWISE treat this as a working day.

# Upcoming Challenges

- I have been searching for a job and recently got accepted to be a temporary research intern at my school. I am also starting school next Thursday. I expect to have some issues keeping up with my goals during this transition time. I began job onboarding this week and that has already taken up a lot of time. Next week, I also anticipate to begin binging Professor Leonard Calculus 1 series to try to get as much prep for classes which may cause some neglect to my other goals.

# History Log

- 8/9/2024

- 8/3/2024

# Archived Goals I Would Like to Resume at a Later Date

- CS Primer
- Beeminder Scheduling App
- Movie & Video Game App
- Math Experiments - I may add this again once I go through and take notes on all videos in Professor Leonard’s Calculus I series. This will allow me to go back through scenarios I wanted to test or work through questions that arise during lectures.