activity monitor success

Setting Goals Helps You Get the Most Out of Activity Monitors (and Life)

Some people think just being aware of something is enough to improve. They think that to say less profanity that they'll just have someone put a penny in a jar when they say a curse word. Or, they'll track their steps so they'll notice them and work to take more steps and get more exercise. Monitoring without goal setting may actually hurt your performance. New research shows that just being aware of activity on your activity monitor does not improve your activity.

This post is day nine of 80 days of excellence. I've created an email list below for those of you want to be emailed the full posts written as part of this series.

So, in this research — they find that if you want to have a benefit of increasing your steps, you have to set a goal for how many steps. In fact, if you DON’T set a goal, your activity may actually decrease.

So, is it 5,000 steps a day or 10,000? How many?

This fits with all of life. Setting a target makes a difference. For example, someone timing your run around the track may not make a difference unless you set as your goal to improve that time.

We all need goals. We all need to know what success looks like.

So, I challenge you today. If you have an activity monitor – what is your goal in steps or calories burned? Set it.

And if you don’t have one, then set a physical goal of some kind — 20 minutes a day or 30 minutes a day or walk 2 miles a day. Some measurable goal. Because exercising “when I feel like it” won’t cut it and it won’t get you the results you’re looking to improve.

Even more, if you don’t set your physical health as a priority, one day your body will make it a priority for you.

So, today’s challenge – set physical goals. Track them. Even better, have an accountability partner.

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Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis is a full-time classroom teacher and IT Director in Georgia, USA. She is Mom of three, wife of one, and loves talking about the wise, transformational use of technology for teaching and doing good in the world. She hosts the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast which interviews teachers around the world about remarkable classroom practices to inspire and help teachers. Vicki focuses on what unites us -- a quest for truly remarkable life-changing teaching and learning. The goal of her work is to provide actionable, encouraging, relevant ideas for teachers that are grounded in the truth and shared with love. Vicki has been teaching since 2002 and blogging since 2005. Vicki has spoken around the world to inspire and help teachers reach their students. She is passionate about helping every child find purpose, passion, and meaning in life with a lifelong commitment to the joy and responsibility of learning. If you talk to Vicki for very long, she will encourage you to "Relate to Educate" or "innovate like a turtle" or to be "a remarkable teacher." She loves to talk to teachers who love their students and are trying to do their best. Twitter is her favorite place to share and she loves to make homemade sourdough bread and cinnamon rolls and enjoys running half marathons with her sisters. You can usually find her laughing with her students or digging into a book.

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The Cool Cat Teacher Blog
Vicki Davis writes The Cool Cat Teacher Blog for classroom teachers everywhere
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