Breaking the TV Shackles

It doesn't seem possible, but my month without TV is over!  What happened to you, October?  Blink of an eye....

Ah, October, you went by so fast!

I noticed two somewhat negative behavioral developments during my month without TV:

1. I spent much of the time I would have wasted watching shows on Netflix repeatedly checking my email, Facebook, and OKC accounts.  
2. I hardly got any knitting done and I put off folding laundry for almost a week, because these are tasks I typically do while watching entertainment.

Hmmm, there may have been some logic in combining my no Internet & no TV months after all...  That said, there were some very positive behavioral developments over October:

Sweatin' to the Tube

Last night, while explaining Operation Consumption Liberation and October's challenge to a new friend, I had a momentary freak-out: "ACK!  I did an exercise DVD the other day.  Is that cheating?" Technically, in the sense that my eyes were somewhat trained on the boob tube for ~25 minutes, yes, I did break my rule.  But I didn't enjoy it.  I mean, I sweated and suffered! 

Sadly, I was not Sweatin' to the Oldies (2) the other day.

After a minute or two of consideration, I decided that exercise DVDs are a totally legitimate exemption to my month without DVDs, TV, Hulu, and Netflix. This is a distinction of healthiness. While there are some people for whom aerobic activity is not advisable without the supervision of a doctor, exercise is a crucial component for healthy living. Working out along with a small-screen Denise Austin or Richard Simmons or Jillian Michaels might not be as effective as running a 5k or working with a trainer at the gym, but it IS good for the ticker.  There are clear and undeniable benefits to one's overall quality of life.

It is much more difficult to identify such health benefits in the act of watching TV programs and DVDs for sheer entertainment.  Yes, television programs and movies can engage the brain and educate (see NOVA, Sesame Street, Charlie Rose, or Jeopardy), stimulate some of the senses (see the impressive visual effects on Game of Thrones, costumes on Mad Men, or consider Ken Burns' "Jazz"), and provoke cathartic releases. (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is good for hysterical laughter to the point of tears, for example.  Or watching any movie on an airplane will incite me to cry.)  And sometimes, after a super busy or emotionally taxing day, it feels good to many of us to sit down and simply tune out for a little while to whatever mindless drivel is on the tube.  

Mad (Wo)Men: Why don't people in the real world dress like this?

The problem is how often we sit down in front of the TV to tune out for a little while and then don't get up for two, three, or four hours because we've been sucked into an America's Next Top Model marathon on VH1.  Or we stay up way too late watching whichever Netflix-streaming show we're currently obsessed with because we HAVE TO KNOW what happens in the next episode, and the next, and the one after that.  

I justify such sprees by multitasking: I file paperwork, I knit, I fold laundry.  But am I efficient at those tasks?  Not usually.  In fact, the one thing I seem to do faster and more in front of the TV is eat.   So let's review: I'm spending hours sitting around lethargically, dragging out household tasks, eating empty calories, and I'm still going to bed much too late.  There is nothing healthy about this slate of co-morbid habits.  They are human, but they are not healthy.  This is exactly why I decided to do a month of no TV etc.

You dare to turn off the Elimination Panel?

There are many other ways we can choose to entertain, stimulate or refresh ourselves at the end of the day.  We can call up or go out with an old friend and catch up.  We can go to a concert or gallery,  take a bath, or take a walk.  Shoot, if I'd been smarter in designing my October, I would have vowed to replace TV viewing with making out--so much more entertaining and stimulating than TV! (Though not exactly relaxing...I hope!)  Any of these connect us more with the three-dimensional world and do more to promote good health.  That said, following along with an exercise DVD is as 3D of a TV-watching experience as one is ever going to find. 

I will say, nine days into October, that I'm not having a hard time not watching TV et al. at home ever night.   However, thus far, I'm not seeing a remarkable improvement in my productivity or healthy habits, probably because I'm filling the void left by TV and DVDs and streaming with surfing the web and checking Facebook repeatedly.  Oops.  Maybe I should have merged my Superfluous Web Browsing and No TV/Netflix/etc. months like I contemplated earlier this year.  What happened to more evening walks?  So that's my goal for the next week: less browse, more walk.  

What co-morbid bad habits plague you?  How does watching the small screen enrich your life and how does it deplete your life?  I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Until next time...

TV brain suck

In my web perusal, I checked my weekly horoscope on the Onion website today (I'm a Leo).  Here's what it said for the week of September 20th: "You'll undergo a crisis of conscience when you realize that, despite being a faithful American, you don't really want to watch anything that's on TV right now." While I'm not sure that I'm experiencing any "conscience of crisis" per se, I thought this was a timely horoscope given the start of the new television season and my impending month without TV, Hulu, and Netflix.

I chose October for my no TV month specifically to coincide somewhat with the network TV premiere season.  My thought was that if I could avoid all those programs for a month early in the season, maybe I would never bother to start watching the American version of "Prime Suspect" or "Ringer."  And maybe I would never bother to get caught up on all the episodes I'll miss of "Glee" (which I've been SO OVER for the last season and a half...but yet, I'm still watching).  After all: I have no DVR, nor do I use a VCR (who does?); the first episodes of the season may no longer be available on Hulu or the network's websites come November 1; and I really dislike watching things out of sequence.  When conceiving this month's OCL goal, I really thought to myself, "I will finally free myself from TV brain suck."

I will exact revenge on ABC for creating this piece of crap by not watching ABC for 31 days.

Of course, most shows actually premiere in September.  So I've been doing my best not to watch any new programming this month.  Instead, I've been re-watching on Netflix all four seasons of "Mad Men" (this show is so smart and well done--the artistry really reveals itself best with a second viewing) and sporadic episodes of "Family Ties" (IMHO, Michael Gross has never gotten the acclaim he deserves for his fantastic comedic performance as Steven Keaton). I also watched the entire first, and thus far only, seasons of the BBC's "The Hour" ("Mad Men" style plus British plus mystery=happy Jess) and ABC Family's "The Nine Lives of Chloe King" (it's like old-school Buffy, but without vampires!).   And I've streamed a movie or two as well. (I watched "Charade" with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn last week--such incredible witty dialogue and so much fun!)

Michael Gross, comic genius.