Today marks my first full year using Jawbone Up24. Since I got it, a lot of people have asked me why I’m wearing it. The question always comes from one of two angles: "you’re a healthy guy, why do you have that?" and "why would anyone need a device to tell you if you got enough sleep". My stock answers are always along the lines of "sometimes my job makes me sit inside all day" for the former, and "there’s accountability in hard numbers and graphs" for the latter. What doesn’t get measured doesn’t get done.

I can’t share a crazy weight-loss story, or say it taught me how to walk again, but using Up has been good to me in the past year. I’m much more aware of my sleep, and get more of it. I’m familiar with my neighborhood, and have found spare time in my walks to dictate journal entries, listen to podcasts and have actual face-to-face conversations with people. I really like walking. Using my fitness tracker every day through 2014 was the closest I’ve ever gotten to pulling off a New Years’ Resolution, and I think I figured out the key factors in making that happen for anybody who just got one:

1) Wear it. This sounds so dumb. It’s the truth, though. My biggest reason for choosing Jawbone’s Up24 was the design. The discreet black band hides under more formal clothes, and mentally "disappeared" on my arm within a few days of owning it. The advantages of the screens, blinking LEDs, watch faces and additional sensors adorned by Up’s competition are eclipsed by the simple fact that I only need to take this thing off when I’m getting in the water.

The first time you decide to leave your shiny new activity tracker at home, it’s game over for accountability. You already missed a day, what’s another one? Don’t give yourself that out. Become naked without your fitness tracker.

2) Reference it. If you already have challenges with getting to sleep at a reasonable hour, or getting out of the house after a heavy work-day, wearing a piece of rubber isn’t going to motivate you. Looking back at a sad graph at the end of your week’s progress isn’t going to help either. It’s far to easy to say "I already messed up" and get back to your Netflix queue.

Every single one of these trackers offers real-time feedback. It could be on the device itself, or it might live in your phone. This feedback offers you a chance to see your progress, and act as a motivator for hitting your daily goals. If the sun is setting and I only see 4,000 steps for my day, I’ll make it a point to walk for at least a few thousand more. Giving yourself the opportunity to hit a goal today always trumps trying to do it some other time.

3) Respect it. The advantages of the goals being set by these wearables isn’t voodoo. There are countless studies on the benefits of sleep when it comes to health, creativity, and happiness. It’s also a simple fact that getting off the couch and moving your body is the best way to shed extra poounds, keep your circulatory system in check, and even retain mobility as you age. This is all good stuff.

The concept of the "quantified self" is new, and frightening to some people. The concept of the sedentary human-being is also relatively new, and should be scarier. Most of us don’t wake up sore from manual labor, or hunting and gathering. We sit in chairs all day, and generally have unhealthy diets. These devices and apps offer us a barometer for getting the most out of our bodies, and functioning more like humans are supposed to function.

The catch is we have to use them.