Watching Less TV

Six weeks ago, in conjunction with a Bible study I was doing, I made a pledge to reduce my TV time. We were challenged to think of something we could opt out of participating in that the world had to offer. Television was the first thing that came to mind. I used to love TV. I really did. I don't know if television has gotten worse, I've gotten more discriminating, or my time has become more valuable. I think it's probably a combination of all three, but gradually over the last year, my husband and I have been choosing to watch less TV. As favorite shows went off the air, we didn't add new shows to replace them. If there was nothing on that we really wanted to watch, we--gasp--turned off the TV, primarily so that he could prepare for teaching the Youth Group at church (which he had recently taken on, in addition to his full time job).

When thinking about the pledge, I decided to institute a TV Free Day in our home. This was much more of a sacrifice than just eliminating certain shows or reducing the hours for me, because this included Kyle, the toddler with whom I am home all day long. He and Amanda both adjusted fairly well to it, although because he can operate the TV and the DVD player, I had to actually unplug them and tell him they were broken. But with the cord cut and that option removed, he didn't miss it, and happily played or asked me to read books, and I gladly obliged (whereas if he had been happily watching the Wonder Pets or Dora, I would have left him alone while I attended to my other responsibilities or desires). Amanda also easily adjusted to the fact that on this day of the week, turning on the TV was not even an option.

The six week commitment is over, and we have gone forward with it. It is actually becoming a habit. Last week, my husband was gone two nights, and I didn't even turn on the TV once the kids were in bed and I was alone. I took the opportunity to stay on track with my Fall Reading Challenge.

Here's the thing--I don't want to imply that TV is the only timewaster out there. Reading seems more noble, but it's the same idea of escape, and unlike TV, you can't even multitask while reading. If you love TV, keep watching it. I just realized that there were so many other things I'd rather be doing (such as blogging or writing or reading, or getting a chore or two out of the way), but the hypnotic alpha rays lured me into submission when given the chance. Since I'm bad about moderation and self-control, self imposed limits were better for me than just "trying to watch less." Some things that I've been doing:

• deciding beforehand what I want to watch on a particular day and only turning on the TV to watch those things

• making certain days TV Free

• keeping certain evenings or hours of the day reserved for other activities

We do still watch some shows regularly, and I've found another way to better use my TV hours. I watch it in blocks, when I actually want to spend some time watching, as opposed to when the network tells me I should be watching. Yes, I know, Tivo has been around a while, and this is the idea behind it. We Netflix past seasons of 24, and have been enjoying that (Lost may be next). We can watch 4 episodes in about 3 hours (without the excruciating week to week suspense). Because I've watched TV so little lately, I recently figured out that I had missed the beginning of season 2 of Top Chef, which I had been looking forward to. But that's okay. Bravo reruns like crazy, so today I will tape (yes, I don't even have Tivo) the first three episodes and watch them over the weekend. One reason that this is so effective is because once I turn the TV on, I keep it on. It doesn't matter what is on after--an episode that I've seen three times already, or something that I don't care anything about watching. I have little self-control or sense of moderation, so not turning it on at all at certain times keeps me from drifting into hour after hour of mindless TV.

Planning to watch less TV--it Works for Me. Click the banner or the link for lots more ideas to make your life easier or better.