With the Apple Watch hitting the market, you’d think that someone involved with productivity – or, more specifically, time management – would be chomping at the bit to pick one up. While the Apple Watch would be the natural choice for me (all of my devices are Apple-oriented), there are other smart watch options out there. I even reviewed the Galaxy Gear when it first came out.
But I’m not getting an Apple Watch anytime soon. In fact, I’m not getting a smart watch of any kind in the near future, despite the fact that I do write and speak a lot about time.
Why?
Because it doesn’t fill any gaps in my workflow. By adding an Apple Watch to the mix I’d be disrupting my workflow far more than enhancing it.
Sure, a smart watch may eventually prove to help me be more productive. But I doubt it. I mean, the approach is far more important than anything else in my mind, and a device will only take you as far as your approach allows. With devices of all sorts in my arsenal (I’ve actually gotten rid of a few in recent weeks), the Apple Watch doesn’t fit anywhere. No smart watch does.
There is, however, another reason why I’m not purchasing an Apple Watch when it launches or buying a smart watch currently on the market. I think it would alter how I currently think about time in a way that is counterproductive.
Let me explain.
I am a big believer in focusing on task over time. I gave a short talk about this at TEDxVictoria in 2013. I feel as if adding a watch to my wrist will put time at the forefront, which isn’t what I want. And not just the current moment – which I actually think is important to keep in mind – but the minutes and hours beyond that. It’s the future moments that would rile me up and push me back into worrying about how much time I had to do something instead of being as proactive as I tend to be.
Additionally, the notifications of the Apple Watch would drive me nuts. I already pare them down on my phone, and I think that getting pinged by my watch would serve as a constant source of distractions. That, in turn, would not serve me well in terms of productivity. I’d want to mitigate those distractions and the best way to do that right now is to simply not invite them into my life through another device.
The Apple Watch (or any smart watch) will fill a gap for some people and they’ll want it for that reason. Others will want it because it is the hot new technology. A smart watch doesn’t appear to solve any problems for me. Instead, I’d suggest it may actually create some. I’m not “against” the Apple Watch because I do think it will work for a lot of people. But I’m not exactly “for” it, either.
So while I continue to work with the approach I use and the tools I have, I’ll keep an eye on developments with the Apple Watch (and smart watches in general). Maybe one day I will get one but until then I’ll be happy to wear the “watch” I picked up from The Timebandits, which is a far better timepiece option for me at the moment based on where I’m at and what I’m doing.
