Ask HN: How to avoid TV addiction?
Everytime I am home and late in the evening, when I would like to start working (which seems to be the best time to really start working on side projects), I get the urge to switch on the TV and start watching. I do know that my brain is trying to get the easy apple here to avoid the hard work of the side project, by just watching the TV.
And I for sure know that if I can just overcome this urge for 5-10 minutes and open my laptop, I might start working on the side project.
At the end, I’m not able to do that. I end up spending 2 hours in front of the idiot box!!
How to overcome this?
36 comments
[ 2.5 ms ] story [ 78.5 ms ] threadA good first step would be to try to identify the cues that trigger you wanting to turn on the TV.
I would try improving diet and exercise for at least 4 weeks and see if having more energy helps.
Passive consumption of media does not take as much concentration as being productive.
They always recommend exercise, so I agree with DoreenMichele's advice. I'm overweight and have poor fitness.
To address your query, you must understand that you cannot merely avoid it. You will need to find a healthy replacement. Think of your life as a meaningful journey and add valuable habits and skills to it so that you can make it more interesting.
Replace your addiction of TV with something more meaningful. Probably, not just one thing but try a diversity of things. Develop or revive old hobbies like reading, swimming, long walks or gardening.
Once you will fill your life with healthier attributes and habits, the addiction for TV or anything else will naturally go away. Fill your time every day with meaningful activities. Don't sit idle; do something that requires physical, mental and overall involvement. You can paint or draw. You can play an instrument. You can do something that makes you happy and relaxed.
TV and the modern age gadgets are toxic. They will not go away on their own. You will need to carefully replace them with meaningful behavioural traits. Hope this helps.
Unfortunately it's like being alcoholic. You have to understand that you're addicted for ever and the only way to win with the addiction is just remove it completely from your life. And that's what I did and recommend it to everyone addicted. I just unplugged all the cables, unmounted stand and put the TV to the box under my bed. Do it today, don't wait and waste your time. I've done this despite my whole family so now even kids have simply better time. I don't believe there is another way, I'm sorry. You'll be surprised even the same day how much more time you have for yourself. Good luck!
In other words, realize that excessive TV consumption is unhealthy, dull and that there way more interesting hobbies.
This statement, while having some truth to it, is a little unfair. Many TV shows are still creative endeavours, it just so happens that ads are one of the only workable ways to pay for said creative endeavours in the tv world. You can argue that much (most?) of the internet’s content is created solely for ads too if you want to take this stance.
I try to think about stuff I want to get out of the way that are small, i.e. wash dishes, cook some food, get the mail, pay some bills. I use those as a warm up and to build up momentum to tackle big things.
Some of the most productive people I know do this. They get up on Saturday, make breakfast, take out the trash, get the mail, go to the garage and clean some things up, wrap the hose, put away tool etc. By noon they have gotten so much shit done they can start doing other things, like working on cars, boats or whatever.
If you want to grow pick up a book and read. Written word is much more powerful at developing rational thought and conveying ideas.
tin foil hat alert Ultimately, TV is a propaganda machine, every aspect of which is engineered for marketing consumerism. The same artistic tools that are used to convey the emotion of a scene are used to get you to buy a certain thing/vote a certain way/support a certain movement.Think about the last thing you bought, then think about why you bought it.
Start exercising in the evening.
If you really want to work on your side projects, maybe you need a new job that's less stressful, or a different post within the same company, or a different commute.
The hardest thing will be that these days, TV viewing is at an all time high, and you will be out of the loop on a cultural touch point, just as if you stopped watching sports. You will also have to deal with people saying "oh, I know, I don't watch TV either, except for [Dexter/The Wire/Breaking Bad/etc]." Just smile and resist their advice. Make peace with the idea that yes, there is good content on TV, but there's also good content in books and in real life, like in your side business. Your life is not less fulfilling if you miss out on some of the good TV shows. You just chose to prioritize other things.
By the way, congratulations on trying to do this - I think this is one of the best things you can do to improve your life.
If you don't want to smoke, why carry a box of cigs?
After the runs, in particular, I feel both exhausted and refreshed. After about an hour, a shower, and some food I feel capable of focusing again. The TV is still present, and I may turn it on and watch something. But it's not as vexing an addiction as it was prior to developing this routine.
The work of my day is too draining (mentally usually, emotionally sometimes) to be able to transition easily to more work, even if it's work that is more emotionally satisfying. This division gives my mind a clearing period (I've said before in other posts, running for me is meditative, so is the very exhausting conditioning class I attend, once I get into the movement).