At two in the afternoon on December 31, I felt my Fitbit buzz against my wrist. I had done it–I had accomplished my goal of walking 10,000 steps each and every single day during 2016. The challenge I had created for myself was complete; I had achieved what I had set out to do. I felt exhilarated, relieved, and secretly a bit proud of my accomplishment.

The way my 2016 Fitbit challenge started was quite simple. After receiving a Fitbit at a meeting (thanks, Kirsten Carr-Vasey!) I was quickly seduced by the world of wearables. I liked – and nearly became addicted to – knowing how much I moved, how many steps I took, when I managed to have an active day and knowing when I did not. I started using MyFitnessPal in conjunction with my Fitbit to ensure my food intake met the energy requirements of these workouts. Like my experience using an iPad for the first time,  I re-discovered technology’s ability to influence human behavior and how it can help people make lifestyle changes.

Early on in my 2016 Fitbit challenge I made an additional rule for myself: no more negative “outlier” days! No more slacking, no more days of walking fewer than 6,000 steps. I needed to establish a consistent and acceptable baseline–doing so would make achieving my movement goal more feasible.

Challenging myself to take a certain number of steps each day wasn’t only about satisfying my competitive streak–I wanted to better understand the impact, experience, and process of changing one’s lifestyle habits. One of the biggest challenges in healthcare today involves effective ways to get patients to adopt healthier habits and lifestyle choices in order to improve their health outcomes. My Fitbit challenge, I felt, was an opportunity for me to better understand the perspective and experience of patients.

So I made a promise to myself, I would walk 10,000 steps a day, every single day. I would walk 10,000 steps, no matter how busy my schedule was: On days when my schedule was filled with meetings from the early morning until late evening; on days when my job required me to drive from Budapest to Bratislava and back; and on the day in which my international flight to Japan–and the corresponding time difference–ate away at precious time that could be spent moving toward my 10,000 step goal. I realized there was only one way I could fit my daily steps quota into my hectic routine: change my daily routine, so add evening walks or wake up earlier.

My alarm clock has gone off earlier on many days and I have made many morning walks before getting in my car or taking the plane., There were benefits to waking up early, such as discovering the beauty of the mists clearing over the river Rhine in Mainz during sunrise. Eating my breakfast after watching joggers run along the beach in Barcelona relaxed me, and morning walks along the Danube in Bratislava had the same effect. I now know every nook and cranny of my neighbourhood in Budapest where I walked on many evenings until reaching that magical 10,000 step mark.

Of course, my Fitbit challenge wasn’t all pretty sunrises and strolls. There were many moments in 2016 in which I felt incredibly frustrated. There were times when it was pouring outside and I felt both genuinely stupid and like a maniac, running up and down my living room (which surely, too, confused my cats). I must have looked quite ridiculous to onlookers on the day when I paced frantically across an airplane parking lot before boarding my plane.

What did I learn through making these changes happen?

  • First and foremost, I learned how much–how badly–I really wanted to do this.

    I was genuinely curious as to what it would take for me to successfully make this change. As an eternal optimist, I had anticipated the challenge could yield unexpected benefits, and I found that motivating. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to cultivate that level of conviction in patients who have recently received a poor diagnosis, news that their illness has taken a turn for the worst, or for those who are victims of bad luck (rather than someone like myself– a pro-active person looking for a challenge). Much has been written on this topic, so in lieu of going on at length on the subject, I will just say that I want to applaud all the hard work that health care professionals and caregivers around the world are doing to make a difference in the lives of patients.

  • Holding myself accountable was crucial.

    Telling others about your desire to change your lifestyle is a helpful to hold yourself accountable, and this also provides an opportunity for others to help and extend their support. More importantly, I felt pressure to follow through on my words after telling so many people about my Fitbit challenge. I could not back out. To place my experience within the context of healthcare again, my challenge renewed my interest in patient-focused community apps, and their potential to be a valuable source of support for patients. This kind of support could be especially valuable for patients with diseases or conditions that make them feel stigmatised.

  • The third lesson I learned was logistical.

    To successfully change my daily routine, I had to plan ahead accordingly and schedule my days efficiently. I had to create time and opportunities to exercise and yes, I needed to engage my willpower muscle. Fortunately, there are a range of patient support programs available that make it easier for patients to incorporate healthy habits and positive lifestyle changes into their lives.

  • The final takeaway?

    This challenge reminded me that I am only one person, there are only 24 hours in a day, and taking advantage of one opportunity necessitates missing out on another. Compromising things you love and enjoy doing was, in my experience, the most difficult part about changing my lifestyle. And in my case, I work out a lot anyway; the nature of my challenge was within my comfort zone. I realize this is a luxury that most patients don’t enjoy.

So now, 5.086.008 steps, 35.520 active minutes and 3.961 kilometres later, I am happy and content with my year of 10.000 steps a day. Going forward, I plan to continue with what I call the “10.000 steps a day — the lite version.” This year, I am aiming to average 10.000 steps per week, which will make for less stressful travel days, and, I hope, help restore my love of rainy days. As is the case with healthcare, identifying a manageable goal for myself that will be sustainable in the long-term is the real key to success.

If you’ll excuse me, I must go now. It’s time to take a walk.