The Apple Watch might not be the must have gadget for everyone, but after wearing one for almost four months, I’ve realized it definitely works for me.
I am kind of a productivity geek, so as I soon as I got my watch I started to try different apps and systems to improve my day to day activities.
After some trial and error, here’s what I ended up with:
Date and Time
There is really not much explaining to do here.
Todoist
This is the central app on my work watch face. With a lift of my wrist, I can see exactly what I should be doing at that moment. I try to list my tasks everyday in the order they should be finished.
Calendar
It just tells me when my next appointment will be. I usually can remember what it is, but if I can’t, I just have to tap and my entire schedule for the week will be displayed.
Activity Wheel
If I could, I would just spend my whole day sitting on my desk. But that’s not healthy, is it? So my Watch forces me to move. I am that competitive person that needs to fill the wheels of the app to feel accomplished. Silly, but works for me. Thanks to this app, I most days do at least 30 minutes of exercise.
Pomodoro Timer
This is the best tool I’ve found to keep me focused. The Pomodoro Technique is pretty simple, you work for 25 minutes and then rest 5. Every four 25 minute blocks of work you get a longer break.
I have a reminder set “Start Pomodoro” at the beginning of my work day. I keep pomodoro-ing until my meal break; I use my breaks to stretch, make a cup of tea, or pick up something here and there (perks/dooms of being a work-from-home-wife).
And that’s it!
I also make a lot of use of Siri to make quick reminders, and start countdowns and answer phone calls while cooking. When I use my systems right, this set up keeps me productive like nothing else ever has.
Do you own an Apple Watch?
How do you keep productive?
Let me know in the comments below!
Michael Hamilton says
Love this! I’ve had my Apple Watch since Christmas and I’m still trying to find the best way to fit it into my workflow. Thanks for writing this up Ana!
Chris Wilson says
Great post Ana, and really interesting since I don’t have an Apple Watch but I did play with Android wear for a bit. I found some things to be really useful. I managed to get into the habit of messaging my wife via dictating but it wasn’t the easiest or most exact thing. I also liked having calendar notifications appear on my watch as it helped me stay organise.
The thing that really stood out for me was the Pomodoro timer. I use those quiet a lot but the watch makes absolute sense for a location for one. Also I didn’t know you were a todoist user! I was tempted to jump ship to 2do but todoist is still my favourite for some reason.
I imagine that the watch could be a great place for a spaced repition app to learn a language or memorise some scripture. Especially if you’re just in a queue at a shop and it notices that. Perhaps that could be worth a try.