In an earlier post I started talking about how I was doing the Popsugar reading challenge in an effort to get off screen. The part II to that resolution, more books less screen, is spending less than three hours on screen. Let me qualify what “screen” means to me and why it is actually a do-able resolution. Screen in this case means Netflix and Hulu binging, mindless Facebook browsing, playing mindless games on my phone and video games (the few I actually play).
I got my boyfriend on board, partially so I am not tempted to binge watch TV with him and so when I bug him to get out of the house on the weekends he knows why. So far, over the past 48 hours I have spent a total 6 hours on screen. I would call that a huge accomplishments. Some takeaways so far:
- It feels really good to start the morning making breakfast with music or an audio book.
- It is nice not having reality TV playing all the time in the background (even though Top Chef is not as crappy as the other shows out there).
- I’ve read more books in the past three days than I have in the past 4 months and I forgot how amazing it is to lose yourself in another world.
- Maybe that whole “TV turns your brain to mush” myth you tell little kids is actually true…?
I found a comparison for this cold turkey stopping of endless screen: it’s the Whole30 equivalent of technology. Cut out all the bad things (in my case most of) but still enjoy the good in small doses. Tonight Ben and I watched two episodes of White Collar and I spent about a half hour in total browsing Facebook (and learning nothing, shocker). The TV episodes feel like a reward now and I plug it in between dinner and bed. The best part? I haven’t fallen asleep with my laptop playing a show in 4 days. I am finally reading before bed. More updates on my fabulous realization soon….
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