"Quick proposal," began the message from managing editor Mike Wuerthele. "How about not wearing your Apple Watch for seven days?" I've just gulped typing those words to you and it's some hours since the message. When this happened I was a little bit more tetchy, explaining that I couldn't do this because – quite reasonably –
"I hate you." Only, it's a good idea. My Watch has become part of my regular life, an unthinking and automatic part of it, so doing without it for a time will make me think about it. Surely I'll be better positioned to quantify what I missed, surely I'll be able to assess what I feel has been a boon to my working life.
Surely I'm being punished for something.
As of Tuesday morning, 7 July 2015, I'm taking my Apple Watch off and it will not go back on again until Tuesday of next week. Ah, call it Monday. That's seven days. Tuesday would be eight, wouldn't it? Work with me on this.
I am of course expecting that I'll find it difficult to live without the Watch now -- and, no surprise here, I actually twitched at the thought of taking it off. I'm hoping that I'll be able to see precisely what it is that I so like about it. I'm hoping that I'll look at my bare wrist and remember exactly what it is that I kept doing with it.
I am fearing that I'll be fine. I'm worried that after a week I'll decide I don't care and then, hey, I'm just down several hundred dollars on something while my wife Angela is happily enjoying hers. I'm honestly a bit afraid of that and I do understand why. For it is entirely true that neither I nor you (nor Angela) need an Apple Watch at all. Since we first rose up out of the sea, mankind has lived just fine with only an iPhone. Also, because my beloved iPhone 5 just finally broke down for good, I've this week bought an iPhone 6: maybe that will fulfill any Apple fan boy technolust I've got.
Maybe my Apple Watch seemed great just because it was the new toy. Except there is one absolute, definite, clear and unmistakeable difference in my working life since I got one: text messages have moved from my phone to my wrist. I read every one on my Watch and I reply to probably 80 per cent of them on there too. Hence this part of the
MacNN conversation about whether I could give it up for a week:
"I cannot wait to get this on next week's
MacNN podcast! 'Having to reply to my texts on my phone like a god-damned animal!'" That was editor Charles Martin: we're now not speaking so will you please tell him from me that William says he's very cruel.
Look, here's the thing. When I stop writing this to you, I have to take my Apple Watch off and begin this horrible week. There is really nothing else to say but I'm honestly uncomfortable at the prospect. Haven't broken out into a sweat yet but I did twitch earlier and I realise I have just ground my teeth a bit.
Let's just keep talking. How have you been? You're looking well. Tell me what you're up to. In detail. In great and long detail. Please.
Find out whether I make it and whether it was easy – yeah, I can't hide this, it was anything but easy – in part 2. Otherwise known as
thank goodness the hell is over.
-William Gallagher (
@WGallagher)
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