To Beemind or Not To Beemind Journal by experientiallearner

[experientiallearner]

I’ve been reading the journals here and the blog posts.

And I’ve also been hesitant in creating a journal, therefore, this journal.

I’ve been reading @byorgey 's posts on the Beeminder blog and his own blog.

Especially Beeminding All The Things | Beeminder Blog .

Which links to his own blog post Beeminding for fun and profit | blog :: Brent -> [String] .

On the 1st bullet point “Big projects”, he writes

It’s also a great way to get some cold, hard data on how much time I actually spend on various projects (you can start with a “flat” goal and just record data for a while if you don’t know what a reasonable rate for the goal is).

I’ve been wondering how to start with a “flat” goal and searched and found the FAQ entry faq – beeminder .

My current project is speeding up my slow mid-2013 MacBook Air by retyping the Take Control of Speeding Up Your Mac ebook on the Tana app as I verbalize what I’m typing, making notes, and applying it because I have brain fog.

How do I make the retyping of pages a “flat” goal?

Borrowing from the example in faq – beeminder of

-0.001 pounds per week for weight loss — essentially flat

, I entered “0.001/7” for 7 days, which equals “0.000142857142857 pages PER DAY”.

Is this correct?

Or is “0.001” for a “flat” goal good enough?

The “units” for this goal is “pages” for a total of 205 pages retyped.

My starting stake is $0 and my pledge cap is $0 until I have collected enough data.

So the goal tcosuym-pages – experientiallearner – beeminder says :

+1 due in

1d 8h 13m 09s

or pay $0*

I started entering the data for the days I’ve retyped pages.

When I entered "20 1 “finished page 5, started page 6 at 08:44” ", it turned into +1 due in

19 years

or pay $0* .

When I entered data for the rest, it turned into -11 due in

76 years

or pay $0*

And there’s an infinity sign now on the goal page.

And when I hover on the “due in”, it says “safe for 14001 days”.

How long should I collect data before I know what a reasonable rate for number of pages retyped, which also includes making notes and writing out tasks to do?

I just realized that what I’m doing is similar to Dr. Yorgey’s

Is there a paper I need to review by a certain date? I make a Beeminder goal for number of pages carefully read and commented on.

in Beeminding All The Things | Beeminder Blog .

[narthur]

You can make a flat goal this way:

• Open the new goal page
• Set the rate to something super low (maybe 0.01 or something)
• Set additional safety buffer to something more than a week (I usually do 30 days)
• Once the goal is created, go back and change the rate to 0

You need to add the additional safety buffer because changing your rate after a goal is created respects the akrasia horizon.

Related to all this: I think using something like the autodialer (disclosure: I built it inspired by @mary’s previous work) is perfect for situations like this where you’re not sure what the final rate should be. For example, this is how I make most of my new goals:

• Create a new flat goal, as detailed above.
• Modify the goal’s fineprint to set bounds around the resulting rate, such as #autodialMin=0.1 #autodialMax=5. That way the autodialer will never dial the goal to zero, and the rate will never go too high, either.
• Set autoratchet to 7. That way I can “lock in” rate changes by pushing my buffer above a week.

And that’s it. The autodialer is pretty conservative for goals younger than 30 days, so this recipe gets me plenty of time to see where I’m at organically. And then the autodialer begins slowly nudging my rate higher and higher over time.

[experientiallearner]

Hi @narthur , thanks for your suggestions.

Per your advise, I changed my safety buffer from 7 to 30 days, changed the rate from 0.00014 pages per day to 0 page per day.

And in the “Fine Print” section, is it supposed to look like:
Fine Print

#autodialMin=0.1
#autodialMax=5

?

I set autoratchet to 7.

Thanks for your input especially the autodialer. This is the first time I’m using more Beeminder features than usual.

[narthur]

Yup, that’s right! You could have left safety buffer at 7–that’s mostly preference. With 30, the autodialer won’t make any changes that take effect prior to 30 days from goal creation, since the autodialer only ever modifies the last segment of your goal matrix. Basically meaning the autodialer’s rate changes always go into effect after all other breaks or rate changes you already have scheduled in your goal.

[narthur]

Oh, and in case it wasn’t obvious, you’ll also need to visit the autodialer page and authenticate with your Beeminder account to give it access to your goals.

[experientiallearner]

I thought I enabled it yesterday, but pressed “enable” again.

So now it shows my goal under “Slug”:

Thank you.

[narthur]

Yeah, the enable button is kind of a hybrid enable / login button. So, for example, if you open the autodialer on a new device, it’ll ask you to “enable” again even though you’ve already enabled it just because you aren’t logged into the autodialer on that other device. At some point I should rework that to be less confusing.

[experientiallearner]

I finished 8 pages from last Sunday February 27.

I could’ve done more, but I jumped ahead to reading page 167 “Add RAM” and also some online articles because the author mentioned RAM.

I have a problem of jumping around and going down rabbit holes.

I get distracted easily so I bought the lifetime subscription to freedom.to which was more than half price.

I tried using it on the website, but didn’t realize I needed to download the actual app.

And I kept opening it, but it’s already opened. lol

I realized yesterday that if I were to go down this rabbit hole of learning freedom.to, it will deviate me from the one thing I should focus, which is this goal of speeding up my Mac.

I even searched online the meaning of “rabbit hole” Rabbit hole Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster lol.

I also realized today that I should IMMEDIATELY beemind my beeminder goals because I get a sense of accomplishment when I beemind and I get a sense of making progress.

I also like it when I see the graph get updated. Dopamine kick?

Also, I derailed on a private beeminder goal some time ago because I forgot to beemind it.

I didn’t want to make an excuse by telling customer support that I forgot, so I let it go.

Also, this private beeminder goal is very important to me, so acknowledging that I derailed by forgetting to beemind, even though I actually achieved it, affirms its importance.

I gotta go shovel the driveway now since we got hit with a snowstorm last Friday night here in Canada, so I’m going to update this journal entry later.

That reminds me… I should probably use @narthur taskratchet to shovel the snow next time.

Btw, here’s the Tiny Habits Recipe I’m thinking:
After I achieve my Beeminder goal, (prompt)
I will open my Beeminder iPhone app. (behaviour)
To wire the habit into my brain, I will immediately: say “Good for me!” (reward/celebration)

[experientiallearner]

I’m setting a new goal to finish this article writing home study course.

There are 7 parts with each accompanying text, audio, and assignment(s).

I’m thinking of ways to Beemind it:

1. The total number of pages is 179 which includes not only text, but images, therefore, odometer total being 179?

Or should I Beemind each of the 7 individual part’s text as its own individual Beeminder goal?

2. There are 7 accompanying audios to be listened to, therefore, whether each of the 7 audios are listened to?

Or minutes of audios listened?

3. There are 10 assignments, which are the most important, therefore, whether each of the 10 assignments are done?

First, the course creator said to give ourselves 12 weeks, so perhaps finish it with a deadline of 12 weeks from yesterday Thursday March 9, 2023?

But I’m actually off from my manual labour warehouse job work until I return on Tuesday March 21st, 2023, so I’m thinking of finishing these as early as in 10-11 days.

I signed up for Amazing Marvin, TaskRatchet, and BaaS.

I can Beemind minutes logged in the Noko Timer app.

[experientiallearner]

This is to remind myself to re-read Advent 2022: 19. Beeminding Actions versus Outcomes / Fractional Beeminding and apply it to my goal of finishing the article writing course.

[experientiallearner]

Today I was tempted to quit Beeminder because I wanted to get a certification/coaching and therefore, cut out expenses.

But I realized that Beeminder has been helpful to me in achieving process goals, which have become habits.

Danny’s email about What's the best way to go deeper down the Beeminder rabbit hole? | Manifold is making me think of going deeper down in Beeminder.

There’s this YouTube video I’ve been listening to by struthless The drawing advice that changed my life - YouTube which helped him start being a creator.

I resonate with this video because I’m all over the place… always starting and stopping a thing… then moving on to the next thing… or doing so many things at once.

It doesn’t help that I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD.

The main advice he got from Mark Shattner was “draw the exact same thing every single day” and “just try it for a year and then we’ll reassess”

So my goal is to apply Beeminder to make notes and write about the exact same topic X every single day.

How can I beemind making notes and writing about the exact same topic X every single day?

How do I beemind trying it for a year and then reassessing it?

Should I create a Nebulous goal? How To Beemind Nebulous Goals | Beeminder Blog

Mind you, I’ve been doing pomodoros of re-typing and making notes on a certain book since June 26th, but a lot of times I go on a rabbit hole and start making notes on different topics that I think are associated to topic X.

Thus, I want to do a fresh start of doing this experiment for 1 year.

[dreev]

@experientiallearner

The main advice he got from Mark Shattner was “draw the exact same thing every single day” and “just try it for a year and then we’ll reassess”

Fun fact, our now-16-year-old daughter has spent years gradually beeminding her way through drawing every single emoji

[experientiallearner]

This is to remind myself to apply Beeminding getting to coffee shop by certain time each day to being punctual especially at work.

[experientiallearner]

I need +0.2036 to get to the “1 total” which I’m not going to be able to meet by my deadline of Dec. 31, 2023: thcc – experientiallearner – beeminder

My goal progress is 0.7964 which is better than 0 when I started in 2023-07-31.

I achieved the most important goals of paying all 6 payments and getting certified.

Instead of completing the rest of the lessons, I focused on one of the training videos to the point of transcribing the material by hand on index cards.

Then I pivoted to another direction, planning of other courses, hence the derails.

I didn’t pledge any money because I was testing this Fractional Beeminding technique.

Overall, I am pleased with my results. Fractional Beeminding works.

[experientiallearner]

I’m going to start beeminding what I buy especially the courses I bought. Beemind What You Buy | Beeminder Blog](Beemind What You Buy | Beeminder Blog)

[experientiallearner]

Monday, December 30, 2024:

I’m using some steps in How to beemind nebulous projects like doing your taxes or fixing a neurosis especially because

@dreev

For best results, share your log/diary/document with a friend or friends or even publicly. (Adding supporters in Beeminder can help too.) That way you’ll be too ashamed to exploit the loophole of blathering on about what you might do without actually ever doing it.

I haven’t added supporters yet, but I’m being accountable to BAAS.

@dreev

Start by describing the problem and listing tasks

My problem is finishing beeminding applying “Cognitive Productivity with macOS” by Luc P. Beaudoin to “Cognitive Productivity with macOS” itself.

The end state is to have applied “Cognitive Productivity with macOS” to “Cognitive Productivity with macOS” itself in order to master it and apply the 7 Principles to other “sources”/“knowledge resources”, which are the terms Beaudoin uses to refer to information in different media. For example, ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts.

The reason why I want to master “Cognitive Productivity with macOS” is because I don’t want to remain a Jack of All Trades, Master of None. I don’t have an expertise that I and others could perceive as having.

An expertise I want to acquire is copywriting/marketing, more specifically, email copywriting, marketing.

For this reason, I enrolled in an expensive copywriting program that takes place in January 2025, which I’m going to apply Beemind What You Buy to.

Another reason I want to master Cognitive Productivity with macOS too is because I have ADHD and the ebook has principles and tips I’m hoping will help me manage it.

The ebook has a total of 241 pages, which is why I decided to create an Odometer goal to track pages read and applied.

When I created applycpwmtocpwm, I had already read up to p. 29.

According to the “Amounts Due By Day”, I would have to complete:
Today, Monday, December 30th = 62

• Page 62 is on “Using the Finder as a Database with Ironic Software Leap and Yep” under “Principle 2: Manage Your Cognitive Life Mindfully”.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 31st = 92

• Page 92 is on “Assessing Arguments” under “Principle 3: Assess Analytically”.

Wednesday, January 1st = 122

• Page 122 is on “Imagination” and “The Mind as a Structured Control System” under “Principle 3: Assess Analytically”.

Thursday, January 2nd = 152

• Page 152 is the beginning of “Principle 5: Delve Deeply”.

Friday, January 3rd = 182

• Page 182 is “Section 3: Mastery”

Saturday, January 4th = 212

• Page 212 is on “The Case of Michael Stone” under “Principle 7: Apply Knowledge”

Sunday, January 5th = 241

• Page 241 is on “Legal” and is the last page of the ebook.

The Goal Date is 2025-01-05, the day before I return to work from my Vacation.

I’m thinking of finishing by Saturday, January 4th to give myself a buffer in case things come up.

Tuesday, December 31, 2024:

@dreev

Add an entry each day (or however often Beeminder makes you) describing what you tried, what’s working, what you’ll try next

What I tried:

Yesterday, I did 5 Pomodoros on applycpwmtocpwm, but was only able to add 5 datapoints, therefore, I derailed $5.

What’s working:

What’s working is reading to find what Mortimer J. Adler calls “rules” in ‘Chapter 13. How to Read Practical Books’ in his classic How to Read a Book which are expressed grammatically as imperative sentences, if I recall correctly.

What’s ironic about finding the “rules” to apply in “Cognitive Productivity with macOS” is that Luc P. Beaudoin wrote a blog post critiquing How to Read a Book.

I have an Obsidian note dedicated to his project wherein I would re-type the “rules” in quotes, re-write the “rules” as a child node with the action verb as the first word in order to signal to my brain that this ought to be applied, and do it by doing it and writing about it the same note.

My outcome for this Obsidian note is to make this into a template for applying the 7 Principles to other “knowledge resources” in the future, especially the upcoming copywriting program that’s starting in January 2025.

I’m tracking my Pomodoros with the Forest app. At the end of the day, I take a screenshot of each Pomodoro and then email BAAS, which is my Ride or Die 2024 New Year’s Resolution to which I’m thankful to @shanaqui

What I’ll try next:

For “The Amounts Due By Day” I would have to complete:
Today, Tuesday, December 31st = 71

• Page 71 is on “Accessing Files with Spotlight” and “Accessing PDFs with Papers” under Principle 2: Manage Your Cognitive Life Mindfully".

Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 1st = 105

• Page 105 is on “Productive Discussions about Knowledge Resources” under “Principle 3: Assess Analytically”.

Thursday, January 2nd = 139

• Page 139 is on “Surfing with RSS Feeds” under “Principle 4: Surf Strategically”.

Friday, January 3rd = 173

• Page 173 is on “Delving Books with iBooks” under “Principle 5: Delve Deeply”.

Saturday, January 4th = 207

• Page 207 is on “Principle 7: Apply Knowledge”.

Sunday, January 5th = 241

• Page 241 is “Legal Matter”.

I’m realizing that this goal is pretty ambitious, but I’m still committed to finishing it.

I’m thinking of creating a Nebulous Goal on the journey of mastering this ebook, should I?

If anyone has any tips on beeminding books and its applications, please feel free to chime in as I’m all ears.

[experientiallearner]

Thursday, January 2, 2024:

I like the idea of the beecap.

I’ve known for quite a while, perhaps in the last 2 years, that I’ve been “beeminding since Tue, Jul 10, 2012”.

I was comparing my knowledge and use of Beeminder pre-2023 to how others were beeminding that I decided bit by bit to level up my beeminding since I thought my Beeminder knowledge and use was basic: I was only creating Beeminder goals and entering datapoints without exploring the its features.

Hence, I started experimenting with a Nebulous Goal, creating my own journal here, studying fellow Beeminders’ journals and goals, asking questions, Fractional Beeminding, etc…

I still have a long way to go to being a superuser.

But what I’m pleased with is that given “in the past 12 years you’ve created a total of 126 goals, and added 12289 datapoints” and “you’ve added 5565 datapoints this (2024) year”, I’ve added nearly half of my total points in 2024.

I know I wouldn’t have done so without the help of my fellow Beeminders, who replied to my questions, posts, and also the Support team, of course, therefore, thank you all so much.

What I tried:

For Tuesday, December 31st, I did 3 Pomodoros and added datapoints 38, 39, 40.

I didn’t work on this goal yesterday, Wednesday, January 1st.

What’s working:

Focusing solely on “rules” by finding the imperative sentences and rewriting them with the action verb as the first word of the sentence.

Using the Forest app to track Pomodoros and submitting them to BAAS.

What I’ll try next:

Statistics show a +51 DELTA and a 91 VALUE, which I’m deeming is impossible.

I will focus on doing at least 1 Pomodoro and entering the next datapoint 41.