Time to go back to a mechanical watch?

I've been very content with the Garmin Vivoactive 5 fitness watch I bought in May 2024. 

It's light and easy to wear. It shows me the things I want to see: the time, the day, the date, how many steps I've taken, and what my heartrate is. I can also use it as a timer.

Its rechargeable battery lasts at least a week, and it comes up to full charge again in only a hour or so. The procedure is very straightforward and no trouble if there is a power socket handy.

I've modified its original appearance. It still has its black aluminium case, but I've replaced the original black strap with a white silicone one. It's now a standout black-and-white watch. I installed a very simple black face with white numerals, a red hour hand, a green minute hand, and a white seconds hand. That combo looks good, and - most importantly - is easy to see and decipher at night in bed, when I'm not wearing my glasses. Perfect - for my needs anyway.

The Vivoactive 5 has several smartwatch features, but I don't use them. I have my phone for all that, and there is no point in duplication. There is never an occasion when I don't want to have my phone with me.

It has - of course - a fair number of fitness-related features. But I've progressively turned most of them off. A couple of key metrics will do: only the believable ones. It's not a medical-grade device, and whatever it tells me needs to be taken as only a rough indication. I am confident that in ordinary circumstances it can record the number of steps I take to the nearest hundred or so - which is good enough. And I am reasonably sure it gets my heart rate right. 

Beyond that, I have my doubts. It seems unwise to take the watch's analyses and graphs and textual comments too seriously. And certainly not to start obsessing about any of them. That's why I've turned them off. I don't want to obsess about some too-low or too-high metric that is unlikely to be accurate. Such concern causes stress, which definitely will adversely affect my general wellbeing. I have come to see fitness watches as potential worry-machines. I'd rather address real-life causes of stress, obvious things that don't require a fitness watch for recognition, and focus my attention on finding a solution for them. 

Much better to use the watch to spur modest but beneficial achievement. My only fitness goals are to take at least 7,000 steps a day (10,000 or more if possible); and to put in enough physical effort to exercise my heart, so that it gets up to 100 beats per minute at least once a day. 

Apparently I have a rather slow heartbeat, slower than most people in their seventies. I've had prolonged monitoring as recently as last December. Blood tests show nothing amiss, and my circulation is good. Perhaps an unhurried heartbeat indicates a heart that pumps strongly but slowly, pushing the blood along through wide, unclogged arteries. (I'd be delighted to know for certain that this is true)

Is it really worth strapping on a fitness watch? After all, I don't need a watch to know that I've had a good brisk walk, and have tackled a hill or steps without running out of breath too quickly. Could I therefore manage without one? I used to, for many years up to 2018. At home there was always a wall clock in view. Away from home, I consulted my phone. 

What about returning to a conventional watch? Just to tell the time with? And perhaps the day and date? Not one with a replaceable battery. One with a mechanical movement, that ticks, and merely needs to be wound up. Indeed, an automatic watch that winds itself, and only needs to be reset every few days, to maintain reasonable accuracy.  I wouldn't want a 'luxury' watch with complications and a fancy finish. I'd only want something that's plain and very easy to read. priced at not more than £300, like these Seiko watches:

This isn't an urgent thing. I could buy one as a Christmas present to myself, but my Garmin Vivoactive 5 is doing fine and I'm not longing for a change. It's just something that's now in my mind. 

One thing's for sure: I'm not keen on spending money on another fitness watch. I don't think they are good for your health or happiness.