Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about how to watch TV wisely. Even
Speaker 1: with the rise of the Internet and social media, people
Speaker 1: still watch a lot of TV. According to the Bureau
Speaker 1: of Labor Statistics American Time Youth Survey, the average American
Speaker 1: logs two point seven seven hours of TV per day
Speaker 1: as a primary activity. That's just under twenty hours a week,
Speaker 1: or the equivalent of a part time job. To be sure,
Speaker 1: this figure includes teenagers and retirees, but even the people
Speaker 1: we might think of as busiest, people who have jobs
Speaker 1: and kids at home, managed to average almost two hours
Speaker 1: per day. I always think of these numbers when I
Speaker 1: hear people talk about the crazy buzziness of modern society.
Speaker 1: It seems at least some of us have time to
Speaker 1: kick up our feet, and honestly, that's fine. I am
Speaker 1: not going to start your morning with a lecture on
Speaker 1: the evils of television or Netflix or any other such service.
Speaker 1: There are tons of amazing shows on these days. I'm
Speaker 1: thrilled to see how many organizations are putting money into
Speaker 1: good writing and great plots Instead. I want to talk
Speaker 1: about how you, as a busy person, can incorporate TV
Speaker 1: wisely into your life. I want to talk about how
Speaker 1: you can enjoy TV it also have time for the
Speaker 1: other amazing things you want to spend your time doing.
Speaker 1: The first step be choosy. The reason TV fills the
Speaker 1: bulk of people's leisure time is that it's so easy.
Speaker 1: You don't need to dress up, you don't need to
Speaker 1: work with other people's schedules. But it doesn't have to
Speaker 1: be automatic. In other words, don't watch TV just because
Speaker 1: it's there. Think about which shows most spark joy. To
Speaker 1: borrow a phrase from Marie Condo, one way to winner
Speaker 1: this down is to imagine that you needed to pay,
Speaker 1: say fifteen dollars an hour to watch TV, or whatever
Speaker 1: number feels doable but noticeable to you, something like buying
Speaker 1: a movie ticket. What would clear that bar? What would
Speaker 1: give you that much pleasure? A favorite team's game against
Speaker 1: a close rival, sure, but maybe not too random teams
Speaker 1: that you don't care about. When you have your list,
Speaker 1: then think through your week. When would you like to
Speaker 1: watch these programs? When would work best with your life.
Speaker 1: I'm old enough to remember when people had no choice
Speaker 1: in these matters, and I had to wait all year
Speaker 1: to watch The Wizard of Oz on TV as a kid,
Speaker 1: but now we do have near total time freedom. Actually
Speaker 1: putting planned TV time on your calendar allows you to
Speaker 1: look forward to it and savor that anticipation. Knowing you've
Speaker 1: got your favorite show saved up for Thursday night can
Speaker 1: help you get through a challenging day at work. Finally,
Speaker 1: whyse TV watchers recognize this? Everything about TV is designed
Speaker 1: to keep you watching. That's why there are cliffhangers at
Speaker 1: the end of the show. That's why there are seguys
Speaker 1: into the next show. Once the TV or Netflix goes on,
Speaker 1: it's hard to turn it off. That's why you wind
Speaker 1: up falling asleep on the sofa or yanking yourself away
Speaker 1: long after you should. If there's one thing I've learned
Speaker 1: over the years, it's that people don't magically develop more willpower.
Speaker 1: So here's a better idea. If you have any other
Speaker 1: leisure activity you'd like to do other than watch TV,
Speaker 1: do that first. If you like to read after your
Speaker 1: kids go to bed, read for an hour and then
Speaker 1: turn on the TV. If you like to do puzzles
Speaker 1: or a hobby like woodworking or crafts. Do that before
Speaker 1: reaching for the remote. That way, you'll get to do
Speaker 1: your hobby and watch TV. If you watch TV first,
Speaker 1: you'll probably decide that hauling out your paints sounds like
Speaker 1: a lot of bother. You might also choose some nights
Speaker 1: not to turn on the TV. You and your partner
Speaker 1: could choose one night a week to have a drink
Speaker 1: together or make a special dessert. I'm always fascinated by
Speaker 1: how many couples claim they are too tired for a
Speaker 1: couple time in its various manifestations. If you don't turn
Speaker 1: the TV on some nights, you might have hours to
Speaker 1: spend together. What you do at that time is up
Speaker 1: to you. I'd love to hear the rules you make
Speaker 1: for yourself when it comes to TV or Netflix or
Speaker 1: other services like that. As always, you can email me
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast Podcast at i heeart media dot com.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E. The number four then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.