No television

This week (beginning last Tuesday) I decided to do an experiment. I'm always moaning that I have no time for 'me'. No time do some crafts. No time to call my parents. No time to do housework.

But actually, I have a lot of spare time. But I waste it. Watching television.

 

I'm sure a large proportion of the population has felt like this at one point or another. You come home from work, have food and watch television. And before you know it, it's time for bed.

This really started to annoy me recently and so I decided to change things. I really didn't need to watch a re-run of an episode of Friends I've seen several times before. Why was I watching an hour long science programme with the Other Half, bored out of my mind, but too lazy to do anything else. Or God forbid, asking to change the channel to something else. ;-)

So, this week I decided that enough was enough and I would try to watch less television.

It was difficult.

Even though I wanted to do more after work, I still enjoyed having a cuddle on the sofa. Whilst watching television. I needed a plan.

I estimated that I watched between 25 and 30 hours (gasp!) a week of television - and even though I never set out to remove this pastime completely, I really did want to cut down the hours - ideally to 10-15 hours a week - that's still a decent sized boxset a week!

So, I cut out all 'unneccessary' television - mainly, anything the Other Half watched that I had no real interest in, and the half an hour, or even an hour straight after work I'd spend slumped on the sofa before deciding to make some food.

I still wanted my time with the Other Half (who would watch television 24/7 if possible - It. Drives. Me. Mad) but still wanted a productive evening, so I ended up doing some reading or cross-stitching on the sofa - so still able to have a chat but not really taking any notice of the television.

To tackle my habit straight after work, I'd plan during the day what I'd like to do with my 'extra' hour - instead of watching television. I spent my time well - doing some exercise, cooking a more substantial meal, calling my parents and reading some more. Oh it was good.

My evenings felt longer and I didn't go to bed annoyed with myself for wasting time. And another added benefit I didn't expect - I had more energy (after doing more!) and I lost weight - result! I tend to snack whilst watching television, but not when reading. And also, I did a few jobs around the house, which meant I was moving more.

I still managed to clock up an impressive 17 hours of television this week - way more than I wanted, but I never set out to get rid of television from my life. I've basically gained 10 hours a week. Nobody would say no to that.

So, all in all, a very useful experiment. Next week, my goal will be to get the 17 hours down to around 12 hours - then I'd be thrilled. I'll let you know how it goes.


Photos:
Family
Read Instead
Stop Watching Start Living