I spoke at a conference at Stanford last month and one of the gifts was this new little device called Striiv. It’s one of the many devices all betting that people want to put some little device on their body and measure stuff, like how many steps you took that day. 

I personally believe that body data tracking is just hype for many reasons. The amount of money these companies are raising is way out of proportion to actual benefit to society. 

But I decided to try this thing out just to say I’ve done it.

On Thursday, I visited the doctor, went to the bank, walked to lunch and to the grocery store for dinner— a very typical day living in NYC. I logged 8,476 steps. The national average is 5300! On Saturday, I walked over the Williamsburg Bridge into Soho and the West Village logging 22,005 steps/10.8 miles, typical Saturday walk with my dog.

When I visit my parents or speak at a conference— essentially, when I visit anywhere else where walking is not my primary means of transport— I quickly understand the value of living in NYC. I’m surrounded by an environment that makes being healthy easy. Living in NYC is one of the healthiest decisions I’ve made. 

That being said, I’m glad this device gave me a baseline and confirmed what I already knew. I walk a lot.