There is a lot of discussion in education around motivation, with intrinsic motivation being the nirvana we are all seeking. Of course, we can all use some nudges on the way. I always think those of us trying to motivate students should be looking at how we are motivated ourselves. to give an honest view of what makes us do the stuff we know is good for us, but we sometimes struggle to do.
When it comes to my fitness I am quite obsessed. There are three apps that are hugely influential on me: Fitbit, Strava and Participaction and each push me with very different motivators. In combination they have made be a bit (some might say a lot) obsessive, but also pushed me to health goals which I always knew were what I wanted theoretically, but never could really keep beyond a few weeks or months.
Fitbit – Since January 1st of 2014 I have taken at least 10,000 steps a day – through rain, snow, travel, illness – sometimes at 11:45 PM, but always hitting the target. Steps are just one of the things I track obsessively on Fitbit. I keep track of my nightly temperature to see if I might be getting sick, I follow my heart rate and try to look for behaviours that are leading to even a couple beat difference in my resting heart rate. I also feel the buzz on my wrist 10 minutes before every hour telling me to finish getting my 250 steps for the hour. And I see my sleep scores and I try to reverse my pattern I have of always having the poorest sleep score on Sunday nights. And in our house we also have Fitbit connected to our scale, so weight and body fat are regularly measured and tracked over weeks, months and years. The metrics give perspective and motivation.
I know many people who have got rid of their smart watch. As all these things that I have listed as motivators, they see as the opposite. The joy, they say, is gone from working out when you are driven my your watch. They say they are happier and fitter without being tethered to the data – but for me it works.
Strava – I became a daily Strava user about a year ago and it has made a massive difference in my life. Strava has some of the metrics of Fitbit, but it is more the system of badges which motivate me. Now, I know this seems silly. While Strava is a social app, I am connected to maybe a dozen people. I am definitely not collecting badges to impress anyone. But I do love to collect them. There are badges for doing a 5 km, 10 km and half marathon each month. There are also badges for reaching 100, 200 and 300 km of running distance each month. And a series of other badges for various accomplishments over periods of time. I will think, when am I going to get my half marathon badge in February? I don’t think I would have thought – when am I going to run a half marathon in February if not for this gently nudge. Strava has a series of other features – including the ability to track best times over segments of a run. And yes, when I am out a 5 AM running a 10 k, I will think, I am going to sprint the segment between 4 – 5 km mark today to try to record my fastest time ever. Again a gently nudge, a way to break up the monotony of the run and a chance to share a “gold medal” for my fastest time with my dozen followers.
Again, it is not all that logical. While Strava is a social app, for me it is not. It is a personal app. I think the motivation on the segments help me realize that I can get older and still get faster – it makes me feel good! And the badges are silly – I get it. They are meaningless but take February, there are only 28 days, so I have 3 fewer days than January to finish my 300 km and earn the badge – I am planning now my running schedule for the month – crazy, but it works for me.
Participaction – I am probably most embarrassed about my motivations in using Participaction. You remember Participaction? The people that brought us Body Break with Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod in the late 1980’s now have an app to get Canada healthy. The app takes data from your fitness tracker (in my case Fitbit) and tracks steps, moving minutes and active minutes. But why do I come back? I come back for the prizes. They have weekly draws for people who use the app, read the articles and watch the videos. So, when I have a couple minutes I do these things. And finally after using the app for a couple of years – just a couple weeks ago I won a $10 Amazon Gift Card. In terms of value for return based on time spent, it isn’t great – but prizes, even small ones, can be a motivator. And, I have learned a lot from the articles and videos – content I would likely have never engaged with.
Now, I know, I keep thinking about how bad it is to pay our kids for good grades, but here I am learning about health and fitness for the shot at a small gift card. We all do like to win things, and the chance of winning a prize helps bring me back to Participaction.
So, that is my oversharing for the week. Am I intrinsically motivated to be fit? Sure. I also find that technology helps nudge me along – it gives me data that allows me to feel ownership of my health, it gives me a sense of competition and of ongoing improvement, and it rewards me with prizes. And through this, I better understand myself and my motivations and know there are lessons in all of this for the work we do in schools as well.
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