I'm On The Wagon

If you are anything like me, while you put your time in at work, you can easily think of several things you would rather be doing instead of working. All day long, thoughts pop into my head reminding me that I need to buy milk, write a blog, or find something on the internet. Thoughts of projects never started and tasks never accomplished breeze in and out of my mind all day while I work. Powerless to do anything about them, I relegate them to a little yellow sticky note that goes into my wallet. Then, the minute I get home, I don't even remember that I ever wrote myself a note in the first place. The next day at work however, I will remember my list and wonder once again why I didn't get anything done during my free time.

Today I began to wonder why this happens. I'm not sure, but I think I have an idea. The television gets in my way. Of course, none of you ever watch television. You are all Rhodes Scholars with personal libraries so large you have to build a new room for your books. You don't even have cable, right? Yeah, right.

Every morning when I get up, I make the coffee and flip on the tube. I sit drinking my coffee and getting frustrated at the number of commercials, the unecessary proclamation that there is still "unrest in the Middle East", and assinine news stories about squirrels, pandas, polar bears, or elephants that can water ski. Somehow, my morning is quickly lost and I find myself hurrying to get out the door. But even during those last few minutes of freedom, before my time belongs to "the man", I change channels furiously looking for something of interest.

So what do I do when I get home? Kick off my shoes, start dinner, and flip on the television of course. This time I'm regaled with the same squirrel story I already heard about this morning, reruns of sitcoms I didn't like the first time, and game shows full of idiotic applauding audiences. (What are they applauding for anyway? It's not like they get a share of the winnings.)

But still I watch. I watch while I cook. I watch while I eat. I watch until bedtime. I watch in bed. The television is turned off only just before my bedside lamp is extinguished.

This scenario has repeated itself practically every single day for as long as I can remember. And I have begun to wonder if television is the reason that I don't feel fulfilled. I wonder if my time could be better spent. I could read a book, learn something on the internet, take a walk, do some shopping, get some housework done, or God forbid even take a class.

So, readers, for the next thirty days I have pledged to myself that I will not watch television. I will not avoid television altogether, but I will not watch without purpose. I will not give up the pleasure of my Sunday evening Family guy chuckles. Also, I will not give up the Will and Grace reruns I enjoy watching in bed just before I fall asleep. These two programs are watched with purpose. I enjoy them. They bring me pleasure. I'm not giving them up. But I will not flip the television on without a specific program of interest. I will not waste hours accomplishing nothing except wearing out the buttons on the remote control and catching flies in my open mouth.

Why don't you join me? Leave a comment here. Tell me what you discover. I'll keep you informed of my progress. (I'll bet you at the end of the thirty days they'll still be talking about that damn water skiing squirrel.) So (pun intended), stay tuned...