Exactly 9 years ago I started tracking my activity with Apple Watch (1). That was about the only thing it could do well, besides notifications and telling the time. Over the years, the watch has been getting much more powerful and it went from a “failure” (which everyone predicted) to the most successful watch on the planet, outselling every other watchmaker.
From 30-MAY-2015 to 29-MAY-2024 I closed by rings almost every single day. Every day? No, but with few exceptions. There are 3288 days, and I closed my rings on 3261. That is three missing days per year. Sometimes Apple would skip a few days, sometimes I was ill. A few years ago, I had live-saving surgery and could not exercise, but I tried my best. The longest streak was 1075 days. And then I missed my goal by 3 kcal.
Then Apple introduced monthly challenges, which I did not like at all. They were either ridiculously easy or completely impossible to finish. After deliberately avoiding finishing them, the goals became more sensible.
Apple introduced Limited Edition Challenges to the tune of “walk for 20 minutes”. Ridiculous. More recently my chain became too long. Activity Monitor would tell me “earn this award by completing your move ring 3250 times – so far you have completed it 3252 times”.
Something really simple had morphed into too much. I stopped paying attention. Consequently, I now stopped activity tracking altogether.
I don’t need it anymore. I know how much I move. It has become an unbreakable habit. But I still need Apple Watch, because I want Apple Wallet on my wrist, a remote for Apple Home, a quick glance at the weather. It watches over my health, it warns me if my heart isn’t working well (so far only once), it warns others when I fall. It just does not have to track my activity anymore.
Lesson: keep it simple, stupid.
Sehr, sehr beeindruckend! 💪
I felt the same way years ago. I had over a thousand-day streak, but it felt more of a burden than an achievement at that point. So I took my watch off for a full day and deliberately let the streak go. I use a Garmin now instead of an Apple Watch, and it suits my needs better, but the first step to being able to use the device that was better for me was breaking the streak that was keeping me tied to the Apple Watch.
Mir geht es ähnlich. Meine längste Bewegungsserie umfasst inzwischen 1970 Tage. Die 2000 mache ich noch voll. Danach ist aber Schluss. Vielleicht lege ich dann auch mal eine Apple Watch Pause ein.
Wow. 119 % Respekt. Hab ich nie geschafft. Dafür immer nur gute Vorsätze 🙂