According to Nielsen report, the average American watches between 37 and 40 hours of live and DVR TV each week. I’ve decided to do something about that, again, in my household.
My previous favorite view.
I say “again” because I have a love/guilt relationship with the TV. Since I was sick a lot growing up, I watched a considerable amount of TV. It became my go-to when I’m bored. TV is comforting. It sucks you into a world where everything is charming and interesting and beautiful. It calms the mind. It also means that you are not engaged with life if you’re sitting in front of a flashing screen.
Over the years I’ve gone on several TV breaks. The first was when I was in 5th grade. My dad bribed me to give up TV for six months because he felt I was too attached. I still tapped every episode of the Mickey Mouse Club and had an awesome marathon when the six months were up.
The second was when I went to college. I didn’t bring a TV with me to school because I knew I would use that as an escape from getting involved, and possibly studying. I only followed Friends and Seinfeld which were at the height of their popularity. I would gather with my other coeds in the common room of the dorm to watch, at least I could say I was being social.
The most recent break was three years ago. I was in a rut of work, dinner, TV, bed, and repeat. I knew that if I wanted to start a business and write a book, I would need to break that cycle. I took a three month hiatus from all programming that summer and vowed to try at least one new thing each week (that’s a post for another day).
Here I am again. Back to TV. Our dining room is once again the couch in front of the TV. I have a set of shows I follow, which are not many. They total four hours each week. My bigger concern is the channel surfing I do in the evenings. I watch reruns of my favorite shows that I’ve seen way too many times already. I also watch any random cooking show…and…get this, I’m vegan. I have gotten pretty good at veganizing the recipes I see.
If I had to guess, I’d say that I watch 20 to 25 hours of TV each week, at least less than the national average, but more than 15 of those hours I could do without. It is those extra hours that aid procrastination and make me feel guilty for not enriching my mind and life in some other way.
Most of my TV breaks are cold turkey which is the best way to commit to a new habit. Typically, if you leave qualifiers in there it is easy to start breaking rules. This has been true for me in the past. Yet, I’m going to give it a go to only watch my favorite programming on DVR.
So what will I do with my extra 15+ hours you ask? I’ve got a list:
- I just downloaded Julia Sweeney’s New Book, If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Your Mother, which sounds hilarious.
- I’ll get back to working out in the evenings. I was doing mornings, but I need more sleep these days.
- I’ve been brainstorming some video blogs that I want to create
- Oh, and I plan to actually keep the laundry under control.
I turned the TV off starting Saturday morning after a massive marathon of Friday night boob-tube. I had one “who am I kidding” moment, but reaffirmed my commitment and grabbed a book instead. This was a good initial test because Phillip was out of town, so it was just me and the dogs in the quiet house. Meals are a bit awkward eating at the table by myself, but I notice that I don’t over eat when my focus is eating and not shoveling food and looking for snacks while I’m zoned out.
I’m planning to keep at it at least until August.
When you’re coping with illness, it is easy to use the TV as a crutch because you’ve got an excuse, one that my mind tried to use many times as I battled fatigue this weekend. Yet, illness isn’t a get out of living free card. There are dozens of ways that you can enrich your mind while taking it easy. A bit of creativity and curiosity can have you reading new books, trying crafts on Pinterest, walking in new neighborhoods, meeting friends for coffee and having a good old fashioned conversation with the other people in your house who’ve been staring at the TV too.
Are you with me? Will you also turn off the TV…just till August?
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