Can you believe it’s February 22nd already? I know that February is slightly longer this year because it’s a leap year, but that still means the month is almost over. It went by so quickly!
To be honest, though, I’ve spent the past week wishing my February challenge was over. Although I’m happy that I’ve stopped using my phone while I’m driving, it’s been frustrating not being able to talk to people while I’m on the road. Sure, I can avoid my phone and just assume that plans won’t change at the last minute… but that tends to hurt me more than anyone else, since I then end up at the wrong destination or too early or whatever. In today’s world, no matter how much I want plans to be locked down, they change. And that reality of ever-changing plans means that paying attention to my cell phone is essential.
This is not to say that I’m giving up on my February challenge just yet. I’m proud that I’m no longer looking at emails or texts while I’m driving, and I want that rule to stay in place long after February is over. The Drivemode app that I talked about last week is great for allowing me to auto-decline calls; it also allows me to access my music apps without having to look down at my phone. I’m happy that this month I found that app and got accustomed to using it; in March, I’m looking forward to easing up my restrictions so that I’m making hands-free calls as well, and it seems like Drivemode will make that easier, too.
This month I realized that one of the reasons this challenge has been so tough is because the car is great for phone time when you’re making calls hands-free. It can be really hard to fit catch-up calls into my schedule (which is admittedly my own problem with prioritization and trying to pack too much into a day), and I’m really looking forward to using my driving time to call various people and reconnect once March hits.
But it’s not March yet, and I have one more week to go… so I’m going to try to mitigate my annoyance at not having time to talk on the phone in another way. My March challenge is going to be about increasing my number of FitBit steps per day, and I’m itching to start it early. So this week, I’m going to commit to walking and talking on the phone for 20 minutes a day. It will be a great way to reconnect with all the people that I’ve mostly ignored all month with my car/phone ban, and also a nice way to test out my March challenge idea and make sure I’m really ready to commit.
I didn’t commit to running a marathon until I had run a mile. (Actually, I didn’t even commit to running a marathon until I had run twenty miles!) Before I commit to my March goal of a certain number of steps per day, I want to see what’s reasonable. What do different step counts in a day feel like? How hard is it to achieve that many steps? You can’t know everything before starting progress on a goal, but it’s always good to explore before you dive in.
Walking and talking on the phone is the only way I make phone calls!
I had a Garmin vivofit for almost a year but really wanted a tracker with wrist HR and my bf got me the fitbit charge HR for valentine’s day (he actually listens! haha) and now am slightly obsessed with my step count again and “winning”. I run about 30 miles per week so that hikes up my step count but also NYC living means walking everywhere and not hard to get a lot of steps in.
I have a Fitbit Charge HR too! I love seeing my heart rate for each workout so I know how difficult it was (rather than me trying to figure out RPE). I also like seeing my resting heart rate in the morning to know if I should take a rest day.
Great job leaving the phone alone while driving. It’s so dangerous and a cause of so many accidents. that’s one time we need to avoid multi-tasking. My work commute means 4 hours in the car each day, so I certainly understand wanting a safe way to do more with that time!
It is REALLY dangerous; even if I’ve broken my rule about talking on the phone a bit this month, I’m really happy it helped me give up looking at my phone!
I should probably look at my phone less while driving. I try to tell myself I only do it at red lights, but I definitely am doing it wrong. But like you, I get so annoyed when plans change. Let’s make a plan, and everyone stick with it! I plan the rest of my day around that. Where I go around town, what time I eat/run errands. Last week if you hadn’t said something when we got out of church I would have gone home and likely not left the house again.
My favorite part about the fitbit I think was counting the stairs. I was more impressed with how many flights of stairs I climbed rather than steps. Especially if I went hiking. I only wanted to go hiking to see how many steps I could get. Now I broke my fitbit and I no longer hike. Good luck to you though! I did love the challenges! I don’t know how the wrist one works because I had the ones you hooked on somewhere. But I found when I went biking I had to put it on my shoe and that counted some “steps”. I think I tried putting it on my shoe when I worked out because it wasn’t working, but that still didn’t help. Although I recognize I had the lowest version so it wasn’t as smart. Good luck to you!
That was what I always told myself too! It was only when I stopped that I realized how often my brain wanted to reach for it.
I don’t get any steps when biking, so I will be curious to see how my workouts change this month as a result. I also get very few points lifting weights or doing pilates, but those are so good for me! I’m hoping that the steps just become an add on to those activities rather than me substituting just to meet my step goals.