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 that just because your partner or kids
Speaker 1: are watching TV, you don't have to watch TV yourself.
Speaker 1: You can spend time in other people's presence while still
Speaker 1: doing another activity if you'd prefer. Watching TV is generally
Speaker 1: not the most satisfying way to spend your leisure time. Really,
Speaker 1: there's various time use research asking people how happy they
Speaker 1: are at various moments, and I can promise you you
Speaker 1: will be happier doing creative hobbies exercising, reading, or interacting
Speaker 1: with friends, then you will be while watching TV. But
Speaker 1: not everyone has read that research or cares And if
Speaker 1: other people in your household like to relax while watching TV,
Speaker 1: you can face a bit of a dilemma. You want
Speaker 1: to spend time with them in their presence. It's nice
Speaker 1: to sit together on the sofa, but then you wind
Speaker 1: up spending all your leisure time watching TV rather than
Speaker 1: doing other activities that you might prefer. Fortunately, this is
Speaker 1: not inevitable. It is indeed possible to spend time in
Speaker 1: people's presence without watching TV yourself. If you like to read.
Speaker 1: One of the simplest options is to sit next to
Speaker 1: your TV watching loved ones and read your book with
Speaker 1: headphones in your ears. That way, you get the cuddling
Speaker 1: and the warmth, and you don't have to waste an
Speaker 1: hour of your life watching something you don't care for.
Speaker 1: Just listen to instrumental music or white noise so you
Speaker 1: can still concentrate on what you're reading. If the other
Speaker 1: person is up for it, and this might be easier
Speaker 1: to foist on your kids than a partner, they can
Speaker 1: wear headphones to watch their show. Think of a kid
Speaker 1: on an iPad with headphones watching a cartoon while you
Speaker 1: snuggle next to them and read your book. If wearing
Speaker 1: headphones feels awkward or unfriendly, I would encourage you to
Speaker 1: move past that. But if you feel you can't do this,
Speaker 1: you could choose to read a book that doesn't require
Speaker 1: full concentration. You might page through an art book or
Speaker 1: a decorating book while the TV is on. I love
Speaker 1: to do one thousand piece puzzles, and for many people
Speaker 1: that would be doable with the TV on two. In
Speaker 1: my case, I do my puzzles in another room. But
Speaker 1: if you don't mind the TV background noise. A table
Speaker 1: in the corner could be a great way for you
Speaker 1: to be in your loved one's presence while still doing
Speaker 1: something that you prefer. Or you could grab a book
Speaker 1: of number puzzles or crossword puzzles, or a deck of
Speaker 1: cards to play solitaire. Adult coloring books could hit the
Speaker 1: spot too. Lots of people are able to craft while
Speaker 1: the TV is on. Knitting, needle point, embroidery, even sketching
Speaker 1: with charcoal or pastel's could work well. I would not
Speaker 1: encourage you to do chores while your family watches TV.
Speaker 1: That sounds like no fun. Sometimes that impulse is about
Speaker 1: doing something physical rather than vegging out. If that's the
Speaker 1: case and you're a person who has a lot of energy,
Speaker 1: use that energy to do something like stretching or yoga
Speaker 1: or strength training. Just don't position yourself between the people
Speaker 1: on the couch and the screen. In any case, when
Speaker 1: you get pressure from other family members to be part
Speaker 1: of their screen time, or if you just feel like
Speaker 1: you should be there, try to get at what you
Speaker 1: are actually desire. Ring. Do you all want to engage
Speaker 1: in the plot of a show together, That is one thing,
Speaker 1: But if it's a football game or maybe a kid's cartoon.
Speaker 1: The other person probably just wants your presence and not
Speaker 1: so much your attention, So see if there is a
Speaker 1: way to give your presence without giving up the activities
Speaker 1: that you would prefer to do with this time. I
Speaker 1: would point out that often people use this time to
Speaker 1: scroll on their phones when they are not engaged in
Speaker 1: the show and the TV watching loved ones don't usually
Speaker 1: complain so much about that. I am just suggesting doing
Speaker 1: something a little more purposeful. If you do another activity
Speaker 1: while your family watches TV, I'd love to hear about it.
Speaker 1: You can let me know at Laura at Laura Vanderkamp
Speaker 1: dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura that thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and 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 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
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