Fitbit Force Hands-On Review

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When it was announced a few months ago, I pre-ordered Fitbit’s new wearable fitness tracking band, the Fitbit Force (I’m a previous owner of the Fitbit Flex and I liked the improvements in the Force). I’ve had the Fitbit Force for about 3 weeks now, and now feel informed enough to share a hands-on perspective about it.

What is the Fitbit Force?

The Fitbit Force is a fitness-tracking bracelet that you wear on your wrist to keep track of various types of activities, including:

• Steps
• Flights of steps climbed
• Hours and quality of sleep
• Estimated calories burned
• Minutes of intense activities each day
• Current time (so you can use it as a watch)

The data gathered by the Fitbit Force is synced to your computer or smartphone, using either Bluetooth Low Energy (a newer standard) or via an included wireless receiver that goes in your computer’s USB port.

There is an accompanying web-based dashboard and smartphone app that allows you to view the data, set and track fitness goals, track food intake, set silent alarms, and more.

Overall impressions

• The Fitbit Force is very comfortable to wear, and keeps a low profile on your wrist. You can use either wrist, and Fitbit provides a way to increase accuracy by telling it whether you are wearing the Force on your dominant or non-dominant hand.

• Fastening the Force’s clasp securely takes a bit of practice but after a few days I was consistently able to get it to fasten properly. In the first couple of days it fell off a few times while I was taking my jacket off, but once I became accustomed to squeezing the band until the clasp “clicked” it hasn’t fallen off since.

• I have the black version of the band (there is also a “slate” version which looks more like teal to me). The design of the band is very nice and inconspicuous - it blends in fine with formal business attire, and fits under the sleeves of my dress shirts with no problem.

• You change modes (from awake to sleep mode) using a button on the side of the Force. I like this method much better than with the Fitbit Flex, where you had to tap the band to change mode (I found that he flex changed modes too easily and it was annoying).

• The same pushbutton is used to cycle through the LED display to view the time, monitor your progress against the various goals, and silence the silent (vibrating) alarm.

• The silent alarms are great - I use them to wake up every day and I like the flexibility of being able to set different schedules for different days. The silent alarms wake me up by vibrating on my wrist without disturbing my wife - definitely a plus when I have to get up ridiculously early for a flight.

• The battery life has been excellent. I am getting full 10 days on each charge, and the band warns me when I have about a day left so I can plan ahead to recharge it. Recharging takes a little over an hour. The only complaint I have is that it uses a proprietary cable instead of a micro-USB cable so be careful not to lose the cable!  (By the way - on my iPhone, which supports Bluetooth Low Energy, I have not noticed any reduction in battery life from the syncing).

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• I like the dashboard and apps, particularly the feature that lets me engage in friendly competition with friends so we can try to beat each other on the number of steps we walk in a week. Sometimes, that little bit of competition makes the difference between me staying on the couch and heading outside for a nice walk.

• I don’t use Fitbit to log my food - instead, I use MyFitnessPal because it syncs seamlessly with FitBit and has better functionality (my favorite feature is the one that allows me to add foods by scanning their barcode). The integration of these two apps enables me to see my “net calories” (calories in minus calories burned) so I can see if I am meeting my daily calorie targets or not.

• The Force is water-resistant and I’ve worn it in the shower and in the pouring rain with no ill effects.

• I like using the sleep tracking function of the Force, especially when I’m traveling as it lets me know how well I slept. You have to manually tell the Flex you are going to sleep and waking up, and sometimes I forget. Fitbit has thought of this, and you can retroactively enter or adjust your sleep times via the app or the web site - this has been handy after I realize I’ve been walking around for 2 hours but never told the Force band that I was awake again.

The Bottom Line

Overall, I have no regrets about buying the Fitbit Force, and I recommend it highly. Based on my experience with other bands, the big thing I’m wondering: How will it hold up over time? If anything odd happens with regard to reliability, I’ll post it here.

Positive productivity: How increasing your energy maximizes your efficiency

The traditional concept of time management focuses on the practice of ardently planning and mastering conscious control over the time allocated to specific tasks.  It sure sounds hard, described that way, doesn't it?  In real life—especially business settings—time management requires tools, skills and processes all laced together by the ultimate goal of increasing efficiency and productivity. Frankly, time management takes a lot of time. 

But what if increasing productivity was much simpler than that? What if instead of involving project management software, schedules, graphs and apps, the process required a decent pair of walking shoes and a fluffy pillow?

Master your energy

Based on the assertions of Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their bestseller, "The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal," our most precious resource is energy, not time. Certainly making the best use of your time is critical to your success but, if your energy levels are depleted, your productivity takes a dive regardless of what the clock reads.

Of course, managing your energy in a world abuzz with communication gizmos is no easy task. Energy replenishment takes effort. Think about it:  how many times during your workweek lunch breaks—an hour that should be devoted to refueling and recharging—have you allowed the chatter of texts and emails to further drain your energy?

Build your energy on 4 strong pillars

According to the ideas in "The Power of Full Engagement" as well as those on Tony Schwartz's blog, "The Energy Project," physical energy is the foundation to our overall efficiency. While emotional, mental and spiritual energy are also critical components of high performance, when our physical bucket is empty, all heck breaks loose. By incorporating these four key pillars of physical fulfillment into your typical day, you can elevate your energy levels and in turn, take a major step toward positive productivity.

1. Nutrition: Eat small, high-protein, low-carbohydrate meals throughout the day.  You've likely heard this before but eating mini meals throughout the day is a simple way to sustain your energy. For busy professionals who spend long days at the office, The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends keeping single-serve packages of crackers, fruit, peanut butter, low-sodium soup or canned tuna in your desk. Tuck snacks in your travel bag for a quick refueling between meetings (I always have a couple of Kind bars stashed in my backpack). If remembering to eat  at the right times is a challenge for you, download an app such as the Temple Hydration, Food, Fitness and More iPhone app (TheTempleApp.com), which comes with customizable reminders that kick in when it has been too long since you last ate.

2. Fitness: Make regular exercise a habit.  According to the MayoClinic, regular exercise not only controls weight and helps you avoid a slew of health conditions and diseases, it improves your mood and boosts energy levels. If hitting the gym is not your style, buy a pedometer and record the number of steps you take every day. The Energy Project blog recommends shooting for 10,000 steps per day.  (By the way: I love my pedometer — I have a new one that is fantastic and will be reviewing it next week)

3. Sleep: Get an average of 8 hours of sleep every night.  To aid in developing a sleep-conducive cycle, the National Sleep Foundation suggests sticking to a regular bed and wake time schedule, including weekends. They also recommend creating an environment that is cool, quiet, comfortable and dark. If light is spoiling your sleep space, invest in room darkening or blackout cellular shades to block out the light. Finally, keep the gadgets out of the bedroom as much as possible. Computers, tablets and cell phones distract you from the task at hand: a good night's sleep.

4. Renewal: Plan regular vacations, social outings and personal time. Whether it's a massage, Frisbee golf with the guys or a week-long camping trip, detaching from the daily grind altogether for substantial pockets of time is key to replenishing your physical and mental energy. In the "The Power of Full Engagement," the authors redefine the old paradigm of "downtime is wasted time" to "downtime is productive time." Use your downtime wisely by doing something fun.

Bottom line, don't throw away your precious time management tools and apps just yet. But do make your physical well-being a top priority and start to take note of how your energy levels impact your focus and productivity. It's worth the time.

Got any tips that work for you?  I'd love to hear them.

Humor at Work: What works best and when

They say laughter cures all. They also say laughter is truly the best medicine -- and that can be true at work, as well as at home.

Laughter on a regular basis improves blood pressure, stimulates the organs and can reduce pain, according to studies. So if it helps promote all those things, why don't we have more humor in the workplace? A daily dose of fun - humorous quotes, timely (and appropriate) jokes, fun events, and other forms of humor at work can help relax employees, increase morale, and energize the social aspects of the workplace. Workplaces that see humor as a tool often find themselves with happier and more productive employees. This in turn can create a better business, one that sees regular increases in profits and results.

But in today's workplaces, the stresses often outweigh the lighter moments. Sure, companies say they have a happy, positive culture, but are they faking the culture? There are telltale signs that a company's culture is lacking in the workplace. Lack of care about any type of 'mission' statement; Senior managers don't walk the walk with employees; online reviews don't reflect the everyday realty and more.

What can company owners and employees do to make a more vibrant, fun-seeking company culture? For starters, a company's owner or top leader can make the initial charge to try to have more fun. But it takes honesty and some guts to share that. But employees may respond well to that.

Timing and Context

With all good humor, timing and context are important. Even if you are a funny person, cracking a joke about Obamacare during a serious office meeting about company health insurance costs may not be the right setting. Or suggesting that you use a company photo of everyone throwing money in the air, on  Minted photo holiday cards that you send to customers might not fly. In other words, keep in mind that not everyone has the same sense of humor.

Finding the right balance of timing, context, the moods of your co-workers and managers is all important for humor to flourish in the workplace. Take into consideration, too, that fellow employees are often more comfortable bantering with colleagues than with management. There's an uncertainty that reduces the idea to get funny around bosses. Employees aren't sure how humor will be taken or perceived over time.

If you make it a habit, it can help.  For example, my company's headquarters location has a monthly "recess" in which we all gather together in the kitchen for a party for about an hour.  Each month, a different department hosts it, selects the theme, provides the refreshments (including some adult beverages, and decorates the place.  It has become a very popular event that people look forward to and it's a good place for some socializing with people you don't see much during the normal business day.  

Culture Drives Humor

In many ways, the culture makes the humor in a workplace. If your work culture is stiff and formal, weak attempts at humor and levity will fall flat. In a culture that's looser and full of guffaws on a more regular basis, you can really see some humorous efforts rise. That's according to Michael Kerr, who runs the business consultancy Humor at Work and is author of "The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses are Laughing all the Way to the Bank" (Dec. 2013). Workplaces that are more creative and innately innovative tend to have more humor within. It's all about feeling relaxed in an environment. With more relaxation and chances to bend the rules, a work culture can open itself up to more humor from its employees.

By removing emotional anxiety in the workplace with a more light-hearted tone, employees will get a strong sense of empowerment to create projects and programs. And these initiatives could help with team building, recruiting, office communications, morale and overall productivity in the workplace.

Working out while traveling just got a bit easier

After quite a while of being a slacker, I have decided to pay a lot more attention to my diet and exercise regimen.  A big part of that is designed to help me follow much better habits while on the road.

One part of this change is to do some sort of workout or physical exercise every day.  It's been going well, but workouts on the road can be a challenge when it's hard to create a convenient time window to get to the hotel fitness center.

Bring the gym to you

Last week, I was in Dallas and decided to try out one of the Westin Hotel chain's "WestinWorkout" rooms in which you can reserve a room with fitness equipment in it.  I really like this concept - it allows me to get a workout in when I want to, under much more relaxed circumstances.  Here is a quick tour of the room I stayed in:

In the video, I mention I was expecting a treadmill (the bike worked fine, but I still like treadmills better).  Good news:  you can now specify whether you want a cycle or a treadmill, at least in some hotels - I had that choice when I booked at the Westin in Seattle a few days ago.

I hope this trend takes off and spreads to other hotels.  I'm a "Starwood guy" so the fact that Westin is a Starwood property makes me hopeful that other Starwood brands will follow suit. 

Make your car more "hands-free friendly"

In my state, use of mobile devices is prohibited while driving, unless you're using them in a hands-free mode.  I've been doing that since it became a law but it was a bit of a pain sometimes because there was no good place to put my phone and it would slide around while I drove.

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I looked around for a holder for mobile devices, but all the ones I found required drilling holes, sticking an adhesive disk on my dashboard, or sticking a suction cup to my window.  I didn't want to damage my car's interior, and those ones that stick to the window block my view and fall off at inconvenient times. 

Recently, I discovered a great solution for this problem: the Mountek nGroove Universal CD Slot Mount for Cell Phones and GPS Devices.

This is a well-built mount for your mobile devices, which fits in the CD slot in your car.  There is an adjustable "gripper" that you expand to grab the inside of the CD slot to hold the mount in place.  The device holder portion of the Mountek is adjustable to fit most mobile devices and hold them in place securely. 

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I've been using this mount for a couple of months and it is great.  Not only does it keep my phone from sliding around, it also allows me to put my phone in a position where I can easily see the GPS guidance using Waze, Google Navigator, or other mapping software.

I don't use my CD player much in the car, but on the couple of occasions when I needed to, I just loosened the adjustment thumbscrew on the Mountek, took it off, added a CD, and remounted the Mountek. 

I'm very happy with the Mountek nGroove Universal CD Slot Mount for Cell Phones and GPS Devices- it seems very sturdy, meets my requirements, and doesn't damage the interior of my car.