The World According to Mitch

You think you have problems?  I’m lopsided.  It would appear that my right arm has taken 1,717 steps this morning, while my left arm has only taken 1,520.

For the last few days I was thinking that either the Fitbit Charge or the Microsoft Band was more accurate than the other… but I couldn’t figure out which.  I started to think that to solve the problem I was going to have to buy a third device and let it be the tie-breaker, but then it dawned on me… there are several factors that could affect the devices registering steps, and it would not necessarily mean one or the other was inaccurate, rather that my body is lopsided… or more accurately, my lifestyle is:

• When I walk down the stairs at my girlfriend’s house in the morning my left hand is on the bannister;
• When I walked Gingit this morning I held her leash in my left hand (and picked up after her with my right, but that is probably inconsequential);
• I carry my laptop bag with my left hand.

All  of these behaviours and more can affect how steps are registered… and it is entirely possible that (and in fact likely) that were I to switch the wrists of the devices, the ‘bias’ would weigh in favour of the Microsoft Band rather than the Fitbit – in other words, the bias would weigh in favour of whatever device is on my right (and non-dominant) hand.

Another day, another lesson.  Everything I learn puts a different… slant? on things!