July: No TV
Get out and play kid.
For my challenge in July, I chose to not watch any TV. This included no TV shows, movies, video games, or YouTube. I was cut off from watching any programs. I wanted to experience an entire month of summer off the couch.
For context, I do not watch a ton of TV or movies or play a lot of video games. I actually have a tough time watching more than an hour of TV before I have to do something else. However, I like to turn on movies or shows to have on in the background while I work on other things.
The idea for this challenge partially came from an elementary school experience I had. Every year there was an initiative where we were encouraged not to watch TV for an entire week. I remember how much fun these weeks were playing with my younger brother.
For this challenge, I intentionally chose July. With The Challenge Year as a whole, as I did here in July, I tried to work in challenges that fit naturally with my life. I knew I would already be very busy with cabin trips, weddings, and work. Additionally, the sun set late at night, so there was plenty of daylight.
Right away, I faced a significant challenge with this; the final two episodes of Stranger Things came out on July 1st. Many people asked me why I did not wait a day to start or choose another month for this challenge. Well, the truth is that excuses will always be available. The more I decide to ignore the excuses I craft, the more I can accomplish. For me, waiting to start was not even an option. I decided that I would do all I could, all month long, to fend off any Stranger Things spoilers.
The more significant challenge I faced with no TV was weeknights after 8:00 PM. At this point, I had already exhausted my brain for the day. I did not have a strong desire to do things such as reading or writing. While I still turned to these activities, I spent more time on my phone and social media.
Trying to figure out what to do after 8:00 PM led to one of my key takeaways for the month: TV is an excellent form of stress relief for me. Before starting this challenge, although I still enjoyed TV, I thought watching it was often a waste of time. After not having TV for a month, I realized how much it helps my mind relax after a long day. This reset gave me a new appreciation for TV and helped me become more at ease with the time I spend watching it.
One big surprising takeaway from this month is how the challenge helped me get more comfortable breaking up my routine. I am usually a creature of habit; if I do not follow my patterns, I feel thrown off and less calm. At first, I was uncomfortable without TV in my nightly routine; I felt like something was missing. Eventually, I realized this was okay and found myself moving beyond the need for steady structure at the end of my day.
This has helped me to be more adaptive in other areas as well. For example, I am more at ease if I am at work later than usual. Before this month, I would get stressed if I had to work late, mainly because my routine was being thrown off. But becoming more comfortable with the lack of a routine has helped me become more flexible and find more peace.
I recommend this challenge for the two reasons I just spoke to. It can help break up your routines, and it can help you reset how you view the act of watching TV.
Taking TV out of my life showed me that I can craft a state of peace of mind through my routines. I can be comfortable with the things I know and do all the time. The next step for me in creating a resilient peace of mind is finding out how to maintain it while my world is thrown off.
PS.
Somehow, I managed to go the entire month without any Stranger Things spoilers.
