5 Unexpected Ways a Smart Watch Can Improve Your Life

Life Hacks

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Thinking about buying yourself a smart watch? There’s no doubt that they’re handy pieces of technology, but I was surprised at all the ways a smart watch can improve your life. Here are a few of my favorite tools!

When the Apple watch first came on the scene a couple years ago, they were cool looking but I wasn’t totally convinced I needed one. After all, my phone is pretty much by my side most of the day.

Then one day I realized that by having a smart watch, I’d be able to leave my phone behind when I went running and that got me really interested. After jumping on a great secondhand Apple watch deal, there’s hardly been a day go by that I haven’t worn mine and I’ve been shocked at how much I didn’t know they could do!

Here are a few surprising ways my smart watch has made my life significantly easier:

1. Timer for everything

Yes, I know that we’re surrounded by digital timers these days: our computers, our phones and our microwaves all have them. But I had no idea how handy it would be to have one right on my wrist!

A few times that I’ve found this crazy helpful are when watering my garden, when cooking waffles (our waffle iron timer is broken) or when coordinating multiple things in the oven or on the stove, and when kids are requesting to take turns with a device. The best part is that you just raise your wrist and speak into the watch to get it started.

2. Less time on the phone around my kids

This was one of my main reasons for getting a smart watch: I no longer need to constantly check my phone when I get a notification. During our homeschool hours, for example, I still want to be able to see important texts from my mom or neighbor, without having my phone in front of me constantly and running the risk of getting distracted from home school time.

I can’t tell you how amazing it’s been to put my phone away all morning so I can be present for my kids. When my phone dings, I can glance at my watch and read a quick text or instantly reject an unimportant phone call without getting pulled to social media or something else.

3. Phone-free exercise time

Running is my favorite form of exercise but I hate lugging my massive phone around with me! Logging my pace and listening to music are non-negotiables for me so a watch allows me to do both with my phone left safely at home.

I opted out of a data plan for my watch, which means that when my phone and watch are separated, I can’t make calls or texts. But in all honesty, I welcome my runs as a break from being in contact with the entire world.

4. Easier to make healthy choices

It seems that most people are buying Fitbits and smart watches specifically in order to keep track of their daily steps and activity level, but this just wasn’t of great interest to me. Until, that is, I started wearing one and paying attention!

One interesting lesson I learned, for example, was that on the days I exercised, I burned more NON-exercise calories than on my regular days without a workout. That means that if I generally burned about 400 calories just doing my regular daily mom stuff, then on the days when I went running, even if my run only used up 200 calories, those days I’d burn closer to 800 calories! Somehow going for a run in the morning kept me more active throughout the entire day.

Little revelations like that have been a huge help for me in making healthier decisions since buying my watch.

5. Fewer missed appointments & deadlines

My brain is all over the place with 9 kids and a couple businesses to run. No matter what organizational system I’d tried in the past, I always found myself getting lost in the chaos of the day, only to miss a doctor’s appointment or forget to pick a kid up from somewhere.

I can’t even remember the last time I’ve dropped a schedule ball since getting my watch! Every time I enter something in my phone calendar, I schedule an alert that gets pushed to my watch. So even if my phone is MIA or I’m getting out of the shower, my watch buzzes me right when I need to head to an appointment or make an important phone call.

Similarly, I’ve set alarms for myself on my phone through the clock app for my regularly scheduled pickups and drop offs (school for Liam, dance class for my girls, tutoring appointments, etc) and my watch alerts me when it’s time for these as well. I can’t imagine going back to my old way of doing things!

Bonus (favorite) feature

I can’t believe I almost forgot to share about the tool that I use probably more than any other: the ability to ping your phone from your Apple watch! If you’re like me and tend to leave your phone all over the house as you go about your day, this tool is crazy helpful. It’s allowed me to find my phone in a pile of laundry, under the couch, in the bathroom, you name it. And it pings nice and loud, even when your phone is on silent.

I really love how streamlined and organized I feel now with my watch helping me keep things together. Do you have a smart watch yet or do you still need some convincing?

If you like this post, you might also like reading about our home command center for organizing schedules and appointments!

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