Category: Tech Talk

Strava

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Strava is a relatively new app for tracking your cycling and running. It does what much more expensive pieces of equipment do for FREE..

Reasons I love strava and think you should too.

1. Motivation. Strava is pretty, intuitive and it makes seeing your results easy. You can also follow and be followed by friends for added camaraderie.

2. Tracking.. Strava is accurate. You can track your mileage, speed, elevation, heart rate (with monitor and premium account). It’s hard to get better if you can’t track your growth.

3. SEGMENTS! Strava has a unique community feature called segments. Segments are simply a small (or big) part of a ride created by strava users. Anyone who rides over that same segment will be timed and ranked among all the other users. For you weird competitive ones like me out there, this feature alone is worth the download.

4. Challenges. There are also Strava wide challenges that are usually something like Who can ride 500 km first. Usually these challenges are completed by freaks who ride like 100 miles a day, but they are fun nonetheless.

Conclusion:
Strava is an absolute must have if you run or cycle and you have an iphone. It is simply the best way to track your rides and runs. GET IT.

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//click image to go to app store//

Jawbone UP

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I wanted to write a quick product review for the Jawbone UP.

jawbone up

PROS:

  1. Aesthetics. The thing looks cool. Comes in several colors. Definitely beats wearing a hip pedometer in my opinion.
  2. Ease of use. The thing has one button. The nicely hidden headphone plug allows for easy plug in updates to your iphone. The new Jawbone UP 24 connects wirelessly so it doesn’t have the headphone plug.
  3. Great way to track life. The UP tracks your steps, you can input a weight training session (kind of), it tracks your sleep (REM and non-REM), your waking time, your mood, your food and drink intake. Helps improve self-awareness.
  4. Motivation. I think seeing your lifestyle laid before you on a good looking app lets you see progress and where you can grow. Nothing motivates more than measured progress.
  5. Connectivity. The UP connects with other apps like Runkeeper, MyFitnessPal, and Strava.
  6. Battery Life. The thing lasts for days.

Cons:

  1. Accuracy. The UP is worn on your wrist, it counts steps when you move your arms around. Not a HUGE deal but definitely a con.
  2. Not very good for strength training. While you can input weight training sessions, it is pretty vague and just assigns your some calorie usage based on length of time and intensity.

Conclusion:

I love the idea of the Jawbone UP and other “life-tracking” technology, I think they are ultra helpful for getting an idea of what your day-to-day calorie expenditure and sleep cycle looks like. I really think that the usefulness of the Jawbone UP depends on your current fitness level and what your future goals are. If you are living a sedentary lifestyle and we want to become more active GET ONE, but if you are already active or even an elite athlete I doubt the effectiveness of counting your steps. Also for those of you, like me, who are trying to build strength and spend most of your time working out in the gym as opposed to running, cycling or long walks, the UP isn’t for you. I don’t think steps per day is the best metric for you.

Feel free to leave a comment or ask questions if you’d like.

What is #dptstudent and why care?

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Hey Classmates,

I wanted to take a quick second to shed some light on an opportunity for all of you to connect with other DPT students and pros. As many of you know, I heart twitter.  I heart twitter because it has allowed me to make TONS of connections with awesome physical therapist and students who are constantly pushing the profession forward.  One of the ways that this has happened is through something called a tweet chat.

#dptstudent is an example of a tweetchat.  So basically all it is is a set time and place with a set topic for a set group of people to discuss things on twitter.  In the case of #dptstudent those things in the past have pretty much all been about PT, student loans, and other relevant topics for students.

All you need to do to join us (if you have a twitter account) is enter #dptstudent into your search and follow the search. This is much easier if you have a twitter application that saves searches for you, like HootSuite.  I reviewed HootSuite here, if you care. I hope you can join us.  If you don’t have a twitter account, get one!

Hope this is helpful

-Zack

How I use Google Drive

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Hey Classmates,

I wanted to follow up on my last post about organizing life with the second part of my techy organizational system.  If you read my post on “the system” then you have a good idea of how I manage my to-dos, projects, running thoughts and so forth, but you may have thought “What does he do with all of the notes, power points, syllabi, etc?”

Well, this is what I do.  I have a free Google Drive account that I use only for school, not pictures, no music…just school.  This is important because the how point of organizing is to be organized and simple, so don’t do it.  If you want to store music or pictures in a cloud based service you can use Dropbox or Skydrive (both free).

Steps:

  1. Download Google Drive
  2. Create 2 folders: DPT Classes and Other PT School DocsScreen shot 2013-06-04 at 12.04.04 AM
  3. Within the DPT Classes folder create a folder for the semester (ie. Summer 2013)Screen shot 2013-06-04 at 12.04.13 AM
  4. Within Summer 2013 folder, create folders for every class you haveScreen shot 2013-06-04 at 12.04.18 AM
  5. Optional step: If you would like to further divide your classes you can create a folder called Lecture notes and folder called Assignments

This may seem like a lot of work but it really isn’t bad compared to losing work and misplacing things throughout our three years of class.  This will be very helpful for comprehensive exams.

For you paper note takers, I think this system can still be helpful for you.  You can take notes in class on paper, then copy your notes onto the power point (assuming the lecture is power point based).  That way you see the notes twice before storing them and you have an electronic copy in your Google Drive to be accessed from anywhere

 

Hope this is helpful 🙂

How to Organize Life

zduhamel1 Comment

Hey classmates,

There has been a lot of talk the first couple of days of school about what techniques and strategies are best for staying organized during PT school.  I want to start by saying that there is no ONE system that works for everyone.  I am a tech nerd so the system I use leverages technology pretty heavily (basically you need a smart phone for it to be helpful), but there is definitely room for paper within it if you’d like to do that too.  Let’s get started.

The system I use is called The Secret Weapon.  It is built on the framework that David Allen created in his famous Getting Things Done book.  The premise of Getting Things Done is that in order to operate at our highest level cognitively we need to clear out space in our working memory aka we need unclutter our heads to think clearly.  The way that we do that is by getting things out of our heads and into a trusted system.  The example he uses a lot is, if you have a presentation that you need to make sure you don’t forget for tomorrow morning, you put it in front of the door that way as you are leaving you run into it and you remember.  The idea is get things out of your head and into a system.

The secret weapon is that system…it sounds ultra nerdy, maybe it is, but so far it has been helping this (undiagnosed) ADHD brain work well amidst a lot of busyness.

Setup:

Setting up the system is not hard it just takes a little bit of time (more time for more busy people).  All you need to do is sign up for a free Evernote account, have an email account and follow the steps laid out on the website.  I promise you at first you will be a little confused and probably not like the system, it isn’t until you get it fully up and running and you are able to be fully engaged with what you need to be engaged with that you will love it.

  1. Download Evernote
  2. Prep Evernote for the system 
  3. Set up your email for Evernote–if you have problems here there may be a solution for you here www.ifttt.com.
  4. Empty the inbox –this takes the most time

And you are ready to go!  Now when a professor says remember to read blah blah for next class, you whip out your phone, make a note that says read blah blah for class, tag it, and its done until you revisit your system later and get it done.

Screen shot 2013-06-03 at 11.44.32 PM

This is how it looks in action

Like I said this system is definitely tech heavy so if you don’t like that you can always do something similar with paper, a cabinet and some folders (Allen’s book will help for this).  The real key is to get a system whether its print based or digital, our human brains work best when clear of clutter.

How do you organize your life?  Do you have a system?  I’d love to hear about it.

Hope this helps 🙂

Look out for my next post on how to use Google Drive in conjunction with this system.

Square vs. Paypal Here vs. Gopayment for Cash Pay PT

zduhamel4 Comments

I have recently had a growing interest in Cash Based Physical Therapy due to PTs like Jarod Carter (http://www.drjarodcarter.com/), Ann Wendel (http://prana-pt.com/) and Chris Johnson (http://chrisjohnsonpt.com/). I don’t want to go too far into why I think its an incredible option not only for the clinician but also the patient because I think I still have a lot to learn, maybe in another post. But with cash based PT in mind, I write this post.

All small business owners need to do 2 things. Make money, and spend less money than they make. Its a simple equation that can get really really hairy. There is a ton of resources out there about how to do both of those better. This post will focus on the later of the two. Cutting Costs.

There are tons and tons of point of sale systems (POS) out they vary in price and complexity. There are 3 relatively new options to throw into the mix and they have really changed the game, like all good innovation does.

The 3 POS systems are Square, Paypal Here and Intuit GoPayment. Each of these three systems are mobile based, cheap (free start up if you have an ipad), and allow you to accept credit cards very easily. Let’s take a look at each

Square:

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Square was the first of the mobile card accepting systems. With Square, you can pay either 2.75 percent on all sales, or you can pay $275 a month for 0 percent as long as the item price doesn’t exceed $400. Square does not offer a customer service telephone number, so quick customer service may be hard to come by. Start up is free though, free app and free card reader. More info here https://squareup.com/.

Paypal Here:
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Paypal is relatively new but has made quite a splash. PayPal offers a very straightforward pricing plan: 2.7 percent on everything, no matter your volume or item prices. PayPal technically argues the fee is only 1.7 percent, but that’s only if you use the money with its free debit card with 1 percent cash back. While this is its way of getting to 1.7 percent, it’s only true in very specific spending circumstances, and doesn’t offer much flexibility. Paypal can also take paper checks, which is huge for a PT clinic because many patients still prefer to pay this way. For more info go here https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/credit-card-reader

Intuit GoPayment:
href=”http://zduhammy.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/20130419-150002.jpg”&gt;20130419-150002.jpg
Intuit’s GoPayment offers two main pricing structures in a somewhat similar way to Square. The GoPayment will charge 2.75 percent on all swipes, or you can opt-in for a monthly plan of just $13 a month, which drops the swipe rate down to 1.75 percent. For the monthly payment to pay off, you’d need to be selling more than $1500 a month or so in stuff. $1500 isn’t much to someone with a serious small business, but it’s not meant for the once-in-a-while user. As a result GoPayment has versatility for the small business user, as well as a fair starting rate. For more info go here http://intuit-gopayment.com/iPhone

Bottom Line:
Square is the best deal if you are bringing in more than $10,000 a month. PayPal is good for a smaller clinic making less than $10,000 a month, it can also accept checks and GoPayment has the lowest overall per swipe charge if you pay the measly $13 a month.

What do you think?

Evernote for DPT Students

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evernote

As part of #techweek I wanted to touch on one of my favorite apps ever Evernote.  Evernote has almost endless applications from collecting ideas, organizing recipes, or creating documents, Evernote is probably one of the best free apps ever created and it can be downloaded on your smartphone, computer or tablet and all your information will be synced across each device.

I wrote a blog post previously about advice that the PTs at the clinic I work at gave me, and one of the best pieces of advice that I received was “get a system of organization and stick with it the entire 3 years.”  With that piece of advice in mind I write this post.

Why Evernote would be a great tool for the organization in DPT school:

First off, in school we will be barraged with an inordinate amount of information across several classes across the three years.  All or most of which will have to be returned to and restudied for comprehensive exams.  The worst thing of all time is losing notes or being just plain disorganized…that’s where Evernote comes in.

In Evernote the organizational structure is from largest to smallest:  Stacks, notebooks, notes.

Stacks are made up of multiple notebooks, notebooks are made up of multiple notes and notes are made up of whatever the heck you want (audio files, pictures, videos, powerpoints, text, etc.)  Screen shot 2013-04-15 at 11.15.24 PM

In order to help you understand the breakdown I stuck a picture of my Evernote above.  As you can see I have stacks: Business Plan, Class Spring 2013, Create|simple Clients and Notebooks within those stacks (developmental psych, ethics, etc.)  The same number to the right of the notebook is the total number of notes within that notebook.  So this is clearly a great way to organize information into categories.

In DPT school it will be important to have info like class notes organized in ways that makes them easily accessible.  Evernote gives you the option to search for keywords and any note that contains those words will be presented, something your paper notebook can’t do.  It also gives you the ability  to share notes or even notebooks with classmates, that way if your friend misses a lecture or you miss a lecture the notes can be easily shared and placed into the right notebook.

Overall, I think that its important to find what system is comfortable for you and really stick to it.  I think that Evernote can be a great option for anyone that likes technology and feels confident enough to organize their LIFE into it!  Check out Evernote in the app store.

Hope this is helpful 🙂

Hootsuite vs. Tweetdeck 2013

zduhamel2 Comments

What are Hootsuit and Tweetdeck?  They are both social media management programs that allow you to become way more nerdy then you ever thought with your social media.  Both have the ability to handle facebook and twitter accounts from the same dock.  I have recently been introduced to tweetdeck (again) which I know is a little behind but oh well.  I have been using Hootsuite for quite some time now but my re-introduction to Tweetdeck made me think twice.  This is my brief review of both:

Mobile Platforms:

Let’s me honest without our smart phones the amount of time we spend tweet and facebooking would be unacceptable.  BUT because we can check our twitter and crank out a few tweets and retweets while waiting for your double mocha whatever it kind of makes it ok!  This makes the mobile app for these social media managers hugely important.

Tweetdeck:

Pros:

  1. Smooth platform for multiple twitter feeds
  2. Notifies you on new tweets in multiple streams
  3. Can save multiple searches

Cons:

  1. Cannot schedule tweets
  2. Cannot shrink links
  3. Cannot manage Facebook or Linkedin
  4. tracking conversations can be difficult

Hootsuite:

Pros:

  1. Can schedule tweets
  2. Can manage multiple social media accounts and send messages to all of them simultaneously
  3. Shrink links to fit into 140 more easily
  4. Humble analytics tracking
  5. Easily track twitter conversations

Cons:

  1. Not as seamless as TweetDeck
  2. Must click on individual streams to view and there is no notifications of new messages

Mobile app consensus:  I think the best overall mobile app goes to Hootsuite.  It just does more.  It may not look as pretty but the fact that you can schedule out messages on multiple social medias, keep analytics of your posts and shrink them to fit into your 140 characters pushes Hootsuite over the top for me.  I will say though that I do have Tweetdeck on my phone still because I think it is a more seamless way to engage in TweetChats.  If you don’t know what that is check this out.

Desktop:

For those of you without a smart phone or that just prefer to type, I figured I would review the desktop versions of both as well.

Tweetdeck:

Pros:

  1. has actual app
  2. very good looking
  3. easy to use
  4. schedule messages
  5. automatic updates
  6. view multiple streams at once

Cons:

  1. no analytics
  2. no URL shrinking

Hootsuite:

Pros:

  1. easy to use
  2. analytics
  3. URL shrinking
  4. view multiple streams
  5. lots of tips on how to utilize best

Cons:

  1. Online format only, no app
  2. not quite as pretty in my opinion

Desktop winner:  Tweetdeck.  Tweetdeck’s desktop application (mac) is fantastic.  It is the absolute best way to engage in tweetchats due to the ability to save hashtag searches and have them update automatically.

Hope this was helpful and not too bias 🙂

What is a TweetChat and how do I play?

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What is a Tweetchat?  A tweetchat is a scheduled on topic discussion within Twitter using a Hashtag (#).  If you don’t know what a Hashtag is then go HERE.  This is a very useful application for Twitter and it is a great way for anyone, especially PTs to get connected with other professionals.

How does a Tweetchat work?  Well, first things first there are tons of different Tweetchats that are all chats on different subjects ranging from technology to sports and the environment.  Here is a list of a bunch of Healthcare related tweetchats and their weekly times.  If you clicked on that link then you can see that each different hashtag has a specific time that the tweetchat will take place.  For example, one of my favorites is #DPTStudent which takes places at 9est every Wednesday.  The topic of the weekly discussion will usually be posted during the week on the hashtag and then at 9est the discussion begins!  Simple as that.

So why should I care about these tweetchats anyway?  I think as a DPT student and future professional the value of getting involved with groups of like-minded physical therapists is priceless.  Not only am I learning from people way smarter than me but I am seeing different perspectives to problems that I will face in school and out of school.  The purpose of the tweetchat is to give your content context!  What I mean by that is that we all have content or things we know about and like to talk about, but without a proper context to share that insight we are just blabbing into space.  If you place your insight into a useful context, like a relevant tweetchat the value of your messages is increase dramatically.  You are talking to people at that point, not just updating the world about about your just ate for lunch…big difference.

Hope this is helpful.

–@zduhammy