Signs that your Fitness Tracker is a your Helpful Motivator:
- You park far from the entrance of your destination to get more steps.
- You never hesitate to share a step count with someone who asks.
- You take it off when it doesn’t go with your outfit.
Signs that your Fitness Tracker is your Evil Electronic Taskmaster:
- You experience anxiety when the battery is low, strategizing the recharge around not missing accumulating precious data.
- You go out walking after dark alone just to reach a step goal.
- You are faking out the tracker by swinging your arm while you are still, to accumulate steps.
My personal Fitbit experience has been a bit of both over the years. I remember them becoming popular but not really seeing the value for myself. Much like when I had earlier declared ‘meh’ to texting as a fad and ‘why would I need a camera in my phone? I have a camera.’.
In 2016 I was working at a technology company that made corporate wellness a priority and one of the ways that they were driving participation was through a team walking challenge. Never wanting to be left out I bought the cheapest fitbit non-wrist tracker and got in the game. After the challenge I was able to put the thing aside and move on with my life. Then came the 2017 office challenge. I upgraded to a watch because it seemed like it would be easier than the other device. I was on my boss’s team and the company as a whole had become seriously invested in the competition. People were taking conference calls via Bluetooth and holding meetings walking in circles. Things got quite out of hand.
By the end of this I was hooked. I loved the rewarding buzz that it gave when I achieved my daily step goal. At the start of 2018 I made the big move out of corporate life with the plan to transition to my current career of fitness coach. I took my time, enjoying a slow down in life, taking on home projects, and particularly walking all around mine and nearby neighbourhoods. I adjusted the default 10k step goal to 15k just because I could. Then came the completely self-imposed goals of how about a 150k week, why not 200k? All daily activities were revolving around whether I could incorporate walking. I was enjoying myself and the silliness of being the crazy walker among my friends. Then I looked at the annual total and thought hey I wonder if I could get 7 million steps in the year? I didn’t, but I sure did try! At that point I realized I had to take a step back and not let that tantalizing buzzer dictate my decisions. I didn’t go cold turkey, but did manage to reign myself in.
Then it STOPPED WORKING! It was out of warranty! I did get a helpful discount code for a replacement but I took the opportunity to really take some time off from tracking. I resisted the lure of the fancy smartwatch version even though I had been having considerable Apple Watch envy. I reinstalled my new tracker friend to its home on my wrist and breathed a sigh of relief. My life as a dedicated fitbitter carried on.
Now in week 8 of social distancing, I have found myself reverting to old habits of setting silly step goals and prioritizing getting steps over other activities. It has become a way to have control of something and achieve a goal during a time that feels wildly out of control. I have recognized the signs this time and the control I take will be to keep my Fitbit as my Helpful Motivator and not let it once again be my Evil Electronic Taskmaster.
If you’re looking for some simple motivation I recommend these devices. There are plenty of different models and deals to be had. There is also likely to be someone in your circle that has abandoned or upgraded and has one lying around that you could try. Just beware of the dark side.