Apple has put together a watch that is slowly changing my life. It seems like a stretch to say but its true. For me, the Apple Watch is an utility item for my notifications, for apps to share snippets of information with me and have the ability to walk away from my phone and still stay connected.
Once I started using the watch, the changes in my lifestyle began. The changes didn’t come all at once; but over the first weeks of owning the watch. It does this by using a carefully curated set of app notifications that provide an incredible amount of convenience while also drawing you into new habit forming behavior. In this review I wanted to go over some of the apps and how they alter my lifestyle.
With past devices I have owned, mail notifications were pretty straight forward. The device would noify me any time I got a new e-mail. Everything was treated in equal measure; so emails from my friends got the same notification as phishing emails from an Arabian prince.
Mail on the Apple Watch prefers to notify you when a message from your VIPs send you a email. My phone still vibrates when I receive new email but the watch remains silent unless someone important to me sends a message. This has removed a lot of clutter from my day.
Once a email has been received, I can also review the text of the email on the watch. That way I can get the gist of whats going on without ever touching my phone. Plus I can review all the email in my inbox if I need to. All together this makes mail management more seamless as it cuts some of the dependance on my phone and helps me target emails from those closest to me.
Activity
The Activity app feels like an anti-fitness app. All it asks of me is to stand around and take the occasional walk. Sure there is a circle for exercise. But when your busy doing other things; I feel two out of three isn’t bad.
Activity gets you going by sending a notifications when its time to Stand. This helps keep me from becoming a total couch-potato on weekends and gets me moving while working on something in my computer chair.
Of course, standing isn’t good enough. Thats when a dozen things I want to do takes over. Go to the bathroom, clean my work space, make some tea, grab dinner, step out for fresh air. I never thought standing up would lead me to so much activity.
However, the Activity app is watching. Before you know it you have achieved the day’s Stand and Walk goals. I would exercise more but like I said, 2 out of three is not bad. I love that its all so subtle and does not make the Apple Watch feel too exercise centric while getting me moving.
Breathe
We all breathe don’t we? Do I really need a watch app for that? Turns out I do. I have come to learn that stopping to take a deep breath every now and then can be very therapeutic and healthy.
Recently, I was in the hospital. A week before admission they prescribed me an Incentive Spirometer to exercise my lungs. The nurse told me; one of the things they worried was the depth and consistency of a patients breathing. That it would not only improve my recovery but also prevent post surgical complications like pneumonia.
All the nurses and doctors were adamant about monitoring my breathing during my hospital stay. For them; it was just as important as all my other vital statistics. This taught me that good breathing is very important to my overall health.
Thats where the Breathe app comes in. Every 3 hours I get an alert that is time to breathe. So I spend a minute taking increasing deeper and guided breaths. The result of that minute break is a more relaxed heart rate, a pair of lungs stretched with fresh air and perhaps feeling a little more mentally centered after a Breathe session.
Conclusion
So here I am; less distracted by garbage, more mobile and breathing easier. The Apple Watch does not get all the credit but its subtle nudging and curated experience has spurred me to get started.
I would recommend the Apple Watch to anyone. Each person’s milage will vary. However, it will definitely make an impression on those who see it and on those who wear it.