How I Use My APPLE WATCH for Stress & Organization (from an Apple Watch Hater)
Would you believe that just a couple months ago, I was writing a blog post about why I stopped using my Apple Watch? Well, it’s fair to say that’s not true anymore…
I was gifted my first Apple Watch by an ex-boyfriend. He was upgrading his and, at that point, I just couldn’t see myself dropping a couple hundred dollars on a watch. Especially a watch that would harass my much-needed peace with notifications. I just couldn’t get on board with the whole idea. In fact, after using his hand-me-down Apple Watch Series 5 for about 6 months, I decided I didn’t like it and bought myself an Amazon Halo View.
Now, don’t let the bad reviews fool you. I think there are people out there that are so anti-Amazon that they will just shit on anything Amazon puts out. I really liked my Halo View in a lot of ways, but talking with a friend about how she uses her Apple Watch, watching YouTube videos of all the different ways other people use their Apple Watch, and realizing all the potential for doing stress tracking via HRV (heart rate variability) on the Apple Watch peaked my interests…again. So, I dusted off the ex-boyfriend’s old Apple Watch and started playing around with it again.
Let’s just say, I’m obsessed. So much so that I bought a Series 8 this fall—because, I’ll be honest, I didn’t like looking down at my wrist and thinking of my ex. 😂 But, I am loving the Apple Watch so much since I switched back.
Here are some of the things I do with my Apple Watch to stay Organized, Calm, & Productive.
01. I use focus modes.
This was something I picked up on from K Digital Studio on YouTube. I really like it! And I did a couple of really fun things. I’m incredibly visual, so I set-up all of my Focus modes to be associated with specific backgrounds and apps that really set the mood of what I’m trying to do in that focus mode. For example…
Do Not Disturb. I have DND set-up to go on from 12-7AM every day (and I’ll sometimes activate it during the day when I don’t want anyone bugging me. It’s set-up with some lovely, calming images and a complete absence of apps and widgets, both on my iPhone and my Apple Watch.
Driving. This is automatically turned on when I start driving and switches to a mode with a black lock screen on my phone and a basic lock screen on my watch with no apps or widgets available.
Fitness. I can activate my fitness mode, but it’s set to automatically come on when I access either Beachbody OnDemand (my preferred workout app) OR when I start a workout. Once it does, it switches to a fitness-focused app face, a fitness image on my iPhone lock screen, and fitness and health-focused apps on a custom home screen.
Work. This is automatically triggered to come on from 12pm to 6pm Su-Th, which is when I work in my day-job. Similar to the other focus modes, it has an associate lock screen image on my iPhone that reminds me it’s work time, a custom home screen with my calendars and work-focused apps, and a custom Apple Watch face
I also have a personal focus mode and sleep focus mode.
I really like using focus modes because they—gasp!—keep me focused, but I love the visuals to remind me what my focuses are! The images put me into a work or fitness state of mind and I love the ability to restrict the apps and widgets in my main views to being only those that I care about. It keeps me organized, focused and productive because (out of sight, out of mind) I just don’t get so distracted by apps when they’re not staring me in the face.
02. hardly any notifications!
One of the big things that made me switch away from an Apple Watch was that it kept going off during a speaking gig I was doing in June. I didn’t know how to do focus modes or any of that and a group chat was just blowing up during a talk and, despite our best efforts to stay focused, when you have something pinging or vibrating on your wrist, it’s hard AF to stay on task.
So, when I decided to try again, I diligently went through and turned off all my notifications. Literally, just about every app on my Apple Watch is set-up so that the notifications are off OR it’s set-up with custom notifications so I can turn off sounds. The only apps that actually push through and send me notifications are:
The I Am affirmations app - though, I’m considering turning this off.
Stress Monitor - more on this later.
Message apps - like the main texting app and WhatsApp
I don’t even have my phone calls going through the app because, frankly, I reserve the right to ignore phone calls I don’t want to take! But this is important with the Apple Watch. I love this device because I have the ability to stay safe and connected, but not have my phone with me all the time. And that’s such a win.
03. Health tracking—namely fitness & sleep
Naturally, I use my Apple Watch for fitness tracking and sleep tracking. Honestly, the sleep tracking was one of the biggest reason I wanted to switch back to an Apple Watch. I’m not going to belabor this too much, because it’s pretty straightforward. But I will say two things about this…
I turned off all notifications. #duh. I don’t need my Apple Watch making me feel bad because I didn’t sleep enough or move enough on any given day! I do enough of that myself—and if you’re a high-achieve, I bet you do too. So, I turn all that off. I rely on widgets to give me little reminders of where I’m at.
I charge during downtime. Usually, I charge my Apple Watch when I’m doing my morning routine because I don’t want to miss any of my precious activity time and I like to sleep with it on so that I can track my sleep habits and patterns. I recommend finding a time of day when you tend to be stagnant doing something for a period of time.
This is also a big reason why I’m really happy with the upgrade to the Series 8 (other than not being reminded of my ex any more) because the battery life is longer (especially if your battery is degraded on an old model) and—bonus!!—the charge time is so much faster…
04. Stress tracking and management—such a game-changer!
This is perhaps my favorite thing about my switch back to the Apple Watch. I almost bought an Oura Ring or a Garmin or something because I really wanted to have something that could tell me a sort of “readiness” score for the day. This is basically something that takes the sum total of how well you slept and how your body is feeling to tell you how hard to push it that day. But, I’ve grown used to having a watch and I really enjoy it. So, I wanted to find a way to do this with the Apple Watch.
Ultimately, I found and have been testing out 3 different apps on my Apple Watch, which all have their uses.
Training Today. This is the one I started with. What I like about this is that it has a widget you can add to the home screen of your iPhone, but more than that, it’s simple. It gives you a simple score from 1 to 10, with a little bit of commentary stating how ready you are for the day. That’s exactly what I wanted when I started. It’s also the cheapest price for the upgrade ($14.99 a year) and more analytics if that’s what you’re into.
Stress Monitor. This is probably the one that I use the most now and was the second app I tried. What I love about this app is that I can connect it as a widget to my Apple Watch. It is consistently tracking my HRV (heart rate variability—which is a common measure for stress…though I have admittedly done little of my own research on it) in the background as I go throughout my day and if I experience something triggering OR overexert myself in some capacity, I have it set up to let me know by both sending me a notification and displaying my status as a widget on my Apple Watch. I love real-time feedback, which really teaches me a lot about my triggers. It’s a more expensive upgrade than Training Today ($39.99/year).
Welltory. Welltory is one of the other few apps that I let send me notifications. It has a really cool interface and takes into account my sleep and meditation, while also giving me “reports” on my workouts after I’ve completed them. Similar to Stress Monitor, it is tracking you in the background and gives great insights, but I’ll admit, this app is a little overwhelming. It throws so many insights at you that sometimes it feels like too much to take in, which is part of why I don’t use it as much. But, even on the free version, you get a ton of insights, including stress, energy, and health stability percentages over the course of your day.
Note - I do not pay for any of these apps! So all of what I’m telling you is the free version and what the free version gets you.
This has probably been one of the biggest game changes for me on my Apple Watch and is teaching me so much about my stress levels, what stresses me out and what physical signs I should associate with my stress. These apps are some of the biggest reasons why I love my Apple Watch!
Other things I love (quick bulleted list…)
The ability to use it to locate my iPhone (invaluable). I know I’m not the only one that loses my phone quite a bit!
The Mindfulness app for quick breathing exercises when I’m stressed (which I have linked on my Fitness watch face)
The ability to launch meditations right from my Apple Watch! No need to track down my phone in the morning (and then end up on Instagram for way too long). I can just launch my meditation right from my Apple Watch! Easy!
Cycle tracking in Clue (so I don’t have to do it somewhere else)
Medication tracking (for not only reminders to take meds but also a way to check off that I have)
So, these are my favorite ways to use the Apple watch to stay organized, calm, and productive!
Are you interested in hearing how you can move to a shorter work week in your organization?
Drop a comment below!
But, of course, my Apple Watch isn’t my only go-to, keeps-me-sane tool!
Have you checked out my Notion Digital Planner, yet?
Notion is the other uber-important tool in my life that really helps to keep me sane, organized, and on track!
