Apple Watch Beyond Fitness
In my previous article about Apple Watch, I wrote about the fitness benefits of Apple Watch. Now I will share my thoughts about how I’ve been using Apple Watch for non-fitness things in my life. I’ve found three so far: keeping time, silent alarms, and being more present.
Keeping Time
Apple Watch is designed for keeping time, so, duh! But, I’m not talking about it in terms of ‘do you have the time’ kind of thing. I’m talking about: How long does this activity take me? What time did I leave the house? What time did I get to the office? What time did the meeting start? You can do the same with a phone, the screen just shows the time, but with Watch, it’s easier since I:
- pull out my wrist
- look at time
- make a mental note of time
- continue on with my activity
To take this to another level, I got Atracker app, which lets me create any kind of activity category and I just tap when I start them and time is recorded. It’s a phone app that works on Watch. This has been very useful on my weekends because my time isn’t so structured or so easily recordable.
Silent alarms
This is one feature I haven’t had in any device yet: gentle wrist vibration. The buzzing is only noticable by me and no one else. Since it’s on my wrist, I always notice it and I have a hard time forgetting my Watch on my desk or somewhere. With this feature, I’ve used it to limit my activity time, like my pomodoros.
I’ve tried pomodoros before, but I would always just stray. I start by working on the computer, go for a walk as a break, then forget about working, etc. With a silent alarm on my wrist, I would stay focused until the alarm (and I always made sure I take and end my break on time!) It’s definitely improved my pomodoros and the number of pomodoros!
Waking up earlier
Another feature of the silent alarm: waking up without disturbing my wife in bed! I wanted to wake up earlier than her, but always kind of disturbed her sleep because if I can hear the alarm, she can too. I can’t hear the alarm, I’m not waking up!
I discovered this benefit from the Sleep++ developer’s blog post
So, by wearing Apple Watch to sleep, I now have my own alarm which I can use to wake up at any time without disturbing my wife. I have used this to improve my morning productivity greatly because I can get up earlier and she can sleep in more.
Being more present
With Watch, I am more present than before. My wife hates it when I’m “on my phone” instead of being with her. Well, with Watch, since the screen is that much smaller, there’s less things to see, which means there are less things to do on the Watch. I’m still aware of my alerts, but I am more focused on being where I am and not doing something on my phone.
The smaller screen really means less information, at the same time, because it’s smaller, it really means each piece of information on there is really important.
Whereas on my phone, the larger screen just means more distractions. On my phone, I can do so many other things… check the weather, my mail, any messages for me, and that’s just my ‘notifications’ screen. Don’t ask what happens when I get to my home screen. :-D
There is a really a big difference on how present I am with Watch compared with phone. I’m not thinking of notifications. If I am looking at a notification on my Watch, it’s not for very long.
I also respond to notifications right on my Watch using dictation or when I want to be more discreet, just an emoji or standard response. It’s very nice to not use phone for everything.
Overall
Watch has improved my life by making me more present in the moment, giving me personalized alarms, and helping me track activity times. I initially bought it on a whim, but Watch has grown on me in different ways than I expected. I’m very attached to my Watch now and wear it all the time.