Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that, if you want to avoid mindless screen time,
Speaker 1: make a rule for yourself that you don't turn on
Speaker 1: the TV unless there is a particular show or movie
Speaker 1: that you plan to watch. Like another tip this week,
Speaker 1: today's tip comes from Adam Grant, a professor at Penn's
Speaker 1: Wharton School. In an interview with former Surgeon General Vvick Murphy,
Speaker 1: Grant said he has a rule for himself that he
Speaker 1: doesn't turn on the TV unless he already knows what
Speaker 1: he wants to watch. I like this rule for a
Speaker 1: few reasons. It has the obvious effect of reducing mindless
Speaker 1: TV consumption, but a secondary plus is that it's not
Speaker 1: that hard to follow. You don't have to exercise strict
Speaker 1: self control by cutting TV from your life. You don't
Speaker 1: have to pledge not to watch TV until you've done
Speaker 1: something else or observe particular screen time limits. You are
Speaker 1: just deciding to watch something specific before you turn on
Speaker 1: the TV. Practically speaking, this rule isn't all that limiting.
Speaker 1: You could decide to watch, say, one episode of Hometown
Speaker 1: and then wind up watching hours of it. Streaming services
Speaker 1: are quite slick and the way one episode ends and
Speaker 1: another begins seamlessly before you even realize the prior episode
Speaker 1: was over. But hopefully, rather than watching hours and hours,
Speaker 1: this rule will nudge you to consider what TV you
Speaker 1: actually want to take in and curate your viewing. The
Speaker 1: TV won't just be playing in the background well you
Speaker 1: zone out. Personally, I like to watch live sports, so
Speaker 1: if I know there's a Sixers basketball game in the evening,
Speaker 1: I might decide to watch that as my evening's entertainment.
Speaker 1: On weekends in the fall, my family chooses a specific
Speaker 1: football game to watch. Usually it's the Eagles in the
Speaker 1: NFL and the Texas A and m Aggie's for college football.
Speaker 1: But I tend not to just turn on the TV
Speaker 1: and see what games are on. That makes sports watching
Speaker 1: feel more like a chosen event. For times when there
Speaker 1: is no major event airing live, you could make a
Speaker 1: paper or digital list of shows and movies you want
Speaker 1: to watch sometime and then consult that list anytime you
Speaker 1: would like to watch TV. Before you turn on the TV.
Speaker 1: You might decide you want to watch one episode of
Speaker 1: The Pride and Prejudice mini series, or The Parking Lot
Speaker 1: movie or an episode of Madams Secretary. When whatever you
Speaker 1: have planned to watch ends, you turn off the TV
Speaker 1: and then reassess whether you want to watch another particular
Speaker 1: show or movie or do something else. I am reminded
Speaker 1: of how My Best of Both Worlds co host Sarah
Speaker 1: Hartunger tracks the media she consumes. For people who like tracking,
Speaker 1: it could be helpful to record what they have watched.
Speaker 1: Knowing you are going to write down what you watch
Speaker 1: creates accountability that may nudge you toward viewing choices that
Speaker 1: you will be proud to record and look back on.
Speaker 1: But in any case, generally speaking, time vegging out isn't
Speaker 1: our most enjoyable, meaningful, or memorable time. So if you
Speaker 1: are trying to reduce the time you spend zoning out
Speaker 1: in front of the TV, consider following the rule of
Speaker 1: not turning on the TV unless you plan to watch
Speaker 1: something specific. When we are more intentional about how we
Speaker 1: spend our time, including our screen time, we can use
Speaker 1: our limited hours in ways that are more enjoyable. Leisure
Speaker 1: time is too precious to be totally leisurely about leisure
Speaker 1: and actively choosing what to watch is one way to
Speaker 1: treat this time with the respect that it deserves. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening
Speaker 1: to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.