I’ve nearly convinced myself of a way to reclaim lost time that I’ve been complaining about lately. I’m not 100% certain I can go through with it yet, and it is with some degree of trepidation that I make the decision, but I have nearly decided and so I might as well spell it out here.
I’m going to give up regular TV.
This doesn’t mean I’m getting rid of my television sets, although I have considered that to some extent because once I give up TV, I really have no need for a TV set. It is actually more practical than it sounds for several reasons:
First, I currently watch 8 show a week, totally in the neighborhood of 10 hours of television (if you don’t count commercials). I didn’t have a TV, I would not be able to watch those shows in the same way, and I would spend more time on things like reading and writing.
Second, most (but not all) of the shows that I do watch are available for download online and if I wanted to see them, I could watch them online either via the network website, or by downloading episodes through the iTunes store. I could also simply buy the season on DVD once the season is over and watch the show that way, too.
Third, I can watch DVD movies on either of my computers and have no need for either a DVD player or a television to watch them.
TV has gotten to be a time sync, even with TiVo, and I’m not sure that I am disciplined enough to avoid coming home and vegging on the cough in front of the television for a few hours when I could be doing something like reading or writing. It is, however, a tough decision. There would be shows that I miss, particularly shows on HBO. Then again there are the baseball games that I will miss, and perhaps other things of interest. But as it is, I’m not much of a TV browser and I stick to those few shows that I enjoy, so maybe this isn’t a big deal.
Furthermore, I know people who have done this and are happier because of it.
Finally, we all have a limited supply of time to do those things that we want to do each day. We have to prioritize. I enjoy my daily workouts, and I’d like to be able to read and write more than I am currently able to do. Sacrificing television, removing it from the equation would help me to focus on those things that I give higher priority.
This isn’t a rash decision, I’ve been thinking about it for quite some time now, but it is a tough decision nonetheless. In any event, I don’t plan on making a final decision until after the current television season is over, sometime in May. But I am leaning towards getting rid of TV for a while. Stay tuned…
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