TV & Filling the void

[Drewkerr]

What is everyones opinion on TV? I have freed up a lot more time at work and now only spending about 25 hours at the office, i have been using TV to fill the void.

I have been thinking of cancelling cable to make me put my time into more productive things and be more creative?

Anyone have this problem or a similar situation?

Drew

[jetpacklife]

Well, I do hope you can cut it down if not out. Taking a 40 hr week down to 4 hours of work only to fill it with 36 hours of TV would not be good.

Honestly, I probably watch more TV too since quitting my job. My main problem is filling the void.

[HalfSwede]

What is everyones opinion on TV?

Ditch the cable! :) My wife and I have been married nearly 10 years and have never had cable b/c of other priorities in the budget. We rarely feel like we are missing something important.

Having said that, I do like it when I travel (about 40 nights per year) and I can check into a hotel with the History channel, Discovery channel, ESPN, etc. So, for approximately 1/9th of the year I get a "treat". The rest of the year I can live with "rabbit ears"...yes, we really have them sitting on top of our t.v.

Of course, there will be some that will go even further and say ditch the t.v. all together.

Cheers!

[Skanderbeg]

Ditch the cable and get netflix.

You can watch any of the good TV series when they come out on DVD, and you can watch all the good foreign and independent movies.

It is much much better, because it's a self-directed thing. Rather than sitting down and vegging, you have to choose what you want to watch and order it. You get it a few days later, and only have 3 or 4 DVDs at a time, so the most you can ever watch at a time is usually the one or two DVDs you haven't watched yet.

Far superior to TV...

[Drewkerr]

Thanks I like the netflix idea. I will probally do the blockbuster one, but the idea is great.

The other thing is if I cancel cable I would save about $100 a month.

Drew

[funone]

I think the reason so many of us Americans have trouble filling the void is that we are such a consumer oriented culture. Most of us were raised in an environment where social standing was measured by the things we owned and even our identities defined by our potential purchasing power (ie "so what do you do?"). Our braines have been programmed to think in terms of what can I buy as opposed to what can I do. Think back to the first time you ever made any real money; did you think here's what I am going to get or did you think here's what I am going to do?

A good way to get a mental reset is to extract youself from our consumer driven culture for a while and place yourself in a culture that centers more around doing.

[karlin]

I like the idea of Tivoing everything and watching when you want this way it isn't a completely mindless habit.

I don't think watching a lot of TV is bad. If it's Jerry Springer all day that's one thing but there's a lot of great stuff on TV these days. Deadwood was great (sucks that it's coming to an end), there's Weeds, The Office, etc.

I heard Heroes was great but I never saw it . . .

[jetpacklife]

Ahh, The Office. I almost miss office life.

"place yourself in a culture that centers more around doing."

That actually sounds pretty good, but, are there actual cultures like that, or is it just a state of mine?

I am definitely a do'er, but I have a real hard time finding similarly minded people.

[searstower]

That actually sounds pretty good, but, are there actual cultures like that, or is it just a state of mine?

I am definitely a do'er, but I have a real hard time finding similarly minded people.

Personally, I loved not having a TV. We have cable now, but I try to keep my viewing down to watching CSI on demand, so I choose when and skip the commercials.

I was able to fill a lot of the void by joining clubs of various sorts. The best one was a martial arts gym because if I wanted to, I could train up to 4 hours a day any day, and I got a lot of personal satisfaction from my measured improvement and I had always wanted to learn a martial art.

Now that I quit my day job last week, I'm probably going to take up tennis. It's a good morning/afternoon sport. Golf or sailing would also be good if you are into them.

My husband has picked up 3 completely new musical instruments in his spare time. He's even started repairing and reselling instruments on ebay for fun (and profit, but more for fun).

We are both going to start taking cooking classes together, not because we don't know how to cook but because we enjoy it.

The beautiful thing about a club or organization is that just showing up to the event makes everyone else there a do'er kind of person.

So the question is, what is it you've always wanted to learn?

Enjoy filling your void!
Rebecca

[Drewkerr]

I think the big thing I am going to start doing to Kayaking. There is a nice sized lake that is 5 min drive from my house, they rent kayaks for like $5. This way I can get some sun, be outdoors (not in front of the TV) and get a bit of a workout.

I turn in the cable boxes next week!

Drew

[cheez avenger]

I'll be going through my mini "mini-withdrawl" this coming week. I cancelled the cable, I will rely solely on Netflix.

I even downgraded my Netflix account. I used to get 6 films at a time for 35.99 which equals 438.88 a year, I split that in half and now I'll only be getting 3 at a time for 17.99 a month=215.88 a year. That's more mini-retirement money in my pocket! :D


I've already got a huge library of dvds, some are still in the shrink wrapped packages.


That will be my first big challenge. No more CNN!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Drewkerr]

I find the news depressing, after a couple of weeks you won't miss it.

I signed up for the three DVDs from blockbuster. its $17.99 but then you can also return the movies to a store location and drop of exchange for a new one. And then you also get one free additional rental coupon a month to be used at a location so you can have up to 4 movies at a time or use the coupon for a game.

Drew

[cheez avenger]

I find the news depressing, after a couple of weeks you won't miss it.

I signed up for the three DVDs from blockbuster. its $17.99 but then you can also return the movies to a store location and drop of exchange for a new one. And then you also get one free additional rental coupon a month to be used at a location so you can have up to 4 movies at a time or use the coupon for a game.

Drew



The thing is that I'd have to make an un-necessary trip to Blockbuster, which if you do a lot defeats the purpose of it being convenient. Not to mention the gas.

I get what you're saying, though.



-cheez avenger

[Peter Bowen]

I tossed the tv years ago - haven't missed it but I read all the time.

Sometimes 4 or 5 books simultaneously. I even read while cleaning my teeth! it's crazy

Cheers

Pete

[Loo_tenant]

TV in itself is not a problem. Most of the point of freeing your time is to re-invest it doing what excites you. If you have a TV show or two or three that you are excited about seeing, then by all means watch them. The problem for most of us is when the show ends we start channel surfing, this is when TV becomes wasteful.

I saw your post on kayaking - which is great! For many people a way to break old habits and keep your promises to yourself is to create a structure that "forces" you to form new habits.

One example: I love the outdoors and wanted to plan an outing at least once a month. Sooo, I signed on as a leader in my local Boy Scout Troop. They go on an outing once a month, I met some great people and I get to share my love and knowledge of the outdoors with growing teenagers who benefit enormously. The structure of being in the troop makes me follow through on my commitment to myself and I believe I will continue monthly outings even if I decide to quit my leadership position.

In your case maybe you will be more likely to kayak frequently if you take lessons and join an outdoor club. The lessons "force" you to get up off your TV-watching butt, and the club puts the effort of planning outings on someone else.

Setting up a structure for yourself is often the key to forming a new habit.

Just a suggestion.

[cheez avenger]

Paid my final cable bill... and cancelled it ALL!!!!!


I feel weird. I guess I'll have to do with my collection of dvds. ;)




I'm scared and wired all at the same time. (deep breaths, deep breaths)


My final step is to clear out, and close down my storage space. I'll be selling, giving, and throwing away TONS of crap!

I have no problem with doing that, but we're in the middle of a heat wave. Triple digit heatwave! :eek:


I'll keep you guys posted!



-cheez avenger

[Webzu]

A common thread of most successful entrepreneurs is that they watch little to no TV. I've cut back, it's easier during TV re-run summer. :D

[final_id]

I find that TV gives me negative self esteem. I don't date women as attractive to me as the women on TV. I don't have cars as nice as those. I am not a member of the wacky happy-go-lucky Raymond family. TV tells me to get back in the rat race, reaffirm my commitment to the daily grind, be normal and average and unhappy. TV is all about selling me things I don't want.

I watch soccer on TV. Fox Soccer Channel, Gol TV, and those idiots who ruin it for the USA audience on ESPN (them I put the mute on). And I watch major breaking news -- 9/11, Katrina, a hailstorm. Otherwise I get bored easily by TV. When I have a flu I curl up in front of "Star Trek" or "The Sopranos." Did you ever notice, it doesn't matter whether you watch "The Sopranos" episodes in order or not, even though they ostensibly claim that it is a serial drama and that therefore one might ought to know the developments of a previous episode to understand any successors? But really, Anthony breaks some balls, the kids get in trouble, the wife is unhappy with being married to a mobster, the Capos get things mildly mixed up, the rival gang over in The City has mild territorial squabbles, and someone gets beat up or killed. What do you need to know to understand this?

[Drewkerr]

That is the funniest some up of "The Sopranos" I have ever heard.

Thanks for the laugh!

Drew

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<>
When you live in Deerwood, you will be approximately:

5 minutes from...
Easy access convenience stores
Greenway
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Major shopping center
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10 minutes from...
Valencia Community College
Discovery Middle School
Florida Hospital East
Major shopping centers
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Koger Office Park
Orlando Utility Corp. plant
University of Central Florida
Timber Creek High School
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Brevard County line
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Sea World
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[NinjaCOB]

For anyone that speaks french, I recommend reading the book "La Télé Cannibale"

It is an amazing book that really made me think.

It covers the effects of Télévision (i don't just mean physical). I would honnestly recommend ditching TV completely.

You can even replace it with the Internet. Although they are 2 screens, TV and the net are pretty much opposites.
One is passive and your brain just goes limp. The other is interactive and you explore your thoughts and knowledge via hyperlinks, etc.

Even going on sites like www.quicksilverscreen.com and watching your favorites shows, stand up comedians, Documentaries (I'm a docu addict ahah) is much better then just accepting the least boring this that comes on the tv screen.

I suggest you check out that book d:

It's great and a rather short read.

Good luck!