How to be More Productive (with the help of your smartwatch)

Introduction

Could you be more productive? Everyone’s experienced the stress that comes with having too many tasks and not enough hours. Life admin can get on top of you and all it does is make you procrastinate more. Sometimes there are just too many things.

Utilising the features of wearable technology can really help you get things done. The number of devices and associated apps grows every day. There are so many solutions aimed at helping you improve your productivity. It could be a tool to help you be more organised or a simpler way of finishing a task. These should make you feel less overwhelmed.

Let’s dive into some of the best ways a smartwatch can help you be more productive at work and at home.

Stay in touch with work

Everyone loves Slack at the moment. It’s a funky platform that allows you to chat as well as do work-related tasks like sharing and collaborating on documents. First, it was only available on desktop, then mobile but now you can access it via an Apple Watch.

The Slack app on the Apple Watch allows you to read and respond to messages with pre-written replies. You’re also able to keep an eye on your mentions. It lets you glance at your work items whilst you’re in a meeting or out for lunch so you don’t miss anything. The beauty is you don’t need to get your phone or laptop out.

Never miss your expenses

If you’re self-employed or run a business of your own, you know how critical finances are to keep on top of. It’s so easy to get lost when you’re sat in front of a mountain of invoices and receipts. There’s another Apple Watch app called Billings Pro that will help you. It enables you to track things like mileage, time and general expenses right there on your wrist. By quickly adding entries as you go in this uber-convenient way means the tax man won’t be on your back and it helps you be more productive.

Also, the other cool thing is that the information syncs across all your Apple devices so you’re able to manage it all on one device. The app is free, but there are some in-app purchases for more advanced features.

It’s got to make you wonder if smartwatches are going to replace smartphones, eventually?

What’s also nice is that it syncs across your Watch, iPhone, iPad and Mac, so you can keep things in order from any device. It’s free, but you have to pay in-app for its freelance and professional plans.

Start a family hub

Lots of smart devices around the home are compatible with Alexa. Alexa is also compatible with a few smartwatches, like the Fitbit Versa 2. You can give voice instructions from your wrist for things like playing music, turning lights on or off, changing the heating settings, creating a shopping list, ordering an Uber or a takeaway… So many things! You can focus on other things whilst your smartwatch works for you in the background.

To-do lists

To-do lists are the original productivity tool. The digitisation of the old paper and pen method means you can use your Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch to create a list or agenda. Also, they’ll send you reminders about looming deadlines or tasks that are incomplete.

Translate on the go

We’ve all been caught short when abroad, not knowing the local lingo. It could be business or pleasure. Either way, there are times when we’ve found ourselves either flicking through a cumbersome dictionary (that we’ll never touch again once we get back) or not having one at all and trying pointing and speaking louder. This isn’t ideal.

Again, if you’re an Apple Watch or Android user, you can utilise Microsoft Translator. You speak into your device and the app will translate it into the language you need. There are 50 languages to pick from. It’s not perfect, but it’ll be better than the dictionary or shouting.

Learn about your habits

If you’ve hit the wall and feel unproductive, don’t worry. You can take stock of your emotions, habits and behaviours to think about where you can make positive changes.

Mindfulness is the practice of pausing everything and taking stock of how you feel in that moment, including appreciating what’s happening to your senses. Doing this regularly brings your mind away from ruminating on the past or from anxiously pre-living situations ahead. It teaches us to live in the moment.

When we do this, our mind is clear and we have better concentration.

You might be wondering where the tech comes in? A major exercise in practising mindfulness is to focus on your breathing. Many fitness trackers come with a native app for guided breathing exercises, like Fitbits. Using these will boost your ability to be mindful, which will enable you to be more productive.

Access your notes, everywhere

If you’re out and about, you can still have access to notes. Smartwatches that have built-in digital assistants like Google Assist, Bixby, Alexa and Siri can offer voice notes or dictate text notes. These are anti-forgetfulness solutions and the best bit is you won’t have to grab your phone.

Never miss a deadline

The AmazeFit GTR is a wonderful example of how you can use your smartwatch to send you reminders so you never miss an important task. It’s also affordable, which helps.

Some smartwatches have native apps for reminders, others will require you to download one. Either way, you can forget to remember important things, because your watch will do it for you! Maybe you frequently forget your medication or always fail to get the chicken out of the freezer in time. Reminders will make sure you get those little tasks done, making you infinitely more productive.