Back in April this year, I wrote about the More Time Now Ebook by Dave Navarro. This Ebook bought to my attention how much time I was wasting watching television.
Since then I made a conscious decision to cut back. So how did I go? Well as with most things, I started off well. What I didn’t realise was how ingrained television is into my everyday habits.
Here’s a quick overview of my 6 deadly television sins.
- Having the tv on for background noise. I mainly do this when I am cooking or cleaning. Thankfully, I do not have the television on when I write.
- As I mentioned in my last post, my real addiction is for boxed sets of television shows. You hit the play all button and 4 or 5 episodes come at you back to back. Yes the ads are taken out, so you are not wasting quite as much time as if you were watching the television, but once you have watched a couple of hours worth – the damage has been done.
- I have also gotten into a nasty habit of sitting with my laptop on my lap (hence the name) while I watch television. I tell myself I will ‘work’ while I do this but in truth all I to do is Internet surf. If I was leaving comments on my favourite blogs at least I would accomplish something. The truth is that neither the laptop nor the television has my full attention. Consequently nothing is achieved.
- I watch tv while I eat dinner (yes that means I sit at the couch and not at the table).
- I use it to relax. After working during the day and then writing at night, I tend to flop in front of the television to unwind. Though I’m tired, I have found that if I go straight to bed, my mind is still racing with writing ideas and to do lists. It takes me a lot longer to fall asleep. Instead I numb myself with television first.
- Watching stuff I don’t like because the television is on and I feel like being lazy!
Last week I was talking to a friend and I mentioned the digital changeover that was coming. I suggested that I might not upgrade to digital. She was shocked. She said I couldn’t not have a television.
Which lead me to an interesting question – could I give up watching tv?
Could I go even a week without watching it?
Since I started reading a variety of great minimalist blogs, I’ve discovered some people are asking themselves the exact same thing.
Many are either seriously limiting their time sitting in front of the box (or flat screen – guess we can’t really call it a box anymore – though I still have of those!) or they are giving up television all together.
Here are some interesting viewpoints to consider.
Miss Minimalist – Living without a TV
Becoming Minimalist – Ten reasons to watch less television
Being Minimalsit – How to limit your childs screen time
Advanced Riskology – How to add 8 years and $133,369 to your life
The Simple Dollar – Ten financial reasons to turn off your television
Be More with Less – Lessons from a tv free life 1 week in
Do you think you could give up television?
Would you like to be able to cut back on how much television you watch?
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I never think it’s a good idea to try to “give up” anything, because your focus is on what you’re missing. That’s setting up for a fail. Instead of trying to cut back on TV, focus on getting more interested in life. I “quit” watching TV years ago and don’t miss it one bit. It wasn’t by deliberate effort; just a consequence of getting busy living. In fact these days I can’t stand 99% of the junk that’s on. 1% of the junk is good for occasional distraction.
Hi Lach
Very good point on the not trying to ‘give up’. We can tend to obsess about what we are missing. I love your idea of focussing more on getting interested in life. I can certainly relate to that. I can not think of a better motivator than getting busy living and doing the things that you love!
Thanks for your great comment, I appreciate your feedback. Great to have you here.
Cheers
Thea
Thea when the Iraq war started (yep 8 years ago) I decided I didnt want to see the pictures, even the news breaks were doing my head in. I moved the TV into the spare room and went in there once a week to watch Secret Life of Us. I cant for the life of me think what made me move it back out!
PS I was still reading about the war I just didnt want the pictures.
Hi Ally
I like your idea of keeping the tv in a different room and only going in to watch it when you really want to see a particular show every now and then.
I sometimes wonder what my loungeroom would look and feel like, if everything was not focused on this one item in the room? The furniture is set up to get a good view of the tv, everything is pointing in that direction. The tv seems to be the central point of attention. Now that I have realised that, I am not sure I am thrilled about it. I wonder what I would put in the big hole in my tv cabinet if the tv was not there?
Any suggestions?
Cheers
Thea
Hi Thea,
thanks for your honest introspection of your TV habits.
In our home, we’ve got an outdated, nearly 9 year-old TV set. A friend of my eldest daughter (turning 10) wonders if it’s even possible to watch TV with it. Our kids watch a few selected programmes on a computer (no longer than 1 hour a day) with tight parental control. My wife occasionally watches, I don’t watch TV, apart from some German matches at the Soccer Worldcup, but I missed some because of business building activities or team calls.
The activities in our spare time make us rich. Even watching TV can be helpful. I revcently met a guy who gets new keyword ideas from watching Oprah and creates new websites successfully with this input. This makes him rich.
Most people however will use it as an excuse for watching TV that they might learn something. That will keep them poor.
I wish you a successful TV diet.
Take care
Oliver
Hi Oliver
Lovely to see you here!
Thank you for sharing the story of the guy who comes up with creative ideas from watching television. That is very clever and it is great to realise it can also have some very positive benefits.
I had a chuckle reading about how your daughter’s friend wondered how you watch a 9 year old tv. How funny! If its not a flat screen, kids probably don’t consider it a tv nowadays. I actually hate to think how old my tv is. It has been with me a long time, over several home moves and a few stints in storage as well.
Thank you so much for your great comment.
Cheers
Thea
Hey Thea,
If it were not for my husband, I probably would not even turn the darn thing on!
I find that most shows bore me, and I end up eating for amusement (not good for the waist-line!)
I cut back to about 1 hour per day when I got online, just to unwind before going to bed. Have not regretted it for one minute!!!
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Nancy
I definitely hear you on the eating for amusement score. I think we do tend to eat more when perched in front of the television.
That is really great that you got your viewing time down. Good on you!!
Thanks for your comment. Great to see you here.
Cheers
Thea