While eating dinner a few nights ago, I heard a 3-year-old scream "iPad, iPad, iPad" until her parents handed one over. Was it just a child's tantrum … or does it mark another step in our journey to the post-pc age?
To imagine the future of technology, sometimes it helps to look back. Here's a clever way to appreciate how much technology has changed the things we love to do.
And we are now moving beyond even that.
I just spent a week in Asia, and didn't bring a laptop … relying, instead, on just an iPad and an iPhone 4S.
In 2009, Microsoft released a Productivity Future Vision. Watch how future technology will help people make better use of their time, focus their attention, and strengthen relationships while getting things done at work, home, and on the go.
Here is a 1-year-old who apparantly believes all media are touch-screen-enabled. She does not seem to understand that a magazine was not designed to respond to pinching or prodding.
My kids can't understand how I did school-work without a computer or the Internet. Their kids may not believe that people used to do their reading on paper.
Here is a 1-year-old who apparantly believes all media are touch-screen-enabled. She does not seem to understand that a magazine was not designed to respond to pinching or prodding.
My kids can't understand how I did school-work without a computer or the Internet. Their kids may not believe that people used to do their reading on paper.
Most people say they want to be healthy. That's the easy part … it's more challenging to do.
To be fair, life happens … and it is hard to find sufficient time to exercise. Nonetheless, in this case, procrastination can be a real killer.
Procrastination doesn't just happen with exercise. Many things get put off while waiting for better circumstances, more data, or for it to be the "right" time. Well, it turns out that it's always a good time to take right action.
Here is a great video called "How Bad Do You Want It?" It is inspirational and worth watching. It's not just some exercise video … there is a great message in there worth hearing about business and life, too.
How Badly Do You Want It?
Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought "how did that happen"? Pictures of me on the beach resembled the image on the right.
Perhaps I should blame genetics. My grandfather was a professional wrestler who tipped the scales well above 300 lbs., and my Dad spent plenty of time north of 300 as well.
A year-and-a-half ago I was Twinkie away from there myself.
At 265 lbs., my doctor told me I had a 10% chance of having a heart attack in the next year. That was my wake-up call.
I'm down to 228; and I am committed to being healthy and vital. That makes all the difference.
You Manage What You Measure.
One of the things I really like about the Fitbit is that it's constantly monitoring and reminding me about the actions I take – or the amount of non-action I tolerate.
Here is a screenshot of my Fitbit home screen. It's graphically pleasing and lets me quickly focus on the number of important fitness and activity metrics.
Notice that there is an activity graph that shows the amount and intensity of my activity in five-minute increments throughout the day. It updates wirelessly, and automatically, without me having to press any buttons.
In addition, here is a graph that shows the days activity broken into intensity levels.
I use a graph like this to figure out whether I'm happy with what I'm doing. At work, I do something similar. I ask the team to think about whether we are 'walking', 'jogging', 'running', or 'sprinting'? More importantly, to achieve what we want, what's the right mix?
It's one thing to tell yourself you're working hard; it's another to compare your levels with benchmarks or standards. Here's another area that Fitbit excels. This graph shows that last week my activity level fell in the 90th percentile.
However, this graph shows that recently my sleep patterns fell in the bottom 2%.
While I am competitive and want to increase the number of steps or the percentage of time I'm in higher levels of activity, the quickest way for me to improve my health is probably to get more sleep.
The point is Fitbit doesn't just focus on activity; it helps you figure out the right activities on which to focus.
There are lots of other things I could tell you (like, it is about the size of money-clip) … but the most important is to just go get one. It is about $90 at Amazon.
Most people say they want to be healthy. That's the easy part … it's more challenging to do.
To be fair, life happens … and it is hard to find sufficient time to exercise. Nonetheless, in this case, procrastination can be a real killer.
Procrastination doesn't just happen with exercise. Many things get put off while waiting for better circumstances, more data, or for it to be the "right" time. Well, it turns out that it's always a good time to take right action.
Here is a great video called "How Bad Do You Want It?" It is inspirational and worth watching. It's not just some exercise video … there is a great message in there worth hearing about business and life, too.
How Badly Do You Want It?
Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought "how did that happen"? Pictures of me on the beach resembled the image on the right.
Perhaps I should blame genetics. My grandfather was a professional wrestler who tipped the scales well above 300 lbs., and my Dad spent plenty of time north of 300 as well.
A year-and-a-half ago I was Twinkie away from there myself.
At 265 lbs., my doctor told me I had a 10% chance of having a heart attack in the next year. That was my wake-up call.
I'm down to 228; and I am committed to being healthy and vital. That makes all the difference.
You Manage What You Measure.
One of the things I really like about the Fitbit is that it's constantly monitoring and reminding me about the actions I take – or the amount of non-action I tolerate.
Here is a screenshot of my Fitbit home screen. It's graphically pleasing and lets me quickly focus on the number of important fitness and activity metrics.
Notice that there is an activity graph that shows the amount and intensity of my activity in five-minute increments throughout the day. It updates wirelessly, and automatically, without me having to press any buttons.
In addition, here is a graph that shows the days activity broken into intensity levels.
I use a graph like this to figure out whether I'm happy with what I'm doing. At work, I do something similar. I ask the team to think about whether we are 'walking', 'jogging', 'running', or 'sprinting'? More importantly, to achieve what we want, what's the right mix?
It's one thing to tell yourself you're working hard; it's another to compare your levels with benchmarks or standards. Here's another area that Fitbit excels. This graph shows that last week my activity level fell in the 90th percentile.
However, this graph shows that recently my sleep patterns fell in the bottom 2%.
While I am competitive and want to increase the number of steps or the percentage of time I'm in higher levels of activity, the quickest way for me to improve my health is probably to get more sleep.
The point is Fitbit doesn't just focus on activity; it helps you figure out the right activities on which to focus.
There are lots of other things I could tell you (like, it is about the size of money-clip) … but the most important is to just go get one. It is about $90 at Amazon.
I found a tool that helps. It is called Fitbit; and it tracks your sleep patterns, eating habits and activity to help you become healthier.
It also wirelessly syncs that information with your computer, and presents it to you in a way that lets you compete to reach your goals and out-do your friends. Yes, fitness has gone social.
Gamification is getting a lot of press recently. Apparently, it works.
Competition often brings out the best in people. There is a part of me that it doesn't believe it. Experientially, however, it's clear that I'm more likely to take action in competitive situations.
In a way, you can think of the Fitbit as a game where the challenge is to get at least 10,000 steps per day (and you can also get bonuses and brownie points for doing other healthy things).
The tracking and reporting component add enough competition to change behavior.
For example, there is a certain venture capitalist who is consistently kicking my ass by generating much higher numbers than I do. In addition, there is a short and portly industry analyst (old enough to be my father) who somehow took more steps than I did last week. These things cause me to get out of my chair and exercise. It has become so persistent that I've started parking farther away just to add to my count.
The proof is in the results. Here's a graph showing my weight over the past two months.
The jump in the middle came from a visit to the Jersey Shore, where my will-power lost a battle to unlimited Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches and hot pretzels.
You Can't Get There From Here.
It was harder than you might guess to get started.
I remember hearing a funny story about someone asking for directions after getting lost in a city and asking for directions. The response was "you can't get there from here." Well, it turns out that my goal of taking 10,000 steps a day was impractical; I couldn't get there from where I was.
In other words, even on a day when I exercised, my lifestyle didn't come close to an activity level of 10,000 steps per day.
Last summer, I celebrated the fact that I went to the gym three times per week. On one hand, I'm sure that's an improvement from not going to the gym three times a week. On the other hand, as I measured my activity levels and steps, that's a 5,000 to 7,000 steps per day activity level. By that, I mean that 5,000 steps is average, and I might be able to get the 7,000 steps if I really pushed myself.
As a practical matter, I couldn't get to 10,000 steps per day unless I changed something. For me, that meant jogging. And trust me, jogging was something that I didn't want to do. At a little over 240 pounds it was hard to drag my well-marbled meat suit around the park (especially in the Texas heat).
So, after going to the gym, I would reluctantly find my way to the park to waddle the extra mile. That increased my steps; and it also took me past the tipping point where I started to lose weight. That made running easier. Soon, I was shuffling 2 miles. Now, 4 miles is within my comfort zone.
Again, the key is that once your activity burns more calories than you eat, weight comes off quickly. Like I said, simple, "just not easy."
Intent and Focus Help Too.
The other area where the Fitbit has made a big difference is with the intent to be healthy. It's one thing to say that you will be healthy. It's another to vote with your feet and actually do healthy things.
The Fitbit helps bring the intent to the forefront of your consciousness. That means you will think about it more often. That also means you will notice more opportunities to be more active more often. As a result of the increased activity, you will burn more calories and lead a healthier lifestyle.
It's easy to manage what you measure. So making it easier to measure something can actually make it easier to achieve better results. That's where the Fitbit shines.
