Derailing It Is Nailing It

[dreeves]

### Desiderata
- [ ] Find an excuse to link to no-excuses mode?
- [x] Preview link
- [x] Title image
- [x] Keywords/tags
- [x] Pull quote if too wall-of-texty
- [x] Publish it at https://blog.beeminder.com/nailingit/ on 2023-03-24
- [x] Blog blurbs on front page
- [x] Tweet: https://twitter.com/bmndr/status/1770567534552695051
- [x] Tip of the day: https://github.com/beeminder/totd/issues/46

http://doc.bmndr.co/nailingit by shanaqui

Cognata

• 226

• https://forum.beeminder.com/t/shaping-norms-about-calling-non-legit-more-than-you-legit-derail/10562/7?u=dreev
• https://blog.beeminder.com/defail
• https://blog.beeminder.com/depunish/
• https://blog.beeminder.com/noexcuses/
• https://blog.beeminder.com/barfingcats/

Verbata: norm shaping, shanaqui, positive framing of derailing-is-not-failing, case studies,

[dreeves]

i just showed off this draft in the discord; no reactions so far but i'm excited for more people to read it. maybe we should just publish it early? (or maybe i want to fuss over the intro and find pull quotes and other things to really make it :sparkles: to maximize the number of people who read the whole thing) huge thanks to shanaqui for writing that and to clive for the title / concept handle! at first i thought it was on the cheesy side too but then reading nicky's post was :open_mouth: :heart_eyes:

ideas for a better hook / lede welcome. like currently you have to read the whole thing to appreciate it maybe? brainstorming:

1. a callback to no-excuses mode
2. tie it explicitly to our rule of thumb that calling non-legit much more often than legit derailing is problematic
3. start with the 5-pages-a-day anecdote
4. acknowledge the cynical reading of "derailing is great it makes us so much money please do that more". i guess this was the approach in blog.bmndr.co/defail

[dreeves]

Discord discussion: it's an Umeshism, as Scott Aaronson says. If you never derail then your Beeminder goal is too easy.

https://scottaaronson.blog/?p=40