S3 LTE + AirPods = Productivity Experiment

[Trent0341]

Our phones kill our productivity. Studies have shown that even having our phone in the same room as us decreases our cognitive function (see references below). I don't think any of us would disagree that our mobile phones generally decrease our productivity at work... Facebook, personal email, games, and many other apps are just a thumbprint away.

This is why the S3 is what I have been waiting for but... Only in conjunction with the AirPods.

With the AirPods I can take calls normally (or as normal as one can with a tiny white golf club sticking out of one's ear).

I can still get personal emails, text, etc. The main difference is that without my phone responding to these (or playing games, using apps, etc.) becomes prohibitively difficult. Text are doable but not so much for the rest, at least not on a regular basis.

So what I plan to do is....

Leave my phone a home for a day (or longer). I want to see if I can leave it at home and still function effectively at the same time observing whether or not my productivity increases.

Anyone else going to try something similar? If so I’d love to hear your story on how it went and whether or not it had an affect on your productivity.

Edited to add: Feel free to tell me why this is a good or bad idea.

References:

http://time.com/money/3956968/cell-phone-alert-productivity/

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/691462

 

[GoFlex]

Yeah I'll try it similarly to you. It'll be nice on the weekends to just have my phone locked away in a drawer. I also like to learn how to use things straight away so if I just use the watch for a while then I'll become more dependent on the watch rather than the phone which is the end goal = More productivity and less social media.

 

[stu.h]

Yep, will be doing the same.
I'm never without a computer at work (use for job) and there is never anything so pressing that it can't wait 30 mins or so until I'm back in front of one.
Let's hope one of the trainline apps supports cellular!

 

[sunapple]

I dont really need or use my phone while at work at my desk. I just leave it on Do Not Disturb the entire day and check my Twitter feed when I'm back home.

Feels silly browsing social media while at my desk, also not very smart for an intern who wants to leave a good impression...

I don't know how using only a Watch would be better than what I currently do. I would fear I might have to take a picture or do something else only my phone can do.

I like the Watch for the health features, but if you bring both the watch and phone you have one more way of getting distracted.

 

[Trent0341]

I dont really need or use my phone while at work at my desk. I just leave it on Do Not Disturb the entire day and check my Twitter feed when I'm back home.

Feels silly browsing social media while at my desk, also not very smart for an intern who wants to leave a good impression...

I don't know how using only a Watch would be better than what I currently do. I would fear I might have to take a picture or do something else only my phone can do.

I like the Watch for the health features, but if you bring both the watch and phone you have one more way of getting distracted.

I think you make some good points.

I use a scanning app occasionally to turn documents into PDFs. I also use my camera sometimes as well. The question is (and the one I will attempt to answer for myself) is whether or not those features justify the loss in productivity. I honestly don't think I will make a habit of leaving my phone at home (or in the car) but I want to try it and see what happens.

As far as the watch and the phone being distractions I find that the watch is several orders less of a distraction than the phone. And even when it does distract me it is short lived (e.g. I won't be browsing FB on my watch).

 

[sunapple]

As far as the watch and the phone being distractions I find that the watch is several orders less of a distraction than the phone. And even when it does distract me it is short lived (e.g. I won't be browsing FB on my watch).

You quoted a post from Time, apparently you didn't pay enough attention when reading it.

[...]just hearing the notification is enough to derail you[...]

 

[Trent0341]

You quoted a post from Time, apparently you didn't pay enough attention when reading it.

I was never arguing that the the watch combined with AirPods is distraction free from distractions. Far from it. But it has to be better than the iPhone. For example, I receive a notification on the iPhone, I open it... respond, and oh... while I'm hear I might as well check FB... and then let me see if I missed anything on twitter. The next thing you know it's lunch time and I've lost an hour of time.

With the series 3, I check the notification... maybe respond (and maybe not depending on the convenience level of doing so) and them I'm back to what I was doing. Sure, I was still distracted but the distraction (in theory) is far less than with the iPhone.

And thats the whole point of this experiment. Does the watch (+ AirPods) function well enough that the trade off of leaving my phone at home is worth it?

 

[matrix07]

Our phones kill our productivity. Studies have shown that even having our phone in the same room as us decreases our cognitive function (see references below). I don't think any of us would disagree that our mobile phones generally decrease our productivity at work... Facebook, personal email, games, and many other apps are just a thumbprint away.

This is why the S3 is what I have been waiting for but... Only in conjunction with the AirPods.

With the AirPods I can take calls normally (or as normal as one can with a tiny white golf club sticking out of one's ear).

I can still get personal emails, text, etc. The main difference is that without my phone responding to these (or playing games, using apps, etc.) becomes prohibitively difficult. Text are doable but not so much for the rest, at least not on a regular basis.

So what I plan to do is....

Leave my phone a home for a day (or longer). I want to see if I can leave it at home and still function effectively at the same time observing whether or not my productivity increases.

Anyone else going to try something similar? If so I’d love to hear your story on how it went and whether or not it had an affect on your productivity.

Edited to add: Feel free to tell me why this is a good or bad idea.

References:

http://time.com/money/3956968/cell-phone-alert-productivity/

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/691462

I think it will help you greatly socially.. off the work rather than at it. For example, the watch still sucks at email. The screen is too small.

 

[CjonesHouston]

If you plan on relying on Apple Watch all day. Without having a iPhone around. Just remember to bring your Apple Watch charger with you. Heavy use will for sure drain the watch faster.

 

[Trent0341]

I think it will help you greatly socially.. off the work rather than at it. For example, the watch still sucks at email. The screen is too small.

It's interesting what a social crutch our phones have become. I'm more of an introvert anyway so social situations where I feel the slightest bit uncomfortable make it easy to just pull the phone out and check things.
[doublepost=1505575791][/doublepost]

If you plan on relying on Apple Watch all day. Without having a iPhone around. Just remember to bring your Apple Watch charger with you. Heavy use will for sure drain the watch faster.

I have one at work currently. I do not talk on the phone often although text can be frequent. It will certainly play a role in whether or not this is feasible.

 

[edhchoe]

Lte battery = 4hrs.
Yes you will become a caveman when the battery dies.

 

[sunapple]

I was never arguing that the the watch combined with AirPods is distraction free from distractions. Far from it. But it has to be better than the iPhone. For example, I receive a notification on the iPhone, I open it... respond, and oh... while I'm hear I might as well check FB... and then let me see if I missed anything on twitter. The next thing you know it's lunch time and I've lost an hour of time.

With the series 3, I check the notification... maybe respond (and maybe not depending on the convenience level of doing so) and them I'm back to what I was doing. Sure, I was still distracted but the distraction (in theory) is far less than with the iPhone.

And thats the whole point of this experiment. Does the watch (+ AirPods) function well enough that the trade off of leaving my phone at home is worth it?

It seems like you're serisouly addicted. An hour wasted, that's quite bad not gonna lie. How about uninstalling Facebook and Twitter and save a few bucks?

 

[Trent0341]

It seems like you're serisouly addicted. An hour wasted, that's quite bad not gonna lie. How about uninstalling Facebook and Twitter and save a few bucks?

Do you have something to add to the conversation? Or are you just here to be condescending? Based on your previous responses, it would seem the latter. I bet you're a lot of fun at parties.

The bottom line is that I am making an effort to more productive (and please, make no assumptions on my current level of productivity) and thought this would be a fun experiment based on the capabilities of the S3.

 

[pasadena]

I agree. I sometimes wonder at how smartphones have transformed us, the way we interact. We have a hard time putting them down and yes, we are "addicted". I think the S3 will be... liberating. It offers a response to the basic need to be always reachable, you still get notifications of important (and not so important) stuff, but keeps the distraction at a minimum and doesn't offer much of the senseless stuff that keep us tethered to our phones.

 

[mk313]

Interesting idea. Please post updates as to how it works for you. I'd like to do the same thing but I think the battery life will kill it for me at this point. Once they come out with a watch that gets better battery life, I'd like to do this as well. It will be interesting to see how it works out for you.

 

[Trent0341]

Interesting idea. Please post updates as to how it works for you. I'd like to do the same thing but I think the battery life will kill it for me at this point. Once they come out with a watch that gets better battery life, I'd like to do this as well. It will be interesting to see how it works out for you.

I'll definitely post an update. I am not sure about the battery life, but as previously stated I do have a charger at work. It would be a bit disappointing if I couldn't at least make it through an 8-10 hour work day. I do not use the phone feature much. Most of my calls would go through my desk phone.

 

[sunapple]

Do you have something to add to the conversation? Or are you just here to be condescending? Based on your previous responses, it would seem the latter. I bet you're a lot of fun at parties.

The bottom line is that I am making an effort to more productive (and please, make no assumptions on my current level of productivity) and thought this would be a fun experiment based on the capabilities of the S3.

There's nothing wrong with my previous responses. You also said "feel free to tell me why this is a good or bad idea" but it seems I'm not allowed to doubt the experiment. I think the Watch won't be a great solution and it won't last. What will last is getting to the root of the problem which is cutting the highly addictive social media apps. I did it myself, I'm serious about this.

Feel free to ignore me, and please do continue the experiment. Just sharing my thoughts.

 

[profets]

I find the possibility about going out to events or functions without a phone very intriguing. A few months back I went to an event, and on the way I noticed that I had forgotten my phone at home. My first thought was "Well I have my watch on, and I've used wifi at this place before, let's see how it goes." I was there for maybe 2-3 hours with my iPhone, but my watch which was connected to wifi. It was strangely a very freeing feeling. I had some messages and email come in, which I could glance at quickly, but was never compelled to start actively wasting time or playing with an app or a device.

The biggest drawback for me would be not having a camera with me for certain things. But I think for small occasions or events, I'm going to start leaving AirPods in my pocket and iPhone at home.

 

[Trent0341]

You quoted a post from Time, apparently you didn't pay enough attention when reading it

It seems like you're serisouly addicted. An hour wasted, that's quite bad not gonna lie. How about uninstalling Facebook and Twitter and save a few bucks?

There's nothing wrong with my previous responses. You also said "feel free to tell me why this is a good or bad idea" but it seems I'm not allowed to doubt the experiment. I think the Watch won't be a great solution and it won't last. What will last is getting to the root of the problem which is cutting the highly addictive social media apps. I did it myself, I'm serious about this.

Feel free to ignore me, and please do continue the experiment. Just sharing my thoughts.

Theres no need to ignore you... Your post just come across as condescending and/or insulting... They don't "doubt" the experiment. Regardless, maybe I just misunderstood your intent but thats how it came across. The internet makes it easy to misunderstand intent sometimes.

Doubting the experiment is fine... I think what I will learn is that it is doable in a pinch but not idea on a regular basis. But I don't know and that is why I am doing this.
[doublepost=1505593338][/doublepost]

I find the possibility about going out to events or functions without a phone very intriguing. A few months back I went to an event, and on the way I noticed that I had forgotten my phone at home. My first thought was "Well I have my watch on, and I've used wifi at this place before, let's see how it goes." I was there for maybe 2-3 hours with my iPhone, but my watch which was connected to wifi. It was strangely a very freeing feeling. I had some messages and email come in, which I could glance at quickly, but was never compelled to start actively wasting time or playing with an app or a device.

The biggest drawback for me would be not having a camera with me for certain things. But I think for small occasions or events, I'm going to start leaving AirPods in my pocket and iPhone at home.

There is definite value in these situations... It will force people (read: me) to be more social. Like I just posted above I am not sure it will work during the day but it will be fun to try.

 

[stevegm]

Great thread. It really got me thinking about productivity and distraction. I think we have to accept that the sources of the distractions aren’t going away, and learn to manage them. As you have suggested, the AW may help. It allows us to receive short messages very efficiently. It, however, handles these incoming things better than it helps you send information out. This may be a good thing. Since it doesn’t lend itself to detailed outgoing messages, it forces us to take the incoming info, and wait until an appropriate time to respond.

 

[Trent0341]

I honestly don't think it will be a long term solution (leaving my phone at home) but it might. Leaving it in the car may be the better option. I would still be in from of my work computer a good portion of the day so between the watch, work computer and desk phone it's not like I'm disconnected. Other peoples situations will vary so this may be more or less feasible for them.

 

[rillrill]

I was thinking about this too. The watch could be a great way to focus more without the phone constantly next to me. And don't talk to me about learning more self control, because that doesn't work for me. I'd love to leave the phone in the car or at home, but the battery life does worry me. Get the cheapest iPhone that works with the watch and leave it out of sight.

 

[fitshaced]

If you need to take your watch off to charge it due to heavy use, will Apple Psy not work since you have no iPhone/Touch ID to unlock it?

 

[Trent0341]

If you need to take your watch off to charge it due to heavy use, will Apple Psy not work since you have no iPhone/Touch ID to unlock it?

You can unlock the current watch with a passcode so I would assume I could do the same with this one. I think it is a fail if the watch cannot last a ten hour work day + drive time.

 

[fitshaced]

You can unlock the current watch with a passcode so I would assume I could do the same with this one. I think it is a fail if the watch cannot last a ten hour work day + drive time.

You can unlock it but that won't enable Apple Pay as far as I'm aware. You need your phone for that.