Getting Started #

New to Beeminder? This page walks you through getting your first goal off the ground. If you're still wondering what Beeminder even is, start with What Is Beeminder? and come back here when you're ready to commit to something.

Create your first goal #

1. Sign up. Create a free account at beeminder.com. You don't put any money down to sign up; pledges only come into play once you create a goal and start derailing.
2. Pick something to track. The best first goal is small, concrete, and measurable every day or two, something you can honestly say yes-or-no (or count) at the end of the day. "Write 200 words," "walk 5,000 steps," "no more than 30 minutes of social media." Save the life-changing mega-goals for later; you're learning how the tool feels.
3. Choose a goal type. Beeminder's goal gallery offers a handful of shapes (see Choosing a goal type below). When in doubt, pick Do More. It's the workhorse and fits most starter goals.
4. Set your rate. Tell Beeminder how much you'll do and how often, like "1 per day" or "10 per week." This becomes your bright red line. Start gentler than you think you should; you can always ramp up later, and an aggressive rate is the most common reason beginners derail.
5. Set your pledge. Every goal starts at $0. The first time you go off track you pledge $5, and each later derailment bumps it up a schedule ($0 → $5 → $10 → $30 → …) until the sting is enough to change your behavior. See how the money works for the full schedule and how to cap it.
6. Create the goal. That's it: you now have a graph with a bright red line, ready for its first datapoints.

Choosing a goal type #

You don't need to memorize these; the gallery explains each as you go. The two broad shapes are:

• Doing more of something. Writing, exercising, studying, shipping code. Your datapoints add up and you commit to a minimum rate. Do More and Odometer goals work this way.
• Doing less of something. Screen time, calories, cigarettes, takeout. You commit to staying under a ceiling. Whittle Down and Do Less style goals handle these.

If your first pick turns out wrong, that's fine: make a new goal. Spinning up goals is cheap and part of learning what's worth beeminding.

Feeding it data #

A goal is only as good as the data you put into it. You have two options:

• Enter datapoints by hand. Type the number into the goal page, the mobile app, or even by email or Apple Watch. Quick and works for anything.
• Connect an integration. Beeminder pulls data automatically from dozens of services: fitness trackers, time loggers, to-do apps, and more. Wiring one up means you never have to remember to log. See Integrations for the full list, and Use Cases for ideas on what to track with them.

Manual entry is the fastest way to start; automating it later is the best way to make a goal stick.

Your first week #

A brand-new goal can derail in its first week, so it's worth easing yourself in. When you create a goal, Beeminder gives you two ways to take the early sting off:

• Start with safety buffer. Give the goal a few days of initial leeway so the bright red line doesn't catch up to you while you're finding your feet.
• Hold the pledge at $0 for the first week. Tell Beeminder to keep the goal at a $0 pledge while you settle on your stakes, so an early stumble costs nothing.

Either way, set your rate thoughtfully at the start. The same akrasia horizon that stops you from weaseling out later also applies to changes you make now: dialing a goal easier only takes effect about a week out, never right now. It's far easier to start gentle than to loosen an aggressive goal after the fact.

What happens on an eep day #

Eventually you'll hit an eep day: a day when you have to do the thing (or enter data) or you'll cross your bright red line and derail. When that happens:

• Do the thing and report it. Get back on the right side of the line and you're safe until the next eep day.
• If you genuinely can't, you derail and your pledge is charged. Beeminder wants you to keep your money; the charge is a backstop, not the goal. If a derailment was due to a bug or something truly outside the spirit of your commitment, you can call a "non-legit" derailment.

Derailing isn't failing. Beeminder argues it's nailing it: paying up when you derail is a legitimate, built-in part of the service, not proof you blew it. A derailment doesn't necessarily mean your goal was wrong, either. Often it just means the stakes haven't climbed high enough to move you yet, which is exactly what the escalating pledge is there to fix. If you keep derailing on the same goal it's worth revisiting your rate, but a derailment on its own is the system doing its job.

Official guides #

When you want the canonical word from Beeminder itself, these are the best starting points:

• A Newbie Guide to getting started with Beeminder. (Called newbee, get it?)
• An Overview of what Beeminder is.
• A Glossary of terms often used in Beeminder discussions and docs.
• An FAQ which gets into the technical details of specific goals, derailments, etc.
• A Help Section with even more information and how-to guides.

Learn more #

• What Is Beeminder? covers the concepts and vocabulary behind the line.
• The Beeminder Philosophy explains why putting money on the line works.
• Use Cases has ideas for what to beemind.
• Integrations connects the apps you already use.