Yes, the Apple Watch can really be a help to get through your digital life, but if you don’t configure the wearable correctly, it will interfere with your real life with the constant notifications, vibrations, and pop up alerts, which can be a lot annoying.
However, it’s all about knowing how to train your Apple Watch to be at your service; once you master the wearable, it should become a useful extension for your digital life and no more interruptions.
Although, the software still needs a lot of work to allow users deeper control, there are several things you can do right now to make your Apple Watch experience more enjoyable. Here are a few tips:
Limit the notifications: In the Notifications menu, turn off the alerts for most, if not all, the third-party apps. Yes, even from Facebook and Twitter.
Tune all the Apple apps: Configure the calendar app to alert you only for upcoming events, and turn off the Activity app’s hourly “stand up” reminders.
Limit email notifications: It can become overwhelming to check every alert for every new email you receive. You should consider to get email notifications from specific people. In the iPhone’s Mail app, you can add specific contacts to be part of the VIP list. Then go to the Apple Watch iPhone app, under the Notifications menu, you can configure to only be alerted from only those in the VIP list.
Creating a custom list: In the watch, you can also create a small list with your closest contacts with phone numbers for quick access.
Don’t install apps: At this early stage, there are no many great apps for the Apple Watch, so just stick to the basics and don’t install too many of them. Furthermore, if at any point in time, you find a useful app, make sure to turn off the setting in the iPhone app that automatically installs any compatible app from your phone into your watch. Also, it’s a good idea to disable any nonessential cards, so you don’t get distracted very often; try keeping weather, calendar, and battery.
Do Not Disturb: It can be wise to use the Do Not Disturb feature in the Apple Watch when you’re on a meeting or when having a nice launch with other people.
Finally, you can also turn off the red indicator on the watch face that alerts if you have unread notifications.
So, there you go, these tips should help you customize your Apple Watch in a way that is useful and stops interrupting your real life.
Source WSJ
