30 Day Trial - No TV

[jenn5280]

This is my first post, but I have been a fan of Steve's since April. I recently finished the book and find a renewed determination in several areas of my life. So I sat down and journaled all the things I would like to accomplish in the next several months. Then I had to figure out why I haven't been able to get them done before. It was like an 800 pund gorilla in the room that I don't want to see. The TV... it is like a drug, well I am just going to sit here for 10 minutes and then go in to the office and get some volunteer work done. Well 2 hours later I am still watching TV.

In the book Steve talks about telling other people what you are doing, so there is some accountability. So here we go. This morning I called the cable company and turned off the service. I will return the box and remote tomorrow morning on my way to work.

I am not going to count today as Day 1 since I did watch TV this morning as I was getting ready...so tomorrow will be Day 1.

Wish me luck.

[Matt Willard]

Be sure to get rid of the actual TV too. Good luck.

[lifeforce]

Originally Posted by jenn5280

This is my first post, but I have been a fan of Steve's since April. I recently finished the book and find a renewed determination in several areas of my life. So I sat down and journaled all the things I would like to accomplish in the next several months. Then I had to figure out why I haven't been able to get them done before. It was like an 800 pund gorilla in the room that I don't want to see. The TV... it is like a drug, well I am just going to sit here for 10 minutes and then go in to the office and get some volunteer work done. Well 2 hours later I am still watching TV.

In the book Steve talks about telling other people what you are doing, so there is some accountability. So here we go. This morning I called the cable company and turned off the service. I will return the box and remote tomorrow morning on my way to work.

I am not going to count today as Day 1 since I did watch TV this morning as I was getting ready...so tomorrow will be Day 1.

Wish me luck.

Ive had a 9 month no tv trial. But watch out, something will take its place if you dont actively replace it with something positive.

In my case, internett took over. Then I did a no pc no tv trial. And books kinda just took over. Catch my drift?

[dannielo]

Good luck.

And @lifeforce is right, you have to replace it with something else. Removing the negative does not create the positive, it only creates a vacuum.

[openeyes]

We don't have a tv in our apartment, but there is youtube, online netflix, and ted.com ...

[jenn5280]

Well today wasn't bad. It wasn't that I wanted to watch TV, it was an automatic thing to go to the TV and turn it on, so I had to remind myself that I wasn't going to watch TV. Tonight isn't bad, I have a bunch of stuff set up in the office to try and start a clean up. The radio is on with some Christmas music and I am going to get started on purging my office of the clutter that has built up.

You know the funny thing is when I tell people they are like..."why would you do that?" Then they offer alternatives, like well you can watch tv on your computer... I just smile and say thanks.

Sometimes people just don't understand that you are trying to grow as a person.

Well I am off to start cleaning out the office.

[Marco Polo]

Hey, I'm doing a similar trial (although I'm cutting out a bit more than just television). I recommend filling your time with socializing and reading books. You can also learn new skills, like juggling or drawing cartoons. Good luck.

[lifeforce]

A trial you could do simultanisly now would be a 30 day productivity trial.

[xavier2121]

hey good luck with this, its gonna take a lot of self-discipline, but im sure you already know that. You might of very well inspired me to do the same..still mulling it over though. Adios friend.

[Liveformx64]

Jen,

From personal experience, throwing out my TV was the single most driving force in my awakening.

I now:

read more books
go to sleep earlier
sleep more soundly
am much more productive.

Guess what else, I haven't watched the news in 6 months, and believe it or not, our economy still functions, and we haven't gone into Nuclear war!

The great thing about No TV is that you can seek out what you truly want to watch on the internet. Things that truly resonate with you, and will help you grow.

One last thing.....You can't be tempted to watch TV if there is no TV in your house! I say.... throw it out the window!

One more, last thing..... Now when you go to friends or family, sitting down to watch a movie or a ball game can be a special treat that, in my personal experience am happy to have in small doses, but I am even more happy when I go home a peaceful house without a chatter box on all the time.

The best of luck to you, and keep us posted!

[jenn5280]

Well I must say that today is a little harder than day one, probably because I was at work on day one.

This morning was hard, usually on a Saturday morning I eat breakfast and watch a little Food Network before getting ready. Today I got up got ready and was eating breakfast at the kitchen table, novel idea! This afternoon is a little harder, I really want to turn the TV on. But I have resisted. I did spend two hours in my studio working on my art, which I haven't done in a long time.

Oh and last night after two hours cleaning out a corner of my office I found a document I have been looking for, for MONTHS! One night of no TV was worth finding that!! So this afternoon I have downloaded some new iTunes and I have some advertising work to do for a volunteer organization.

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I think this will get harder before it gets easier.

Thanks!!

[jenn5280]

Today wasn't terrible, but I did notice that there are way to many restaurants that have TV's. I met up with some friends to night and we were at a sports bar with TV's everywhere. I wasn't interested since I hadn't seen these guys in 15 years, so we were to busy talking to notice what was on TV.

All in all not a bad day. Made some good progress in the office cleaning.

[ragtag]

I haven't had a TV for the last 10 or so years. When I was younger I would watch a lot of TV, but not anymore. I don't miss it one little bit. Though I must admit I quickly get glued to watching it if I'm some place there is a TV running. If I'm at a friends place and it's on, I usually just ask if we can't just turn it off. I would rather spend time with my friends, than their TV.

For a while I didn't even have anything at home that could play movies nor an web connection (I did at work though). During that time I went a lot to the cinema and local film festivals. The difference was though that I saw films I specifically wanted to see, and not just anything that happened to be broadcast at the time. I also read a lot of books during that period, which I see as preferable to watching TV.

Now I have internett and a computer that can play DVD's. While having all this stuff at your fingertips through the computer is great, it has also in many ways taken the place of the TV, which kind of sucks. Sometimes I wind up surfing on something I find interesting, and going from link to link winding up somewhere else that is also interesting...but really it's quite meaningless and not much better than watching TV.

It can be really nice to disconnect completely from TV, radio, internet and news from time to time. Like this summer when I was sailing quite frequently. My boat doesn't have any electricity so I left my mobile turned off most of the time in case I needed it for something important. Lying at anchor and just enjoying the nature around you feels really great and gives you time to think.

Good luck on the TV trial.

[Eisho]

Originally Posted by jenn5280

This is my first post, but I have been a fan of Steve's since April. I recently finished the book and find a renewed determination in several areas of my life. So I sat down and journaled all the things I would like to accomplish in the next several months. Then I had to figure out why I haven't been able to get them done before. It was like an 800 pund gorilla in the room that I don't want to see. The TV... it is like a drug, well I am just going to sit here for 10 minutes and then go in to the office and get some volunteer work done. Well 2 hours later I am still watching TV.

In the book Steve talks about telling other people what you are doing, so there is some accountability. So here we go. This morning I called the cable company and turned off the service. I will return the box and remote tomorrow morning on my way to work.

I am not going to count today as Day 1 since I did watch TV this morning as I was getting ready...so tomorrow will be Day 1.

Wish me luck.

Good luck with you challenge. I would be especially interested to know if you feel mentally calmer without TV input.

Cheers,

Eisho

[jenn5280]

Well today was interesting. I spent the day at my parents house. Normally we would turn the TV on and watch it while playing a game or talking. They respect my current choice of no TV, so we played games all afternoon. We talked laughed and my step-dad made the comment that he didn't really miss the TV.

I don't know if I feel any different. I have cleaned out another corner of the office which lead to a shopping trip to Staples for hanging files. I feel like I am getting more done during the day. I do keep the internet surfing to a minimum.

Normally on a Sunday night I would veg out in front of the TV for the next hour or so, but I think I will start a new book and get to bed early.

Thanks for all the encouragement.

[Matt Willard]

Keep at it. You'll get used to your change soon enough.