Smart Watches and why I need them

I was sceptical about having a smartwatch. It was one of those things where I could not see the benefit. then I got one and it was a game-changer. Personally, I think that most people should try smart watches just to try them out.

Got a sports watch with my S7

It was time to upgrade to the next phone. While looking at the various Android phones I noticed that Optus was offering a Gear Fit 2 with the Samsung S7. While I was a bit sceptical about using smart watches I thought why not. It did not take long for smartwatches to be a requirement for me.

Neural divergent household.

In our house my wife is Autistic and I have ADHD. While at the time we did not know this as we both have been diagnosed in the last few years. The smartwatch was a huge help for us. Where I am hyper-social and always connected to social media she tends to be a little more of a hermit. This is not a bad thing but having my notification going off all the time is something that really bothers her.

While I can always put my phone on silent having me check the phone for every notification became a problem. This is where the smartwatch came in. By sending all my notifications to my watch and having the ability to filter out the notifications that were not important, I could spend less time looking at my phone. The buzz on my wrist was enough to tell me that whatever it was was important.

Keeping me on task

With ADHD focus is a huge problem for me. While turning my phone off seemed like a good idea it does not work well when I also need to know when I needed to pick up the kids from the bus stop Or know if my wife needed me to pick up something on the way home. The smartwatch made it so that texts would buzz my arm but the latest game or chat app would not notify me and I could check it after work.

It also prevents me from forgetting important events. With my ADHD I have no concept of time. This used to make me late all the time, but now it makes me paranoid about being late all the time even though it has been years since I have been late for anything. The smartwatch allows me to keep track of time and where I need to be without having to be obsessed by the clock.

Checking your phone without checking your phone

I have always disliked having phones while at work. When a customer sees you check your phone they always assume you are goofing off and ignoring them. It does not matter if you are actually checking on the status of their order or running the accounting for the business. If you are looking at your phone you are ignoring them. As someone who takes customer service very seriously this is something that I am hyper-aware of.

At the same time, I need to always be checking my phone for all sorts of reasons 90% of them work-related. So being able to check my watch vs my phone is much faster and does not give the false impression of goofing off.

Orders a refurbished Apple watch for my wife.

Just this last week I ordered a refurbished Apple watch for my wife. She has been working really hard on her current studies and when she mentioned that she may be actually interested in an Apple watch I jumped on the chance.

While many people are glued to their phones she is the opposite. She hates looking at it. While most of the time is not a problem there are times she missed an important phone call from me or our daughter. So the idea of having the Apple watch set up so she only gets the most important notification will improve the chances she will get the message when she needs it.

We see how she likes it … if she does not I may have to take it for myself. After all I am supposed to be giving classes on all Apple products.

More from MacMason