My Greatest Love-Hate Relationship

I have a confession to make… 

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been considering giving up my Apple Watch.  

I bought my Apple Watch Series 2, gold, with the toasted coffee/caramel woven band, almost exactly one year ago. I saved for months to be able to justify the extra expense. When I took the leap, I excitedly connected my sharing settings with the few other users I knew in my life (primarily colleagues) in an attempt to stay motivated to complete my daily activity goals.  

At the time of my purchase, I knew that I was buying a glorified fitness tracker, but I was excited about the capabilities of the watch beyond just the “Activity” feature. Primarily, I bought the watch when at the time, I was exercising at least 5 days per week and I’d started running again. I wanted a way to run, phone free, while still listening to music.  

I loved that with the Series 2 watch, I could load up a playlist with 100 songs, pop in some Bluetooth earbuds, leave my phone at home, and take off.  

What I quickly came to discover was that if I wanted to run any additional fitness apps to track my run or phase me through longer distances, I would need my phone for that. I would also quickly learn that I don’t like to listen to music when I run: I like to listen to podcasts. Yet another set of applications that I would need my phone within in range in order to use in correspondence with my watch.  

As time has gone on, I’ve found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with features that I wish my watch had, but it just doesn’t. On another hand, I’ve become increasingly frustrated with my own digital behavior in regards to my Apple Watch.  

Here’s a list of cool things that my watch does, which I am grateful for and would have a hard time replacing:  

  • I love the “Breathe” app…when I take the time to use it. It coaches you through a one-minute meditation/breathing exercise which at the end of, you can see your heart rate. This is a great way to take a quick mental break and to pause throughout the day. 
  • I love the accuracy of the workout feature. It tracks distance or laps (when swimming), it measures heart rate, it counts calories, and it times your activity. All great features if you’re consistently tracking your workouts. 
  • I appreciate that I can reply to texts when I’m within range of my phone. The voice to text feature is crucial when composing messages. The “Scribble” feature is inefficient but very intuitive.  
  • In a pinch, when my phone is buried in my purse, I can answer a call on my watch. Unfortunately, this feature doesn’t help me to maintain any privacy so I find myself having to warn anyone I answer for (ie: my husband) that I am answering from my watch. To which he will loudly respond “OH COOL. YOU’RE ON YOUR DICK TRACY WATCH?!” For all to hear. Every. Single. Time.  

To counter the above list, here are some frustrations I’ve been experiencing:  

  • Cool! I can see when someone has Snapped me, or tagged me on Facebook, or Tweeted me, but in order to get the full experience of the notification, I need to open the app on my phone as my watch doesn’t provide me with the entire scope. Annoying.  
  • My watch buzzes so frequently throughout the day, that I’m either completely desensitized to its notifications, or I find myself checking it out for no good reason. I wind up ignoring notifications I want to interact with (Breathe reminders) and looking at my wrist when it’s not necessary (when someone is BEGINNING to compose a message to me in Snapchat. And they aren’t even done yet! Snapchat really knows how to hook its users!)  
  • I look rude…ALL THE TIME. Seriously. Being in a social situation and constantly looking at my watch gives the off-putting perception that I don’t want to be where I am and I’m checking the time to see how quickly I can exit said social situation. This, of course, isn’t what’s happening, but how is anyone else to know that?!  
  • I’m not in a great workout routine right now…and I’m constantly reminded of it. Due to sharing my activity settings, I am notified every time someone I’m connected with completes a workout, earns a reward, gets a “Perfect Workout Week,” runs a half-marathon, completes a triathlon, conquers Mount Everest or fights a bear with their bare hands.  

I’ve been very cognizant of my tech use as of late and of my need to create better boundaries for myself, and weighing the pros and cons of my Apple Watch use is something I need to work out.  

Before jumping ship, all together, it’s clear to me that I need to adjust some settings on my device. I intend to turn off many notifications, and may disable my activity sharing all-together.  

I’d love to hear any other insight you have on making the most of your Apple Watch, without being driven crazy by it.  

5 comments on “My Greatest Love-Hate RelationshipAdd yours →

  1. Well… when something you thought was gonna motivate you serves to “de-motivate,” it may be time for a healthy break. The Apple Watch is not for everyone just like a pair of shoes or “spandex”::: just cuz it fits doesn’t mean it should be worn. 😜

    I do think turning off notifications is an important step. I leave mine off -always. I would encourage you to just go back to what you were doing before the watch. The beautiful thing is…. there is a market to resell your watch. Not every device is for everyone.. Device boundaries are so healthy!

    You don’t need that watch… you have plenty of other ways to connect. I feel the same as you do about the Snapchat feature…

  2. Fun read Keegan even if you are frustrated. Maybe take a hiatus and see if you miss it that much. I’m sure lessening the notifications would help. I also notice a different vibration depending on if it is a text, call, or Snapchat notification. I wonder if you can program them yourself so the important ones for you like “breathe” will violently shake your arm until you naturally fall into a “down-dog” for a minute. Now that would be cool and would turn heads!

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