In this story:
For many, TV is no less than an essential part of everyday life. With the average Brit spending a third of their day watching TV and online videos, switching on the goggle box is as common as popping on the kettle.
I’m no outlier in these statistics. Since I’ve been old enough to understand the nuances of Teletubbies, television has played a significant part in my everyday routine.
Although a healthy dose of your favourite show is good for the soul, I have started to fear that – despite my love of reality TV – I might not be living entirely in the real world. I feel it may be time for a change.
With spring’s arrival, I am once again re-acquainted with daylight and the annual urge to refresh and renew. I have decided, in an attempt to get back to the world around me, to reset my telly-dependent routine. Consider it my exit from hibernation after a seriously square-eyed winter.
By replacing my cherished tv-watching time with fulfilling creative activities, I had hoped that I could wean myself off a bad habit, but what I found was so much more than that.
Day 1: I felt a sense of pride that TV watching has never given me
To kickstart my week, I decided to give acrylic painting a go. It’s been a while since I’ve picked up a paintbrush and I was excited to see where it would take me.
I’m pretty comfortable with the fact I’m no natural when it comes to painting, so I wasn’t expecting to want to frame the outcome after such a lengthy break, but it’s a week later now and my painting is still sitting atop a pile of books in my living room for all to see. I guess you could say I’m quite proud of my creation!
Although my ability to binge-watch several series simultaneously is arguably quite the skill, it’s never given me the sense of accomplishment and pride that I felt from simply sitting down and painting for an hour. It may not be a masterpiece but every time I glance at my painting now, I think to myself ‘I did that’, and that’s pretty cool.
Day 3: I mastered the art of slowing down
On the third day of my TV-less week, I tried my hand at macrame for the first time. I won’t lie to you when I say that the first half-hour was spent furrowing my brow, engrossed in the instructions and trying to wrap my ‘evening brain’ around some probably quite simple knot diagrams.
Despite the strong urge to switch off and switch on the telly, I pushed through and eventually got to grips with the all-important double half-hitch knot. It was then that I found my mindful macrame flow.
As my hands knotted away, my brain half focused on the task at hand and half enjoying the gentle passing of thoughts, I felt an unfamiliar sense of calm in the place of my usual TV-watching restlessness. As macrame satisfied my desire to be productive as well as my need to unwind, it allowed me to slow down and take stock of my day.
After a couple of hours of knotting, thinking and sipping on a cuppa or two, I checked the time – only 8pm! When your evenings are no longer bound to the screen, it turns out you have a lot more time on your hands.
Day 5: I found joy in the little things
With my chores and errands often ticked off come evening time (with thanks to a TV-less day), my brain was free to relax without thoughts of to-dos. With a clear mind and more time for myself, I found that I had started to enjoy the simplest of things.
On day five of my week, I tried my hand at candlemaking. Whilst stirring in the essential oils, I could smell the soothing aroma of rose geranium, I could hear the comforting sound of my partner pottering about in the other room and I could feel a blissful warmth emanating from the melting wax. Instead of romanticising the lives of others through the screen, here I was romanticising my own and it felt good – really good, in fact!
Day 7: I spent more quality time with others
My week without telly saw me reunited with my dining table. Dinners that were usually eaten on the sofa in front of the TV were now shared with my partner over lengthy conversations and a movie night with a friend even became putting the world to rights instead of re-watching Pretty Woman. I found that time spent with loved ones is far more fulfilling when you don’t have to share it with a screen!
As I was back in my hometown for my final day, I got my family involved in some pottery painting. We spent the afternoon enjoying the sun and unleashing our creativity on our ceramic Easter eggs. Whilst we painted, we chatted about everything and anything. Best of all, there was no strict silence or shushing when important dialogue was missed (an annoying family habit of ours when it comes to watching TV).
Will I continue?
As the day drew to a close, I realised I wasn’t as excited about being reunited with my Netflix account as I thought I would be. In the past week, I felt more relaxed, I accomplished more and even slept better. But most surprisingly, I’d found a love of creating over consuming.
Although I’m sure I won’t be a stranger to the latest must-see series, I am determined not to fall back into an old habit of mindlessly consuming episode after episode. Instead, I can’t wait to continue to challenge myself creatively, try new things and romanticise the little things.
If you too, often ponder how much is too much telly time or find yourself fumbling for a better response to “what are your hobbies?” then why not give it a go yourself? I’m certain you won’t regret it.
