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Ask HN: How to avoid TV addiction?

by golanggeek on 10/8/18, 9:53 PM with 34 comments

• by propter_hoc on 10/9/18, 4:59 PM

  Just stop. If you need closure on what happens with some of your shows, read short synopses on Wikipedia. Don't pick up any new shows. After a while you will not miss it anymore.

  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.

• by dawidw on 10/9/18, 7:32 AM

  Remove your TV set.

  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!

• by jryan49 on 10/8/18, 11:10 PM

  Your body/brain is probably telling you it needs a break.

• by oldsklgdfth on 10/9/18, 1:15 PM

  I have a similar problem. I sit on the couch and turn on the TV and just sit there, sometimes not even following the plot. It's crippling, in a weird kinda way.

  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.

• by jefflombardjr on 10/8/18, 10:01 PM

  Check out this: https://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/

  A good first step would be to try to identify the cues that trigger you wanting to turn on the TV.

• by godot on 10/9/18, 4:10 PM

  Like some others here have already mentioned, the problem is not the TV, it's that you're exhausted from the work day. Chances are your current job is stressful or high work load (or both), or maybe your commute is a nightmare (e.g. SF Bay Area commutes), and that's draining your energy. I've been through similar phases, and also been through times when I've had a chill job and have energy to work on side projects.

  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.

• by Jtsummers on 10/9/18, 8:44 PM

  A thing that helped me was to break my day in half (well, two distinct segments). I go to my day job, then I go exercise (I haven't done this daily like I used to but still 2-3 times a week). I don't wait 2 hours to exercise after work. I go from work to exercise. Either a run at a trail near the office, or the gym near my home (there's about a 30 minute break between when I get home and when the class I attend starts).

  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).

• by macca321 on 10/9/18, 9:34 AM

  Watch The Wire. Everything else seems a bit rubbish afterwards for about a year.

• by GFischer on 10/8/18, 10:40 PM

  I'm also having similar issues. I was recommended Cognitive behavioral therapy. I'm also going to have a doctor's visit.

  They always recommend exercise, so I agree with DoreenMichele's advice. I'm overweight and have poor fitness.

• by rchaud on 10/11/18, 2:14 PM

  Try going to a coffee shop w/ wifi if you have one nearby. See if you're more productive without having a TV in the environment.

  Note that you may just be tired after getting home from work, and turning the TV on may just be a cue for your brain to get out of "office mode" and into "home mode". Instead of turning on the TV when you get home, try putting your phone on mute, and meditating for 5 minutes.

• by levimaes on 10/9/18, 1:08 PM

  Read Infinite Jest, whose author even confessed to it's consumptive (consuming?), ulterior-ness! What I'm trying to say, without actually answering you, is that you're joined by many other ambitious yet perennially TV-tortured people -- that you're not alone in your endeavors towards re-adjustment, and that it's mostly just as onerous and grating for Us to effect in our life these changes and developmental resolutions, as it is for You.

• by millzlane on 10/9/18, 12:54 PM

  Disconnect your cable from your TV, and connect your laptop. I don't have a cable box anymore. My desktop is perm attached to the TV. This probably brings other issues. But I do spend lots of time on my computer and not watching TV. For me it was the Ads that were a waste of time. TV shows are created for Ads, That's all! Once you realize it, it's all less entertaining.

• by ssijak on 10/9/18, 5:03 AM

  I sold my tv two and a half years ago. Good decision. It is a time wasting and brain washing machine. I also stopped reading news some time ago.

• by saintPirelli on 10/10/18, 8:59 AM

  You can't overcome behavourial addiction without a change in circumstances. Remove your TV, maybe even restructure all of your space to enable a habitual change. If you are really serious about this topic I would recommend the book "Irresistable" by Adam Alter to you, which is all about tech-related behavioural addiction.

• by tmaly on 10/9/18, 6:50 PM

  Try something like the 5 minute journal to help you become cognizant of your goals and to keep them at the front of your mind. The Pomodoro technique is another method to try if you feel yourself procrastinating.

• by mattbillenstein on 10/8/18, 10:02 PM

  Sell your TV.

• by Zelmor on 10/9/18, 7:07 PM

  Sell your tv.

  If you don't want to smoke, why carry a box of cigs?

• by DoreenMichele on 10/8/18, 10:13 PM

  Studies show that high rates of TV viewing correlate to exhaustion.

  I would try improving diet and exercise for at least 4 weeks and see if having more energy helps.

• by Cxmzjav on 10/9/18, 3:19 AM

  overcome entertainment,I hate this talk.Let me go to work rather than entertainment reason was never a struggle but who I am.If I just like the TV instead of working, I become that kind of person is good too. Hope my answer will not to cause you trouble

• by danielcolgan on 10/8/18, 10:07 PM

  Did you try to ask yourself: “what is the most important right now?”

• by JoeAltmaier on 10/9/18, 1:17 PM

  Sell your TV

  Start exercising in the evening.