Broken Streak
I also didn’t close my green circle - the exercise ring on the Apple Watch. I was pretty tired by the end of the week as the new work schedule kicked in. The dog had a play date so my regular exercise didn't quite happen. I went to bed early, and right as I was heading off to brush my teeth, I looked down, and my exercise ring wasn't quite closed. I could have put on my shoes and headed out around the block and closed that damn circle, but I didn't.
Normally, I'd think that this was a failure, but to be honest, I'd forgotten to rest. In all my planning and trying to be more focused on the future, it's all been about doing things and getting things done. I keep pushing down rest as being idle as wasteful, but it's something I have to be more conscious of and pay attention to. I think I need to schedule rest and idle time just to add buffer and recovery to my habits. Rather than ignore it, it’s more about making space for it - to be conscious of it and that it is a rational need.
It also made me think about the gamification trap many of us have fallen into. Some of that data is really good and motivating. Those streaks have helped move my inactive body into an active one. I'm seeing results from the health data from the changes I've made to diet and exercise. They help quantify change. They also don't tell our story. They don't understand the long haul flights or travelling, illnesses or sick kids that mean exercise isn't even an option. I appreciate the prompts sometimes; they help chores become habits, but they lack nuance and awareness, which, if they were truly "smart", they would understand.