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:

Fact: TV has nothing on Mother Nature.

• I did go on more walks. 
• I got a lot of work done (knitting and laundry folding aside, that is).
• I read more.
• I went to bed at a regular hour (not necessarily the ideal hour, but early enough to get at least 7 hours of sleep).
• I got out more.  There was a two-week stretch where I stayed in just one night.

This last development is worth discussing further.  I live alone.  I’ve lived alone for almost half of my adult life.  Clearly, I like living alone.  But sometimes, I get lonely.  It’s only natural.  However, until this present bout of living alone (which began ~2.5 years ago), I never had a television or high-speed Internet service in my solo abodes.  In fact, I intentionally chose not to have a television, because I didn’t want to fall into the antisocial habit of staying home alone watching TV.  Nowadays, I also work from home, so I spend even more time at home alone.  I don’t need any more help staying in.  I need to be encouraged to go out, or at least to invite people over more.  Breaking my TV shackles this month has reminded me of this.

This challenge might have been harder if my TV were bigger, and flatter.

 

So don't be surprised if you see a Craigslist post for my TV in the near future.  And while I can’t get rid of my fast-speed Internet connection (a work-at-home necessity!), I can reduce my streaming entertainment options.  Last night, I logged into my Netflix account and put it on hold until 2012.  Perhaps, come January, I’ll cancel it all together.  Until then, at least I can save myself that $8 a month.

That's all for now, but I'll be posting later today on Operation Consumption Liberation's new monthly challenge: thou shalt not eat meat.  Stock up on tofu...