Wristwatch, Apple Watch, wristwatch

I am, as many people nowadays are, addicted to my phone. But not even in the "regular" way, like you would think. It's not Instagram or TikTok. I don't have any of those social networks. Heck, I don't even have WhatsApp which is by far the most popular messenger in Germany. You should really see people's reactions when I tell them they can send me a SMS (I have iMessage; it's nowhere near as popular as it is in the US though). Still, I'm addicted to that smart telephone. But instead of mindlessly consuming the never ending stream of content that gets generated by algorithms in apps like TikTok or Instagram, what is it that keeps distracting me all the time? It's me.

For reasons that are beyond the scope of this post, I got into a habit of checking literally everything all the time. Like the performance of my stock portfolio, multiple times a day. I guess that's even kind of reasonable, right? Might be a good opportunity to buy or sell some more stocks or ETFs. You never know (FOMO is also a thing I'm struggling with). But it doesn't stop there. That would be harmless. What I noticed in the past couple of weeks and months is way more concerning. Let me give you a few examples. A non-embarrassing one that I'm not alone with is pulling down the notification center to check if there's anything new. Pretty common amongst people who are addicted to their phones. Most of the time you even know there's nothing new and you still look (ha! you too?). Let's get to an example that's kinda embarrassing and showed me that I have an actual problem: Opening the car sharing app to check whether any cars are in my vicinity. For no particular reason. I'm not about to use a car. That's bad enough already. But it doesn't stop there. I then might even go ahead, tap on a car, and check the fuel level. It's an impulse. Like wtf. Why would I even do that? There are reasons for this behavior, and like I said, they are beyond the scope of this post.

"Hey mate, why's the title Wristwatch, Apple Watch, wristwatch?", you ask? Well, I've been (was, to be precise) wearing an Apple Watch for a couple of years, almost a decade. And the great thing about having a computer attached to your wrist is that there is one more little device that can distract you. And of course I became victim to this rectangular wonder of technology. Checking the watch for updates, looking for new messages, regularly, way too often.

So I'm usually focused on finding solutions and fixes to things. Make them work, make them better. That's just part of who I am, part of my job too. So I started disabling notifications, turning on Do Not Disturb all the time, and adjusted other settings. You know what the result was? Checking the phone itself again instead of the Apple Watch. It became almost an instinct. But not one that helps you in any way. Far from helping you to survive. That's what instincts are good for.

The solution? Getting a regular (analog) wristwatch. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive, nothing smart about it. Even though it got backlight and a cute Snoopy (Peanuts ❤️) on its watch face which is nice. I like looking at it (but not tapping on it!). It's been a month since I traded my Apple Watch for this wristwatch and my symptoms got better, much better. I stopped the habit of looking at my wrist all the time and I'm not missing anything. I'm really into sports and liked tracking my workouts, fitness stats, and everything the Apple Watch offers in that regard. But do we really need to keep track of everything? All the time? I don't.

But I'm not done. And neither is my Apple Watch! It got one last job before I'm probably going to sell it. It will help me with my smartphone addiction. Yes, you read that right. The smartwatch I was addicted to will help me with another thing I'm addicted to. I recently read a blog post by Arne who lived without his smartphone for a week and relied on his Apple Watch instead.

Here's what Arne's experience was like:

When I was out and about and waiting for something, I was forced to just wait. This gave me time to reflect and think things through, a time I didn’t know I was missing. Instead of having to make an effort to not look at my phone when I’m with friends, I was relaxed because I had no other choice. And instead of doom-scrolling while watching a TV show on the couch, I just watched the TV show

I ditched my Apple Watch and started wearing a regular watch again before I read that article but still, I'm intrigued and want to give it a try. I won't get rid of the phone completely for a week though but probably keep it in my backpack for certain scenarios when I'm out of the house, like my public transport ticket which is a QR code, (actually using) car sharing, and other things where you (have to) rely on your phone. After that experiment is done, my phone addiction (hopefully) cured, it's time to say farewell to my Apple Watch. It's just not for me. I'm too easily distracted and too susceptible to addiction.

Curious to see what my relationship to my phone will look like in the future. Taking my first steps to making it a more healthy relationship.

This is post 3 of 31 for the #WeblogPoMo2024, the Weblog Posting Month, 2024 where the goal is to publish one blog post per day in May.

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