How To Turn Off The TV And Start Living

I don't remember the first time I watched TV, but I know I was hooked from an early age.  Every day after school, I would come home and watch TV, mostly cartoons.  I had quite a few programs I loved.  One was called "Button Moon".  The characters were a kitchen utensils going to a moon in a home-made spaceship .It was pretty low budget, but I loved the spirit of adventure.  

I also enjoyed cartoons.  My favorite was about a street of people who lived on "Pigeon Street".  The drawings were endearing, and I remember feeling happy when watching a song about a woman lorry driver called "Long Distance Clara".  

I also enjoyed "The Smurfs".  I felt scared when Gargamel (the evil wizard) was on, and relieved when the Smurfs were victorious in winning whatever battle they were fighting with Gargamel.  Of course, the Smurfs always won, and I felt that everything was right in the world. 

Fast forward a few decades, no pun intended, and TV can still evoke the same feelings for me.  I feel the warmth of laughter when I watch comedy, empathy with the struggles of my favorite soap character, and hope when the movie I'm watching has a happy ending.

 However, I am also aware of another emotion - guilt.  When I spend copious amounts of time watching TV, what I call "living my life by the TV schedule", and won't do certain activities because they interfere with my viewing time, I know something is up. I could be using all that time to make my life better.  I don't imagine when I get to the end of my life I will say:" I wish I spent more time watching TV".   As someone I know put it "I want to be in the movie of my life, not watching the movie of someone else's life"

 A couple of months ago I became aware of my addiction.  I was doing very few activities outside the house.  I wasn't happy.  I felt that I was just getting through the day, rather than living, and I wanted to live. 

I started to look at the reasons behind my TV addiction.  Living alone, it is all too easy to switch on the TV for company, yet I knew the reasons behind my addiction ran deeper than that.  When I wrote about why I was using the TV as a crutch, I felt that my career wasn't where I wanted it to be.  I wasn't happy where I was, but wasn't sure how to change, and TV provided an excellent diversion.  

Gradually through writing and discovering what I wanted, I cut back the hours I spent watching TV, and started living again.  I took a different direction with my career, wrote a new business plan, and started to work on the things I wanted to do.  

I am not perfect at this, and I still watch TV compulsively sometimes.  Now when I start worrying about how I can fit all my commitments around my TV schedule, I know I have slipped back. I try to identify what am I avoiding, and get on with something more productive instead.

The following tips have helped me to switch off the TV and get my life in balance again:

1. Identify the reason why you are watching so much TV.  I found writing about this helped.  If you are dissatisfied with your life take steps to change it.

2. Establish a schedule. Review your viewing habits.  Look at what programs you can cut out.   Get a TV guide or look it up online.  Decide which programs you want to watch each day.  Stick to a set number of hours and don't go over it.

3. Set goals for your life.  I set a couple of goals per day.  I found that making and reaching goals so satisfying that I didn't want to waste time watching a lot of TV.  I have gained confidence from fully participating in my life.  

4. Do activities you enjoy  Meet up with friends.  Take up old hobbies or find new ones.  What have you always wanted to do?  Maybe you have always wanted to write a novel or paint.  What are you waiting for?      

5. Don't watch reruns.  They are a waste of time.  Think about what you could be doing instead and do something more productive.

6. Don't sit through the ad breaks or channel hop, either record so you can fast forward through the commercials, or get up and do something else.  I often find that I get so involved in doing another task that I forget to watch the rest of the program.

7. If you feel guilty about watching TV, you might find it useful to do a menial task while watching the TV, such as ironing (but don't burn yourself), or sorting a drawer.

8. If you have other things to do, for example computer work, and don't want the TV to distract you, do it in another room, where you won't be tempted to reach for the remote control.

For me, a hour or two a day of TV helps me relax.  But more than that isn't healthy.  Life is too precious to waste spending hours in front of the TV.  Be in the movie of your life, don't just watch it.