I’ve derailed a few times this week, nothing big, some if it is just raising the bar a bit.
But it’s funny how when I realize I’ve derailed sometimes without expecting it, sometimes I’m a little pissed (it feels like an exception because I could have done it but just forgot to do it), and I may even tweak some dials to weaken the sting
Then later that day or the next day I usually roll back most of the dial changes, because I already had it right, usually I either:
- just needed to tweak things a little – in those cases I’m paying $ to figure out how to make the system a little smoother, changes which are (A) finite and (B) very valuable
- or (more rarely) I really do need to do more and pay more attention to that goal – and in that case a small nudge is far better than feeling like my entire life is slipping out of control
If anything it’s kind of incredible how little $ we need to spend to accomplish such big behavioral changes. It feels like an cogntive optical illusion – just having an ever-present mini sword of Damocles is way more cost efficient than anything else I’ve tried (productivity coaches etc.), with far better results.
. I am having some problems with the first 7 days of getting my goals set up because I delete them every time when I derail. But as soon as I have a goal longer than 7 days beeminder will be perfect!