So, I teach. Having a text just go “zzt” on my wrist, I can check the sender at a glance, and if it’s important, check the phone. Same with calls. Otherwise I can dismiss it and check later.

I also have my watches set up with reminders for things lile “10 mins left to class” that silently buzzes in my wrist so I know to wrap up, and both track my movement and sleep. Fun bits of data for myself, to see if I’m sleeping poorly or being as lazy as I think I am one day. The pebble even has an 8:30PM wrap-up for the day that tracks my average steps and lets me know if i’m ahead or behind my usual.

They’re useful when a phone would be too many features or too much noise.