Why I Stopped Wearing a Smartwatch (and How It Changed My Focus as a Mom)

So theoretically these podcast episodes are going to be every week, but I also told myself this year that I was not going to stress and burn myself out if I was not able to get a podcast episode done in a week. And so that's kind of where I was at last week. We just had some things come up and it is what it is. But this episode I am excited about because I...

It's something that I personally feel pretty strong about and so I thought I would just kind of bring you along on my reasoning and give you kind of an inside look on just one of the really small ways that I steward my time and energy.

So it definitely started with the moment whenever I heard my oldest daughter say, never mind, you're busy. And I remember hearing those words from her and she was probably about maybe seven years old. I don't remember exactly right now, like exactly how old she was, but I do remember what it actually revealed to me. And it was that I was very distracted.

And I didn't want that. I didn't want my daughter to need me as a mom and then give up so quickly because she already assumed I wouldn't even pay attention to her. Now this isn't about the times. Now this isn't about the time whenever we're like genuinely busy and we need to say, give me a second so I can finish this so I can actually focus on you.

This is those like stupid bizzies, you know, like the kind of busy that comes from the constant interruptions, notifications, being half present, being on our phone, all those things that we don't need to be. All those things that we don't need to be. That moment actually became one of the reasons that I started reevaluating some really small everyday choices in my life. And one of those choices

was deciding to stop wearing a smartwatch. I know that sounds really random and like it's kind of seriously a whole episode about a smartwatch but just hang with me okay? So I don't wear a smartwatch anymore and it's probably not

So I don't wear a smartwatch anymore and I know that usually when someone says that it brings up a lot of these reasons that we hear and probably the reason and probably the reasons that you think are thinking are not really actually the reasons that I stopped wearing it even though obviously my intro kind of gave you the insight on like the reasoning for why I don't but anyway

So a lot of people stop wearing them for health reasons and while I do think that there is probably some benefits to not having something monitoring you at all times, that's honestly one of the lowest reasons for me as far as not wearing it. For me, this decision had so much more to do with distraction and how that distraction was affecting my home, my kids, my ability to steward what God had given me well.

And it kind of sounds ridiculous because it's such a small thing,

But for me, when I wore a smartwatch full time, I was constantly being interrupted and notification would go off. And even if I didn't respond right away, my focus was completely gone. I would be homeschooling or working on something that required real thought or just trying to be present. And suddenly my brain was pulled away to something else. And once that happened, it took a long time to get it back to what I was doing.

I don't know about you, but destruction is one of my biggest enemies when it comes to actually getting the most important things done.

and not only getting them done, but actually having the energy to get them done.

I remember reading about how, and I don't know where I read this, I remember I read something at one point on how we only have a limited amount of mental capability each day. And if you burn through that energy early, especially if you are on social media or random interruptions, or you're just kind of all over the place, that it actually affects everything else.

So for me, the smartwatch became a constant distraction and it was costing me way more than I even realized.

Another thing that really bothered me about the whole smartwatch thing, and I promise this all is gonna like make sense and go through, this isn't like a campaign against smartwatches, seriously it's not, it is just like one of the things that I have learned.

that having taken this out of my life has actually made me a better...

person and a better steward and a better, I mean like even a better homemaker and so I, this is why I talk about it because if this is like things that you also struggle with, this might be a really small, like easy thing that will make a huge impact. So I just wanted to add that in there. But another thing that really bothers me was that, that false dopamine hit.

So whether it was like closing activity rings or hitting the step goal or seeing the notification, it felt like I was training my brain to get those little hits of satisfaction from my watch. And I didn't like that at all. I did not want to be like my happiness dependent on my watch. And I didn't like that my sense of accomplishment was also coming from a device that told me like what I had accomplished instead.

of being able to look at the end of the day and say, okay How did this day go? Did I do the best that I could today with like what I had? Because some days you're not gonna get all the steps in and that's because maybe your child needed you more or you had a more of a sit-down project or something and Some days you're just exhausted especially depending on like what?

your hormones are doing and everything and you just need rest and so I did not like that like your watch doesn't know that and I didn't like the fact that I just felt a failure if I didn't have like my watch notifications so that was like a huge reason why I got rid of it is because I was felt like I was becoming dependent on it for my sense of accomplishment and I didn't want a device deciding

whether I had done enough for that day.

I would say another major reason that I quit wearing a smartwatch was because it was taking attention away from people. And this may actually be the number one biggest reason I quit wearing a smartwatch. Is because you know those really good conversations, like the really deep ones, the ones where you're fully engaged, they're fully engaged, you're having such a good conversation and then...

someone's watch or phone goes off and they look at it and it's like you know like you can probably get back into it but it just kind of changes it a little you know because it's either my focus has gone away to something or their focus has gone away and yeah we might come back to the conversation but it probably and usually isn't that same depth and so

For me, became a super personal conviction because I believe that it's really important to connect with people on a real life basis. That people need... we need other people in our lives that can hear us out, that can talk, that can give us encouragement, that can give us advice. And so I just decided that my personal conviction was that

if I decided that a conversation is important enough for me to stop what I'm doing to stop my life you might say and whether it's at home whether it's at Walmart whether it's passing someone at homeschool co-op if it's important enough for me to give my full attention for me to actually have that conversation then it's important to me

and interruptions just cheapen moments that should be meaningful. And I know that everybody feels this way and obviously we all have those values that are super important to us, but I know for me this really deeply mattered and I wanted to make sure that when I was talking to someone I was fully there with them.

Also, I have to say that like, I don't like being that accessible.

I have real life responsibilities, real people in front of me, and real work to do. And being constantly reachable just created expectations in my life from the people who were messaging me and stuff. That just were not healthy. Especially... I have to say... Especially someone like me who values being dependable.

All of a sudden I was just like way too accessible and then I was like, oh, I want to be dependable. And so then I was answering things really quickly and I would see a message pop up and I would feel obligated to respond. And then I didn't always, I didn't always want to respond that quickly. I wanted to actually respond thoughtfully and I wanted to be able to not be like in a rushed moment.

And so if my phone is down and I don't see a message for an hour or two, it's a lot easier to say, hey, I just wasn't around my phone. And then I can respond well instead of being constantly accessible because that is just exhausting.

And as someone who leans a little more introverted, was a lot easier for me to like check messages whenever I was like, okay, I'm ready to answer messages or whatever. And also I just didn't want them obviously, like I said, interjecting in my actual real life face-to-face conversations. And so I think it's okay. we've lived, people have lived a long time not being accessible. And so I think it's okay not to be accessible. And I actually think it's healthy. I know for me, I feel

a better that I don't have the stress of needing to get back quickly and needing to be always available. And just like having my phone put away and not having a watch and everything, like literally I don't even have to lie about it because it's true. I didn't have my phone and so I wasn't available.

So, okay, I just did this whole spell to you about the smartwatch and I swear I'm not like fully against them. I think that we should make best choices for what works for us. I just know that this is what has really, I have really seen a difference in my life. Like since I stopped wearing it, I have seen huge differences in the areas that I've talked about. And so if those are areas that you struggle in,

then this might be an answer for you. But here's what I do instead. I actually wear an old-fashioned analog watch. I totally do that on purpose. I like that I actually have to think whenever I look at the time. So it's like if I'm checking the time, it's legit. I'm checking my watch because I genuinely need to know what time it is. It's not because something is buzzing for my attention. It's like...

I actually need to know what time it is. And I

wearing a regular watch again because when I stopped wearing the smartwatch, I found that it actually wasn't even helping that much because I was still pulling my phone out all the time to just check the time and then I would see a notification and then I would have to feel like I need to answer the notification or it would at least take my brain off and then I'd be like, I wonder what they wanted and I wonder what the email was.

You know, all this stuff and so I was like, well this isn't really helpful because I quit wearing the smartwatch so I would quit doing this. And now I'm just pulling my phone out all the time. So that's why I got me an old fashioned watch that's got like the 40s and 55s. Which I kind of love anyway. And it doesn't have any, obviously. It's just a watch and so if I need to check the time, I can just pull my sleeve up.

Check the time and it's totally awesome.

One thing I will say though is that obviously you still have to check my phone and I still need to answer messages and stuff so I do actually turn off most of the notifications. At least everything I can. Of course you can't really turn off the notifications for text messages and if you have a business you need to leave your business pages notifications on and like all that stuff.

But I turn off like most of the stuff. Like I don't have TikTok notifications coming up. I don't have Facebook notifications coming up. Like I keep all that stuff off. And then I only actually get on there when I have the time. Well, theoretically, but let's be honest, someday, least in weeks, I totally slip off. But theoretically, I can only get on there when I have the time. And that's whenever I can see the notifications and stuff.

So that's actually really helpful as well because obviously we live in this age where you do need your phone and everything. So, you know.

So yes, that was my little spill about a smartwatch and

And I'm just like really excited about this podcast and the way this is going because there's a ton of these things that I have had to work through and mature through and that God has shown me and that I've noticed differences in my life with like stewardship and being able to use my time well and stuff. And so it just kind of makes me excited that I'm going to start getting to share like all my tools and my resources and

like management and all that stuff with you. anyway, until then, I am still working to get all my stuff set up and you know, so you can go to your email list, all that stuff. Like I don't even know if that's still a thing in 26, honestly. But if you'd like to actually see like an inside look behind our life and get to know us a little bit more and see the farm in action.

And here's some of my short clip ideas and stuff. Go follow us on TikTok. And if you're not on TikTok, get on TikTok just to follow me maybe. No, I'm just kidding. Do whatever is best for you. But go follow us on TikTok. I actually completely got off Instagram. I am still on Facebook, but that's mostly for my local business stuff. And I will share some reels or whatever or some TikToks.

But for the most part, I'm hanging out on TikTok because that seems to be where a lot of my people are. And so if you'd like to go and get an inside look behind, go follow us and say hi and I will say hi back. So until next time, go and step out and encourage, steward well what God has given you, and leave a legacy for your kids.