How an Effective Charging Routine Is Helping Me Get the Most Out of My Smartwatch
In many of my previous articles, I’ve mentioned my smartwatch charging routine, but I’ve never gone into detail about it.
Interestingly, I never set out to create a dedicated charging routine, it developed naturally over time.
As someone who has used many smartwatches over the years, I’ve discovered what works best for me and my daily life. In this article, I’ll share those insights with you.
So without further ado, here is my smartwatch charging routine…
My Daily Charging Routine
Before I explain my charging routine, I’d like to share how I use my smartwatch and which features matter most to me.
To start with, I use my watch to track my sleep, ensuring I get enough rest for a productive day at work. Additionally, I track my workouts and walks both in the morning and throughout the day.
Beyond fitness tracking, my watch serves as a convenient tool for responding to messages, viewing notifications, and keeping up with updates from my phone without having to use the phone itself.
These combined activities demand a lot of battery life, and the charging routine I’ve developed meets these needs exceptionally well. In many cases, the battery lasts until the following morning.
I’ve combined my charging routine with my morning routine. I use my watch to track my sleep and as an alarm clock. Once I wake up, I place the watch on my Benks 3-in-1 Magnetic Charging Stand and proceed with my morning tasks.
By the time I leave the house or start working from home, my watch is fully charged for the day.
On days when I plan to work out in the morning, I wake up earlier so that I can track my workout and put the watch on charge to ensure the battery is full before I leave or start work.
By following this routine, my smartwatch usually lasts a day and a half, sometimes more, depending on the watch I’m using.
On average, it takes between 45 minutes and an hour to charge my watch, depending on the initial battery percentage and the specific model.
Benefits I’ve Noticed
Adopting a charging routine over the past two years has brought numerous benefits that enable me to maximise the use of my smartwatch both day and night.
One of the main benefits is consistent functionality. By ensuring my watch is fully charged every morning, I’ve never had to worry about the battery dying throughout the day.
For fitness enthusiasts like myself, ensuring that my watch has enough battery is crucial. My routine ensures that I can track all my workouts without having to worry about the battery dying. Whether it’s a morning workout, a walk, or an evening gym session, my watch is always prepared to record my activities, which helps me keep motivated.
One of the significant benefits is the peace of mind it brings. I don’t have to worry about my watch running out of battery throughout the day. Thanks to this charging routine, the only time my watch ran out of battery was due to my mistake of placing it on the charger without plugging it into the mains.
On that day, I felt lost without the watch, but it was a great experiment to see how long the Pixel Watch lasts with a low battery. You can read more about that experience here.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
During my time using smartwatches, I’ve learned a few lessons about charging mistakes that can potentially impact battery performance.
One mistake I made was overcharging my watch. While I was in Budapest a few years ago, I accidentally left my TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra charging all day in the apartment.
Although I don’t have any evidence, I believe that leaving the watch on the charger for so long may have temporarily affected its battery performance. Normally, the watch lasts around 2 to 3 days on a single charge, but after that incident, it lasted just over a day for around two to three days. Eventually, it sorted itself out.
My theory is that either the prolonged charging time had a temporary impact on the battery health or something was running in the background causing the heavy drain.
Another mistake to avoid is forgetting to plug the charger into a power source. This only happened to me once and I’ve learned my lesson. I now carry a spare charger in my workbag just in case it happens again.
Final Thoughts
To summarise this article, having an effective smartwatch charging routine is essential for making the most out of your smartwatch. A well-planned routine ensures that your watch is fully charged before starting the day, allowing you to track your activities and use your smartwatch throughout the day.
However, everyone’s priorities and lifestyle are different. It’s important to understand how you use your smartwatch and find a suitable time to charge it daily to meet your specific needs.
Do you have a smartwatch charging routine? Let us know in the comments!