I feel a bit lightheaded and at odds with myself. My dear friend, the television, is taking a forced leave of absence.
Granted, this was all my idea and the TV is just going along with my wishes, but still. It hurts.
I don’t – I swear – watch that much TV. But I do watch, and it’s no secret that I love it. Every night, without fail, I sit down to watch a show. Or two. Usually I do other things while I watch, like read or work, but my attention is so divided that I neither accomplish anything nor actually catch the entire show. Talk about a colossal waste of time.
This week some things have been wearing on me:
- My to-do list is outrageous. Outrageous, I tell you.
- I feel tired. Way more tired than a reasonably fit 26 37-year-old should feel.
I wanted to pretend that I was blameless in this scenario. I prefer blamelessness. Don’t we all? The truth, however, is that I need to be a better steward of my time. For my family, for myself, for my work.
That’s where the TV comes in. Or turns off. You know what I mean.
I have a DVR after all. I am not required to watch television on a deadline. {Although if there is anyone out there who wants to give me a TV-related job, I could revoke this decision and begin watching immediately.} Assuming, however, that I do not get a TV-related job, I will keep the idiot box turned off and let the DVR do its thing. My plan is to have a little down-time to chill with my beloved television once every weekend. That’s reasonable, right?
So why am I telling you this? Because that’s what I do here. I tell you stuff. Whether you care or not. But also, I need you to know and help me stay honest. I’ll feel so guilty if I cheat now that you all know my plan. {Perhaps I should try this same method for the stopping-of-the-eating-of-cookies?}
Keep me honest, friends. Help me stick to my no-tv-go-to-bed-at-a-reasonable-hour plan, won’t you?
I wonder…
:: What’s your best time-management tip?
:: What are your tricks for getting to bed at a reasonable hour?
Lapsed homemaker. Looking to hire a full-time housekeeper who will work for the sheer joy of a job well done and free coffee. Interested parties, DM please. 
Oh Missy. Once again you write a post that I could have penned myself. We’re planning on canceling our cable because even our dvr’d shows aren’t getting watched. Thing is we’ve been planning that for months and just can’t muster up the courage to make that call. I like being able to pull up sesame street or word world at the drop of a hat, but we’re definitely not getting our money’s worth.
I’ve mastered the art of sitting in complete silence at my computer and STILL not getting anything done.
Wow! I admire your resolve.
My husband and I were just saying to each other last night that (once the Tour de France is over, of course!) we’re going to start heading out to our deck after the kids are asleep to read and talk. Like you, we spend way too much time in front of the TV half-watching it and half-doing other things. And then we complain about how we have no time to get anything done and go to bed too late. Talk about a problem of our own creation! 🙂
Good luck with your plan. I’ll be looking forward to your updates.
After my son goes to bed, I go to bed and read. Sometimes I read a lot before getting sleepy, sometimes I only make it a sentence and fall asleep.
WOW!! I admire you! We have like a bazillion channels on our TV, we watch MAYBE a handful of them. But after the kids are in bed, I like to see if there is anything worth watching on. Turns out, there isn’t much lately. So it usually goes off, I go upstairs and either end up writing down some of my thoughts, or reading.
Can’t wait to hear how it goes for you! You can do it!
I adore TV. You are much stronger than I. I envy your will power.
Now, if you stop eating cookies too, I’m going to get suspicious that you’re just trying to make me look bad.
Don’t do it! Well if you can i’m proud of you but i’ll be sad we can’t talk about all the housewives as if they are our friends. As long as this rule doesn’t apply on vacation I’m proud of you!
Usually, I make a “suggestion” to My Love and she’s all ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
It’s a gift.
we used to have a DVR, but when we moved we never bothered to get cable again. honestly, i just spent too much time and energy getting involved in tv shows when i had so much more to do. :0/ now we just have Netflix, and we’re happy with that. 🙂 good luck!
I fail at this game of balance. I accept that. I actually wanted to take a week off of the internet and here I am on day 2 of my absence and I’m already begging for mercy. Le sigh. God speed or something like that my friend.
I’ve started working out daily and if I get to bed too late I have a hard time getting through my work outs. So I try really hard to get to bed by 10:30 so I won’t feel drained the next day. Eating better has helped too but more sleep is essential.
I have a love/hate relationship with my TV. I actually think that I watch a lot less TV now that I am so busy. And I have been SO busy for quit some time… ever hear of the idea that to make something a habit you have to do it consistently for like, what is it? 60 days?? Well, because I have been so busy and unable to really watch any more than the occasional “House Hunter” episode on HGTV for WAY over 60 days, I think I have BROKE my TV watching habit! (Not to mention, they cancelled or ended all the prime time shows I ever loved! LOL)
Seriously though… what in the WORLD did I do before DVR???
Wow, this could’ve been written by me. I don’t watch that much, but when I do I am doing something else.
We cut our cable for the summer, but have Netflix… and instant download, so now I watch shows I never would’ve, maybe. In any rate, I need more discipline!
We actually have a tv in the bedroom, and we fall asleep to Netflix most nights. Sometimes though, we, uh, don’t go to sleep, and let me tell you, being romantic while Star Trek is on can be weird. 🙂
I have no tips for you other than – be married to my husband.
He goes to bed insanely early for a grown-up because of his work schedule and he wants me there with him. (no he’s not super controlling, just kind of sweet.)
So I go to bed at a decent hour because of him. We read and he doesn’t mind if I keep the light on and keep reading after he falls asleep but the television would be too loud/distracting.
Reading always makes me fall asleep. TV? We would stay up to watch (15 seconds into House Hunters and we are HOOKED and have to see which home they pick. yes. we are that cool. don’t you want to hang out with us?)
One night, I stayed downstairs to watch something REALLY important (like the finale of the Bachelorette or something) and he actually texted me from upstairs that he missed me.
Dork. But sweet. Like I said.
Good luck to you. And really? You’ll get over late-night TV pretty quickly, I think. Out of sight out of mind.
Or so I assume…
OK, first? This totally made me giggle: “Because that’s what I do here. I tell you stuff.”
That’s what we count on from you, Missy! 🙂
Second, outside of doing things like “turn off twitter” and “focus on one thing at a time”, I think there is little more to do. You can only be so organized and it ultimately comes down to there only being 24 hours in a day. Some things are going to have to be let go.
This is something that I struggle with, too, but I do let the DVR do it’s job. My struggle is that I let the DVR do it’s job for weeks at a time so that when I finally sit down to watch what’s recorded, I spend hours catching up.
My biggest fault is my computer. Working from home is the worst curse at times. You can’t just close the door and walk away – especially not when it’s in your bedroom because you still live at home with your parents.
*sigh*
So, my short-term goal at this point is to make sure that I can have a designated office space away from my bedroom when I move into my own place. I will SHUT the door at a certain time and get other things done, not just work!
I gave up tv on weekdays for Lent…I did actually read the book club book that month, organized some stuff and didn’t really miss it all that much…it helped that everything was in re-runs. Waking up at 5am to run is still them best way to get me to go to bed early though!
We had to quit cold turkey. The DVR was our demise. After we got TIVO, we thought we would become efficient with our viewing. Instead, we easily watched 2-3 times as much tv as before. So we let the whole thing go. Even sold the TIVO on craigslist.
We suffered from withdrawals for about 3 days. After that, we found other things to do with our time! Best thing we ever did. If we need a tv fix, we’ll just check out what’s on Hulu.