Apple Watch Time Mgmt App

[audiophilosophy]

A friend of mine asked me if there’s an Apple Watch app out there that has a very specific capability. He is looking for an app that will vibrate with a notification that it’s time to work on a specific task and start a countdown timer and then buzz again when the timer runs out. He would like to be able to schedule these sort of sessions multiple times a day for a variety of reminders that notify him with a vibration and count down in order to boost his productivity/time management. Anyone know of an app that will do the trick?

 

[cubodado]

I installed Be Focused that is a pomodoro timer and to-do list manager that has a companion watch app. But, to be honest, I don't use it that often. For tasks and schedules I use mainly the standard apps: Reminders, Schedule and Timer. Mainly because I can share in family the tasks that have to be known in common and have my private, and Reminders and Schedules are well synced between phone and watch.

 

[BenGoren]

I’m not aware of any third-party apps designed to do what you describe. However, I wouldn’t expect a third-party app to do significantly better than what the built-in apps are capable of.

For the “vibrate with a notification that it’s time to work on a specific task” part … I’d either use the alarm clock or the calendar. If the schedule is the same every day (weekday, etc.), then the alarm clock is perfect; just set up the alarms to repeat and you’re done. If the schedule is more complicated, create a new calendar (just to keep things organized) and create events with alerts. You can (of course) schedule repeated events this way as well.

I’m guessing that there won’t be very many different countdown timers involved. The timer app automatically remembers the last several intervals you used, and you can create an unlimited number of named favorites.

So your friend would get either the alarm or the calendar notification, open the timer, and tap on the appropriate countdown.

Maybe a third-party app could eliminate the “open the timer, and tap on the appropriate countdown” step … but is that really that much of a big deal?

I probably should add … my wife works in a clinical setting and has a bunch of alarms (using the built-in clock app) set to make sure that she’s not late to appointments, including an alarm for lunch and that sort of thing. They’re all perfectly synchronized between her phone and her watch, and the whole thing seems to work very well for her. It’s not exactly what you’re asking for for your friend, but it sounds darned close.

b&

 

[BenGoren]

Thinking a bit more … you can use the “Automator” app to do exactly as you describe: fire off an alert and start a timer of a specified duration. It even supports additional conditionals, such as only doing so when you’re at a particular location. Might be worth considering if a slight bit more upfront effort is worth minimizing regular interaction.

Personally, though … not worth the effort for what you describe. Not that it’s a lot of effort, but it’s not like it’d save you all that much day to day …

b&