What?  No TV for 30 days?  Why would I do this to myself?  Well, it was time for lent and I had to choose something, so why not TV??  I’m not Catholic, but my boyfriend is, and my daughter was going through the classes to become Catholic, so I thought I would jump on board with everyone else in giving something up.  I am not the type of person to go easy on myself and say, “I’ll just give up sunflower seeds.”  When I don’t even eat those regularly, and even if I did, sunflower seeds aren’t something that needs to be given up.  Not sure I even remember the last time I ate those.  Plus, I was trying to read more, meditate more, blah blah blah.  So, here we go…this is what I learned.

10. I still got all the news I needed.

Listen, I’m not really a news watcher anyway.  I think it’s sensationalized and ridiculously negative, and to be honest, it really freaks me out.  If I watched the news all the time on a regular basis, I’d never leave my house, and my daughter wouldn’t either.  I’m not saying I am ignorant to the scary things in this world, but I don’t need a constant reminder.  Through have conversations with people, you still get all the news you will ever need.  Plus, you are having REAL conversations.  You actually have something to talk about vs…Oh yeah, I heard about that.  Then, the conversation is over.  You might get the occasional, “WHAT?  YOU DIDN’T KNOW?  Are you living under a rock or something?”  But, I don’t really care.  I’m living in my no-TV, happy bubble for 30 days.  Deal with it and tell me what happened.

9. TV is friggin everywhere!!!

It’s hard enough to turn off the TV in your home with a 9 year old around, but man, the TV is everywhere.  It’s in the airport, the nail salon, the gym, and sometimes even at the gas pump!!!  Really??  I’m at the gas pump for hopefully no longer than 5 minutes, I don’t have to be constantly entertained.  But, I just did my best to ignore it and focus on pumping the gas, reading a book in the airport, or trying not to laugh when they are scrubbing my feet at the nail salon.

8. The house was much quieter at bedtime.

I always watch The Big Bang Theory to go to bed.  It’s mindless.  I’ve seen them all, so if I fall asleep during it, I didn’t miss out.  Plus, it’s nice to have a little noise when you are alone and are trying to fall asleep.  It was a bit eerie at first, and every little noise I thought someone was breaking in.  But, I got over it.  I actually found that my sleep was better and fell asleep faster.

7. I became more addicted to my phone.

I had an argument with my friends that videos on Facebook were NOT TV.  But, they just laughed at me and said I wasn’t really following the rules.  My view…it’s about my “pact” with God, and not about my friend’s rules or opinions.  But, I do think I chose one vice over another.  I thought to myself, next time, maybe I’ll give up Facebook for 30 days.  We will see.

6. My mind felt less cluttered.

I was able to actually focus on what I was doing.  Before this experiment, I would turn on the TV when I entered the house.  I didn’t always sit down at watch it, but it was on and the noise was there.  I don’t care what people say, you cannot multitask.  It’s been proven.  Quiet is a good thing!  Quiet gave my mind space to think, to read, to cook, and to just be present.  It’s amazing how the subconscious can truly be affected by mindless noise in the background.  I found that I was able to focus on the things I was doing which actually made me much more efficient.    

5. I actually lost a couple pounds.

I had more time to cook and plan what to cook.  I have really enjoyed these past few years getting back to cooking.  I like to make it all from scratch…and that takes time and planning.  When the TV was on, I would sometimes get sucked in and lose 30 minutes or an hour.  That is 30 minutes of cutting, prepping, or shopping to prepare a healthy meal.

4. It didn’t really bother me after about a week.

I think it was the second day of no TV and I decided to take out my brand new bike and do a 20 mile ride with a group training for the MS150.  Well, the ride felt good and I didn’t want to turn around and ride alone, so I kept going with them for the full 40 mile ride.  Oops.  I came home completely spent and exhausted and all I wanted to do was veg on the couch after a long bath and watch TV!!!  But, I couldn’t!  I mean I couldn’t give up on my second day of making the pact!  I actually made it through.  I found myself some things to do wobbling around the house.  After that, I knew 28 more days would be a piece of cake.  It wasn’t really, but after about a week, I got used to it.  I have heard it takes a lot of brainpower and energy to solely use willpower to change.  Once it started to become a habit vs. always thinking about not turning on the TV, then it became much easier.

3. My daughter ended up watching less TV too.

It is so true that your kids pick up on everything that you do.  She even made the comment to me that she was watching less TV.  She was following my example, and she started cooking with me, or cleaning the house instead of plopping down and watching an episode of Spongebob.  We talked more, and I felt more connected to her.  She and I would go on walks, and I felt like I had more energy and focus to be with her.  I think she really enjoyed this experiment because Mom wasn’t in her room watching her show…she was hanging with her daughter and enjoying being together.

2. I got a lot more done.

The other surprising thing is that I didn’t come home drained.  I felt like I had all this time and space to do stuff, that I actually was excited to come home and had energy.  I played the piano, read, cooked, talked to friends and family, and most of all, had time to myself.  There are only so many hours in the day to do all of these things we have to do.  Work takes up a lot of time whether you work for someone else or work for yourself.  It’s just what we do.  But, we need time and space for these other things.  It’s important to keep up with all aspects of your life…and well, TV is not your life.

1. I can’t wait to do it again (but I have to wait until So You Think You Can Dance is over)

I am a SYTYCD lover.  I was so happy that lent was not over the summertime, so I could watch my favorite show of all time with no guilt.  But, I look forward to the time when do this again.  I’m not quite ready yet, but I don’t dread the day that I decide to do it again.

I have noticed that I am right back to where I was before this little experiment.  It actually took a month or 2, but here I am.  I am a moderation type of gal.  I actually think it’s much better to make slight shifts over time to make something really stick.  Plus, the older I get, the more I realize how short life is.  Why deprive yourself of things you absolutely love?  Just do it in moderation.  As long as it’s not something completely harmful to you.  Now, my focus isn’t on a complete deprivation of TV, but to limit it.

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Yours in building a positive life,

Kristin