Fitbitten!!!

About a month ago, my wife and I each bought a Fitbit. I realize that I probably am a bit late getting on this bandwagon. The fact of the matter is that I spent a bit of time researching personal "metrics" devices for a while. After talking to some of my friends and my wife's friends, and polling Facebook, I decided on a FitBit. But what kind? I have so many things that I am keeping track of and have to remember to put in my pockets everyday. With that in mind, i decided that something that I didn't need to remember to shove in a pocket and take out to avoid putting through the spin cycle. With that in mind, I chose the FitBit Flex.

It wears just like a wristwatch. Unfortunately, it looks a bit silly on my wrist next to my regular watch, so about the only time that I wear the two at the same time is when I am out on a run. I have just been using my iPhone as my watch and just wear the FitBit. Most people I know most people use their mobile device as a clock, so this isn't a big thing to work with, however, I am use to wearing a watch and I lost count of how many times I have looked at my FitBit expecting to see what time it is. Maybe that is something that can get worked into the next iteration of the device. (Hint, hint FitBit).

As you can see from the chart above, I have become somewhat FitBitten. I doubt that I am the first one to say that, but, I am going to go with it. The bar graph shows how many steps I took each day for the first month that I had the device. Seems unreal to me that I traveled almost 132 miles on foot in one month. 

The business productivity expert, Peter Drucker, said "What gets measured, gets managed." I have found this tool to be great for measuring more things than just my activity. I can manually input what I eat over the course of the day into the FitBit Dashboard as well as how much water I drink. The biggest challenge I have with this is figuring out how to accurately account for dinner. I think I may actually be calculating high for that. 

The other thing that this FitBit Flex tracks for me is how I sleep. It measures restlessness as well as how long I sleep. I just need to tell it when I go to bed and when I wake up. I have a moderate case of sleep apnea and this really tells me if my CPAP machine is doing the job or not, besides my wife telling me when I have kept her up with my snoring.

Part of my day job is looking at things from an efficiency standpoint. Doing things in the least amount of time and with the fewest possible steps. I have found that with my FitBit, I have taken the time to walk down to a work area to talk to a coworker, versus sending and Email or calling them on the phone. I think this interaction actually helps get work done a bit faster and clearer with the direct conversation versus trying to interpret the subtext of an email. 

Overall, this has been a great tool for me to make more intentional decisions about what I do, how I get there and what I put into my body. Now, if only I can stop looking at it to see what time it is.

What tools do you use to keep track of your day? Your goals? Your Fitness?

A Powerful Lesson from an Unexpected Place

Today, I was in a conversation with some people about work assignments and performance goals. One of my coworkers was venting about some performance goals that were assigned to him. He said that he thought the goals were “impossible” to achieve. Then my mind, for just a moment, went long ago to a galaxy far, far away…

I have been remind of scenes from the Star Wars films as I go through life. As a parent, husband, or even an employee, there are life lessons in those movies that come from the most unexpected places. I was reminded on an iconic scene in the Empire Strikes Back, on the little, swampy planet of Dagobah.

I feel like the part of the movie that I am referring to will be familiar to most people who read my blog. If the Star Wars movies are something you have yet to experience, I think you will get my point just the same.  

Coming back to Earth, my coworker who thinks that the goals that have been put in front of him are impossible. So, he as already set himself up to fail in his mind. Instead of using his mind creatively to come up with ways of meeting this goal, he uses it to fill him mind with doubt. It is that doubt that will defeat him if he cannot see the need to overcome it.

Since I became a manager, I have been researching a lot about leadership and one subject that I have seen little to no useful information on is how to lead a procrastinator. That is because, there is no way to effectively make a procrastinator not procrastinate. Regardless of how this ends up, I have learned a lesson from this that will help me keep my own attitude in check.

Goals

The year 2013 is in the books. There is a common thought that goes through our culture about making New Years resolutions. There are all kinds that people try. While the options are totally up to the individual, there are some common ones that are often picked. Some people decide that it is time to stop smoking, or lose weight, or learn something new. The common driving force that I see in all resolutions is that people see in them selves that there is something that they are unhappy with and want to change.

I personally am not a resolutions kind of a person. I don't see the value in waiting use a new calendar as a trigger to make a change. I like to think that I am more of goals kind of a person. A goal is just a valid to start in the middle of March as it is in the beginning of January.
In 2013, I set for myself some goals that I wanted to achieve. I am happy to say that I successfully achieve one of the goals that I set out for myself. You read that right, one goal.
At one time, I would have found myself thinking that being 17% successful would be pretty disappointing. This is a line of thinking that I am making a conscious effort to avoid. I have come to think of it as sort of an eighth goal. Not really a goal in the sense that I have not come up with a way to measure it. I can define it, but not gage it. I have written before about goals. It has been a long time and I think that my real understanding of what constitutes a goal has changed.
The Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, from Star Wars Episode I said it well when he stated "Your focus determines your reality." Inspiration comes from all different kinds of sources. The recovering perfectionist inside of me would have preferred to go 7 for 7 this year, but, having completed one goal is better than not finishing any. I can focus on what I might have classified as failures, or I can be pleased with the success. Focusing on the success will drive more success. I may be tempted to say to my self that I cannot run a marathon, but, I can look back on what I did achieve and remind myself that I did accomplish something, so there is a precedence  for success. 
Another way of looking is, I already have some 2014 goals laid out in front of me.