The Amazing Effects of a Weekend Without Televsion

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Categories: productivity tips

Something strange happened this weekend. My roommates both went to the beach, leaving me with the apartment entirely to myself for the first time all year. After dinner I settled into the couch and turned on the television. A depressed, lethargic feeling came over me as I prepared to sacrifice the next couple hours to the plasma screen gods.

At that moment I decided to do a little experiment: no television for the entire weekend. I did this because I plan to live alone when our lease expires in July. I don’t own a television and I don’t plan to buy one (in fact I never plan to buy one) so living alone will mean many solitary hours without television for entertainment. I needed to know if I could handle it. Part of me was worried that the hours of isolation would drive me insane with boredom.

It did — for the first fifteen minutes. Out of necessity I found alternative ways to keep myself busy. These are some of the things I accomplished that I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t have done otherwise.

  1. Overhauled Site Design – Most of you regular readers have probably noticed that the PickTheBrain design has seen some major improvements. I changed the top right subscribe box, create a new favicon, pimped out the sidebar headings, created new styles for the sidebar links, blockquotes, and footer, and fixed a dozen other little things that had been bothering me. I also created an entirely new home page and an introductory video.
  2. Got a VA Driver’s License – This is something I’ve needed to do for months. I finally bit the bullet and went to the DMV first thing Saturday morning.
  3. Entered the Next Internet Millionaire Contest – This is something that I’d planned on doing before, but I could’ve easily been persuaded to put it off. In addition to making the video (vote for me!) I also wrote a blog post explaining why I decided to do it.
  4. Optimized Site Monetization – I spent a few hours tweaking the color and position of the GoogleAds running on this site, added a new unit to the sidebar, and switched out the unit at the bottom of each post to a couple of book recommendations from Amazon. It remains to be seen how well the changes will work, but experimentation is the key to optimization.
  5. Read – I finally finished reading Animal Farm by George Orwell which took me an embarrassing amount of time considering the size of the book. I also started Barak Obama’s first book, Dreams from My Father. By the way, Obama is a tremendous writer and it’s likely I’ll write a post about him in the future.
  6. Wrote – In addition to this post and the post on Next Internet Millionaire, I also wrote guest posts for Tim Ferriss’ blog and for Daily Blog Tips that will hopefully be published next week. Usually I’m fortunate to muster one post on Sunday evening.
  7. Relaxed – I spent several hours at the pool and also took a few long walks around the neighborhood. Although I would have gone to the pool regardless, it’s likely much of that time would have been lost to TV.

I could keep going but you get the point. These are all things I’ve wanted to do but could never find the time for. This experiment shows that television consumes an amazing amount time. Eliminating it probably increased my productivity 1000%.

The most amazing part is that I haven’t missed television at all. After I built some momentum I haven’t felt the slightest temptation to regress. I’m more energetic, I’ve been in a great mood, and getting things done has left me with a feeling of accomplishment. I look forward to making this a permanent change.

Unfortunately, that will have to wait a few weeks. Once my roommates come back the TV will once again be perpetually turned on and I doubt I’ll be able to avoid it. We’re so used to living with television that we don’t realize the impact it has on our lives. For many people, turning on the TV is the default action after sitting down. It’s a constant presence — during meals and even when we aren’t paying attention it’s still there in the background. A weekend without television made me realize the impact it has on my behavior, mood, and outlook on life.

I recommend a weekend without television to everyone. You’ll be amazed what you’re capable of when you stop being a passive observer and become the star of your own life. We’ve been the victims of the most ruthless thief of time for far too long.

Want to feel great every single week? NOW YOU CAN!

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  • ‘Nother Tom

    Way to go John! I’m 5 years TV free, and whoever said that going somewhere where there is one is annoying, is correct. But, they seem to be everywhere these days. The other day I was noticing how in a Taco Bell, people would sit down and eat, never taking their eyes off of the TV. Even during commercials. Except maybe to open their cell phones and stare at them a bit before closing them and returning to the TV. I have even eliminated commercial radio. And it does have some kind of effect on you, to not be yelled at constantly by disgusting people trying to sell you crap.
    I’ll never go back.

  • http://www.JugglingFrogs.com clkl

    It’s in the supermarkets, too. I *hate* it. Inane infomercials at ear-splitting volume keep scattering my concentration, scrambling my mental shopping list.

    I get in line, put my stuff on the conveyor belt, and there is a huge screen with a pseudo-chef, screaming cucumber-cutting instructions at me, while I’m trying to calculate my total. Yuck.

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  • http://stephentrepreneur.wordpress.com/ stephentrepreneur

    From the age of 6 through to about 18, I watched television at every available opportunity. I saw a LOT of b-grade television!

    After I got my first REAL computer in about 1996, I turned the television off. It became a distraction to the new addiction: The internet.

    Quite frankly, the information provided by the internet (for the most part) is far more interesting, actually provides tutoring (if you know where to look) and allows me to speak my mind in a more effective forum. (Yelling at the television never works!)

    I agree wholeheartedly with this post. We have three color televisions – and they are now dust-collectors. OK, so I still enjoy a few select programs – but only because I like some time-out from the computer occasionally! So I take a ride on my exercise bike when the television is on – thereby achieving something of benefit!

  • http://www.MyTimemanagementTips.com Alan

    I’ve also tried cutting off on TV and other things that keeps me busy and it’s amazing how those activities consume a lot of our time. If only we realized this one earlier, then we could’ve been more productive compared to now.

  • Mathew

    I turn on the TV when I leave the house for my animals to have some noise and a sense of someone there. I personally use a DVR to record a couple shows which I watch late at night. Having insomnia frequently, turning on those shows I recorded help get my brain to shut down.

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  • http://blog.datamanagementsolutions.biz/dms.html Steve Schapel

    “… turning on those shows I recorded help get my brain to shut down.”

    Thanks, Mathew! I know those darn things were useful for something.

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  • Lord Hugh

    It is rather amusing that so many sites have picked up on this as some “new fad” and quite happily ignored those who have been1, 5, 10 or more years free of the ultimate expression of the ‘opiate of the masses.’ Good luck with staying TV free.

    - LH

  • Sacha

    You improved your site’s monetization? What ads? I’ve never seen ads on this site (in FF or IE). No Amazon boxes either. I thought you were going to do that later.

    Overall, I don’t have cable so I don’t watch much TV either. That’s fine. One pitfall to avoid though is to become one of those pretentious, holier than thou types who has to constantly mention how they don’t own a TV. There are plenty of good shows afterall. It’s not all pablum for the mouth breathing masses. Also, I find if I follow NO TV, I can get very left out of the loop at convesations work.

  • http://www.pickthebrain.com John Wesley

    Sacha,

    The ads are only on the single posts.

  • http://www.psych101online.com Helen

    It’s amazing how much task we can do if we can get rid of the barriers that prevent us from doing it. The problem is that we don’t realize what the barriers are.

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  • Megan

    This is very interesting since we (me and the other members of our church) just finished the same experiment. You can read about it here if you would like:

    http://www.life-mission.org/blog/

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  • Randy Fries

    I am thankful for your post!!!

    I have not watched TV or a movie in over ten years, I have made this choice for the sake of my relationship to Jesus Christ. I don’t know how a Christian can proclaim a love relationship with Jesus and be entertained with such God repulsed content.

    Jesus said that if a man thinks about a woman to lust after her he has already sinned, and there is more sin happening
    in America from the couch and the remote that in a bed room.

    You made no expression of doing this because of faith based reasoning but it is neat to see another TV on the curb!!

    Thank you for your post

    Randy Fries Pastor of
    First Love Church of Meeker Colorado
    970 404 2697

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  • http://www.bdqworks.com/ Allan

    Haha, this is an old post. Good job on the driving license.

  • reader

    I’m sick and tired of television everywhere I go: doctors’ offices, hospitals, auto repair, restaurants, and now at the end of WalMart aisles!! Add it to idiots shouting into their phones and it just MAKES ME CRAZY! Talk about noise pollution. I carry ear plugs everywhere I go, but since the strongest are only 31 decibles, they are only enough to muffle sound. Therefore, I carry my iPod and ear buds, so at least I can listen to educational podcasts or music of my own choosing. I’m turning into an absolute hermit, and most of the time I’m not sorry at all!

  • http://NA Timothy Grant

    Very interesting post, that. I also subscribe to a similar undertanding about TV (and the internet too, for that matter). Though they can be wonderfully educational (at the moment I am marvelling at some of the documentaries showcasing the splendour of the universe), they can also be ridiculously distracting.

    Good luck with the Non-TV stance- stay strong against the wishes of your house-mates!

  • http://www.languages4free.com Braeden

    I have kids, and tv is a brain killer. You can see the difference in them when the television is off. They listen, they respond and you don’t have to raise your voice to get their attention. It’s amazing, when that television is on, no matter how many times they have seen the program, their eyes are glued. Their brain is shut out to the surroundings around them, and then when you ask them what just happened, or why something happened, they say, “i don’t know.” If I have to ask them to do something, I don’t even get a response. When that happens, I shut the television off, they get mad, but you know what happens next, they move on to be creative. They play with dolls and they play with cars and trucks. they put their bodies in motion. They are alive. It’s the same thing with adults. If you get rid of the television, it’s amazing how much you get done. It’s amazing how much you can learn.

  • http://customizedfatlossreview.net Jack’s Customized Fat Loss

    I don’t watch TV that much, because i feel bored, not unless it has some show which I am really interested about, but will not sit there entirely. I want to do more actions, than just sit there and stare at that square blinking thing.

    - Jack Leak

  • http://customizedfatlossreview.net Jack’s Customized Fat Loss

    I don’t watch TV that much, because i feel bored, not unless it has some show which I am really interested about, but will not sit there entirely. I want to do more actions, than just sit there and stare at that square blinking thing.

    - Jack Leak

  • http://customizedfatloss.com/ Jack’s Customized Fat Loss

    I am not
    someone who watches a lot of  TV because it makes me not move a lot. I am
    very aware that being a couch potato is not healthy for the body. this article is inspiring and very
    helpful.

    - Jack Leak
    Customized Fat Loss

  • StevieP

    Great article, I find myself being hooked to the TV.  When I lived alone at university I found that even if I was not watching a program I needed to have the TV on in the background to fill the room with something and even now it consumes so much of my time.   Being inspired by your article I will plan a TV free weekend.

  • http://screw9-5.blogspot.com/ Screw9to5man

    Yeah most of the stuff on TV is trash anyway. I don’t watch much, but I could still not do without a tv. Problem is, even though I don’t watch much tv, I’m instead addicted to junk on the internet. 

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  • PRB

    Good Article. Here is a youtube video on a good summary of ill effects of TV. Take a look might help you to reduce your TV time.
     http://youtu.be/yvGhtaZhTEM

  • PRB

    Good Article. Here is a youtube video on a good summary of ill effects of TV. Take a look might help you to reduce your TV time.
     http://youtu.be/yvGhtaZhTEM

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