Turning off the TV
Originally published on Curious Friends Club.
Okay, listen; I love watching TV. To me, this isn’t a guilty confession because likely you and I are similar in this way. No type of TV is off limits. I love it all, from the X-Files, my go-to-show to…uh…the Bachelorette. Shhh, that’s our little secret, right?
I’m lucky enough to have hitched my life to a partner who also loves to watch TV. If you peered on any given night through the windows of our apartment, you likely would have seen us lounging around, watching reruns of Gilmore Girls. Most nights, we’d cook something quickly, only to eat it on the couch, side-by-side, without saying a word. Sooner or later, one of the two of us would fall asleep (ahem…rather, Meghan would fall asleep). The night would pass until we woke up in the morning, wondering how we ended up in bed.
“But we’re dreamers,” we’d tell ourselves in the mornings and on weekends. “We have so many goals! Why can’t we just do them?”
Ugh, goals. It’s so hard for them to stick, you know? I’ve been trying to learn how to code for years. Meghan talks about reinvesting in her blog and recording barre classes for her YouTube channel. By the way, did you know that we had a short-lived attempt at becoming YouTube stars? Move over, Zalfie.
We have a huge list of books to read, recipes to try, cities to visit, and the list goes on…but instead, we watch television. Even after attempting to enforce no-TV nights, we’d watch it.
So we’re trying something new.
Buh-bye, television.
We moved the TV out of our living room and filled the vacant space with a cheap Italian poster. We reorganized the room, so our sitting area could be nestled among our floor-to-ceiling windows. In the morning and evening light, it feels more like an oasis than a space that centers around the television. The cats are enthused as well, naturally.
At dinner, we’ll eat at the table, next to the aforementioned Italian poster, to the left of the wines. Sometimes we’ll listen to a podcast while eating — we’re currently obsessed with Raw Milk. Much like watching an embarrassing show on Netflix, Meghan can now watch me chew.
And what did we do with the TV? We put it in our bedroom, facing the bed. Despite our laziness, Meghan and I are not lay-in-bed-all-day-and-watch-TV kinds of people. Because of this, the tube’s begun to collect new layers of dust, since we only use it two or three times a week. Those rare nights of endless Riverdale and pizza feel special now when they used to be the norm. We’re learning that making television feel like an indulgence has changed the way we spend our time.
So, what have we learned?
A couple of months have passed since we began our little “experiment.” Since then, we’ve read more, talked more, and finally followed through on launching some side projects (like this one…and this one)! We’ve shared more meaningful experiences, grown closer as a couple, and begun to make things that make us proud. Most of the content we’ll create here is possible because of this new habit.
To an outsider looking in, this new habit seems cheesy and a little obvious, I know. But honestly, it really is pretty simple — stop wasting time and do more…that’s all it boils down to.
I’m not going to lie to you though, I do miss Scully and Mulder.
