Scientific research and psychology have revealed that the best way to achieve a big goal (like losing weight) is to break it down into small steps — and that’s where these tools come in handy:
Health Txts and text4baby are free online text messaging services designed to help people achieve their fitness goals by sending them little inspirational messages and tips. Each would make a great addition to any employer wellness program.
Why use text messages?
Texts are personal, can be saved for future reference and are already a big part of many peoples’ daily routines — so it won’t take any time for your employees to warm up to them.
Sure, e-mail is a great medium for sending and receiving health updates, but e-mail messages are easily lost or ignored in the inbox.
Text messages, on the other hand, are almost always viewed. Think about it: When was the last time you ignored a text sent straight to your cell phone?
Another reason texts are so popular: People know they’re short and to the point.
And that’s the beauty of these two services — they send personalized, short, relevant health notes and tips directly to where your employees are almost guaranteed to read them.
Breaking the services down
Some specifics on the two services:

• Health Txts — sends self-improvement text messages that recipients can either write themselves or have sent to them from Health Txts’ library. Recipients can select a category (like “Quit Smoking”) and how many texts they’d like to receive per day. A smoking cessation sample message: “Cravings will pass — strokes and heart attacks do not.”
• text4baby — sends messages every week to help soon-to-be parents through pregnancy and the first year of child care. Each message has been reviewed by U.S. government health agencies — and the info and advice offered is personalized based on the due date the user enters upon signing up.

Let us know what you think about these programs in the Comments Box below.