Your burnout from the pandemic sounds awful. I hope you're doing better mentally after that. I can't begin to imagine the stress you went through. But it does make sense that a way to cope was the fitness tracker.
I started using MyFitnessPal with the Google step counter on my Android phone to get me moving after the lockdowns (I'd also had breathing problems and fatigue post covid so it was helpful). Then at the end of 2023, my partner bought me a Fitbit. I've found it easier to count steps because it means I'm not taking my phone with me everywhere I go. I've avoided posting stats online and haven't felt tempted to use fitness social media platforms or to pay for premium stuff. I just walk a lot and the Fitbit holds me accountable.
I did get a bit obsessed initially as if I was trying to prove something to an inanimate object. And I have to say that wearing it to sleep in is just... Weird (and intrusive - I don't want Google gathering data from me while I'm unconscious, for God's sake!). I've never worn a watch while sleeping, so why did I need to start now? And the face kept lighting up when I rolled over, so was regularly waking me up through the night. I take it off now to sleep but the bloody green light won't turn off, so I stick it in a draw!
I'm jealous of your Timex. They're fab watches. I miss my swatch and I do wonder if it'd be weird to wear that on one wrist while wearing the Fitbit on another...
Thank you, Helen. Going through burnout was incredibly difficult, but I've been in a much better mental and physical place for the last two years or so. 🙂 I dropped my hours down to part-time in 2023, which made a massive difference.
It sounds like you went about fitness tracking the right way; the tech is pretty helpful for staying accountable when you don't get caught up in all the social fitness app nonsense. There are also a lot of people over in the r/digitalminimalism subreddit who've said that smartwatches have been great for reducing phone dependency (kind of like you said, re: not having to take your phone with you everywhere you go).
I don't think it would be weird to wear your Swatch on one wrist and your Fitbit on the other! What would be really ideal is a simple, stylish watch that can also track steps. No app or anything like that, just a basic pedometer that resets every 24h. I searched high and low for something like that before I bought the Timex, and they just don't seem to exist!
Oh, I'd love a watch that just records steps and tells the time! I don't bother checking the Fitbit app anymore tbh. There's so many variables and I don't need to see a graph telling me what time I went for a walk because I know that!
I'm glad you've been able to recover from the burnout and part-time sounds good!
It's great to meet a fellow skeptic. When I think of these trackers, I just cringe. Not at just the data they're collecting, but how they're likely using it to 'predict' things about us.
"Garmin Health solutions let you access screening services to assist with disease prevention and management. Through the use of wearable technology, we can assist in the identification and prevention of diseases via early detection. The sensors in Garmin wearables, combined with algorithms we have developed within the medical community, can help identify and screen for issues such as anxiety and depression, diabetes, prediabetes, hypertension, sleep-related issues, including sleep apnea, and more."
Your burnout from the pandemic sounds awful. I hope you're doing better mentally after that. I can't begin to imagine the stress you went through. But it does make sense that a way to cope was the fitness tracker.
I started using MyFitnessPal with the Google step counter on my Android phone to get me moving after the lockdowns (I'd also had breathing problems and fatigue post covid so it was helpful). Then at the end of 2023, my partner bought me a Fitbit. I've found it easier to count steps because it means I'm not taking my phone with me everywhere I go. I've avoided posting stats online and haven't felt tempted to use fitness social media platforms or to pay for premium stuff. I just walk a lot and the Fitbit holds me accountable.
I did get a bit obsessed initially as if I was trying to prove something to an inanimate object. And I have to say that wearing it to sleep in is just... Weird (and intrusive - I don't want Google gathering data from me while I'm unconscious, for God's sake!). I've never worn a watch while sleeping, so why did I need to start now? And the face kept lighting up when I rolled over, so was regularly waking me up through the night. I take it off now to sleep but the bloody green light won't turn off, so I stick it in a draw!
I'm jealous of your Timex. They're fab watches. I miss my swatch and I do wonder if it'd be weird to wear that on one wrist while wearing the Fitbit on another...
Thank you, Helen. Going through burnout was incredibly difficult, but I've been in a much better mental and physical place for the last two years or so. 🙂 I dropped my hours down to part-time in 2023, which made a massive difference.
It sounds like you went about fitness tracking the right way; the tech is pretty helpful for staying accountable when you don't get caught up in all the social fitness app nonsense. There are also a lot of people over in the r/digitalminimalism subreddit who've said that smartwatches have been great for reducing phone dependency (kind of like you said, re: not having to take your phone with you everywhere you go).
I don't think it would be weird to wear your Swatch on one wrist and your Fitbit on the other! What would be really ideal is a simple, stylish watch that can also track steps. No app or anything like that, just a basic pedometer that resets every 24h. I searched high and low for something like that before I bought the Timex, and they just don't seem to exist!
Oh, I'd love a watch that just records steps and tells the time! I don't bother checking the Fitbit app anymore tbh. There's so many variables and I don't need to see a graph telling me what time I went for a walk because I know that!
I'm glad you've been able to recover from the burnout and part-time sounds good!
*drawer, not draw! 🤣
It's great to meet a fellow skeptic. When I think of these trackers, I just cringe. Not at just the data they're collecting, but how they're likely using it to 'predict' things about us.
They're DEFINITELY using this data to predict things about us! See this page, for example: https://www.garmin.com/en-CA/health/solutions/insurance/
"Garmin Health solutions let you access screening services to assist with disease prevention and management. Through the use of wearable technology, we can assist in the identification and prevention of diseases via early detection. The sensors in Garmin wearables, combined with algorithms we have developed within the medical community, can help identify and screen for issues such as anxiety and depression, diabetes, prediabetes, hypertension, sleep-related issues, including sleep apnea, and more."