I tried an Apple Watch for a few weeks thinking that it would be less of a distraction than the phone in my pocket. Found that

(1) it's much more of a distraction because it's so much more accessible and is more likely to be buzzing regularly. There's a mental and physical barrier to pulling my phone out of my pocket that makes it easier to disconnect; there's almost no barrier with the Apple Watch, it takes much more mental effort to limit its disruptiveness.

(2) someone looking at their watch frequently (more than about every 15 minutes) is often interpreted socially as a sign that the conversation is boring or going too long or they are otherwise anxious about the time. I generally found that looking at the Apple Watch was more disruptive socially than pulling out my phone (partly due to #1)

(1) I've turned off all notifications except the ones that absolutely need to come through (SMS, Calls, Calendar Events etc). You need to have a different notification strategy for your Watch vs. your Phone.

(2) You can't look at your Watch for that long comfortably. It's good for glances and that's what I end up doing most - glancing. I think this is far better than getting sucked into your phone. You get the information you need quickly and get out quickly. That's not the case with my phone.

2 - I agree. That's why it's so damn infuriating that Apple won't let you remove the Photos app from the Watch without also removing it from your iPhone (where it's actually useful)!