Rest Tracker?

I have a Fitbit and I find it useful, although there are limits to its usefulness.

I have written before about how there is nothing magic about the number 10, or any other number for that matter.  We are not significantly less fit if we do 9,999 steps in a day rather than 10,000.  It is much more important to focus on the overall trends than on hitting a particular milestone each day.  Maybe life got hectic and we only managed 5,236 steps some Wednesday, but then on Friday we had some extra time and ended up at 17,201.  It evens out.  And if it doesn’t, we can adjust.

The other limitation I find is that the device and others like it are set up to reward doing more.  There is definitely a place for rest in fitness and trackers don’t account for it.

I admit, I talk back to my Fitbit.  I tell it that it can cut it out with the reminders about how I only have 1,504 steps to go to reach my goal for the day.  I suggest that it might not be helpful to get all passive-aggressive and tell me I’m an overachiever on the days when I end up on a longer than expected hike and post 18,417 steps.  Even so, I have to make the effort to manage my reaction to the expectations this inanimate object places on me.  It is not my boss.  It may track how much sleep I got, but it doesn’t know that the four hours of sleep translates into a serious lack of energy and that its reminders don’t exactly fill my tired heart with joy in that context.

Overall, I like what having a tracker does for me.  Many of my clients find them handy.  But they are not a substitute for common sense and they will not tell you when it is time for a well-deserved day of rest.  We have to do that ourselves.