New Year, New You

It feels like such a cliché, but all sorts of things have happened to me in the last couple of weeks that makes it feel like I've turned some sort of corner. I'm being healthier, I'm reading and writing more, and I'm staying on top of things. And almost all of it is due to three tools I got right around the start of the year.

The Sleep Machine

That's not really what it's called, but I like to call it that. Over the last year, my snoring has apparently gotten steadily worse. My wife told me that I would stop breathing, and then my whole body would jerk as I came back to life. I finally did a sleep study, and got a result back that my breathing was stopping for 10 seconds or more an average of 78 times an hour, and they prescribed me a CPAP machine.

I honestly didn't know much about these machines, other than people who get them seem to either love them or hate them. Mine is very quiet, and the mask is comfortable. It was a little weird at first to fall asleep with something strapped to your face, but it wasn't that bad. The machine is paying attention to your breathing, waiting for you to fall asleep before it ramps up the pressure, which I think is simultaneously cool and creepy.

But I'm sleeping a lot better, which is interesting because I didn't feel like I had a problem sleeping before. The machine reports that I'm down to 3 to 6 incidents an hour. The only side effect I've found is that I keep waking up between two and three feeling rested, I guess because my body has gotten the amount of sleep that it's used to. It might take months to get it used to getting more sleep.

Apple Watch

My work offered a credit towards getting an Apple Watch at the start of the year, and I took them up on it. I've always been curious about the Watch, but never curious enough to pull the trigger on one. Now that I have it, though, I really like it.

It basically acts as an extension of my phone, allowing me to view data from different apps, but what I didn't expect was how into closing the Activity Rings I'd get. Apparently, the way to get me to exercise is to make it into a game. Not that I'm going crazy. I set moderate goals, and it's been relatively easy to meet them. I've gotten back into the habit of walking for 30 minutes after lunch, though today that might be tested, since it's currently 5ºF outside.

But it's also placed my OmniFocus right on my wrist, allowing me to work through chores and tasks quickly and easily when I'm not at my desk or even looking at my phone. I've been getting things done quicker and easier because of it. Also, when I get directions in Maps, they are beamed to the Phone as well, so when I'm driving, I don't need the phone out.

AirPods

I got these for Christmas. They're not the new Pro versions, but the originals. For me, they work great as headphones, replacing my EarBuds that I've been using for years. The range is pretty incredible, and they easily switch between devices. The batteries last a long time, and slipping them back into their case to charge them is pretty slick.

The big benefit I've gotten from them is suddenly Siri is always on. I've gotten pretty used to saying, "Hey, Siri," into my phone or iPad to get her attention, but now as long as I've got the AirPods in, I can get her attention with my phone still in my pocket. Just removing that level of friction has made Siri that much more useful to me.

Also, I've turned back on Siri's voice directions in Maps, because now she'll speak quietly in my ear. Between Siri's voice, and the directions popping up on my watch, I really don't need my phone out while I'm driving. This is great because my phone has never figured out when I'm driving, which means I have to set the DND while Driving manually, and I usually forget to do it. Now if a notification does pop up, my phone is in my pocket, and I can look at it when I arrive.