I’m suffering from what I call Closing the Ring Syndrome.  Some may call it an Apple Watch circle obsession. Whatever it is called, I have it. I have had an Apple watch since October 2018. Ever since I turned it on and attached it to my wrist, I have been feeling the need to close the colorful circles on its face. Of course, there are some phases of time when I am totally overwhelmed and miss a few days, but closing these rings have really been motivating me to get moving.

Despite my calling it an obsession, I don’t think it is an unhealthy one. I find that wanting to close the circles keeps me more active throughout each day.  If I haven’t been moving around, my watch reminds me to stand up for at least one minute for every hour that I am wearing the watch.  At work, this is great. It keeps me slightly more active than I might be while sitting at my desk all day long. In addition to the ‘stand’ circle, the watch has an exercise circle. Apple Watch wearers are encouraged to exercise for at least 30 minutes each day. 

To help me close the exercise circles, I have been using a Keelo Fit and my Nike Training Club workout apps. I find that I feel more accountable for getting a daily workout in with the unclosed circle on my watch staring back at me when I check the time. In addition, the Apple watch has actually gotten me to feel happily less connected to my phone and all the technological demands on my time. When I put my phone away, the only notifications I get are for texts and phone calls.  One drawback of not having my phone with me is that I find that I am taking fewer pictures since I don’t have the camera with me.

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The other activity that I am loving as I enter 2019 is working in the garden. My wing beans are starting to finally produce!  I have some new seedlings–shishito peppers with baby peppers growing.  My eggplants are coming along.  The sweet mini peppers are coming along and hopefully will turn beautiful colors soon. I have some papaya trees that are growing taller and have some baby papaya fruit on them.  I am still trying to get the bittermelons to produce more but the fruit on the vines are still smaller than I’d like. I am hoping that my lemon, calamansi, kabocha, watermelon, basil, miracle berry, pineapples, cherry bell peppers, malunggay, strawberries, mizuna, tomatoes, ginger, Hawaiian chili peppers, and blueberries will produce more in 2019!

I’m hoping that this is a fresh start for me to be healthier and fitter than I have been in 2018.  Cheers to being more active and eating fruits and veggies from my yard. Living Hilo Style.