During the month of October, I’m following along with Edie & Ruth on their 31 Days of Less & More journey. I’d love for you to join in by reading the posts and completing the projects, or just sit back and read along each day.
Less Television
According to statistics, the average American watches over 30 hours of television per week. That’s a LOT of time!
Stop to think what you could do with that time. You could keep your house in amazing shape. You could exercise more. You could cook from scratch. You could have a profitable side business. You could write a book. You could invest in some close relationships.
The sky is the limit with what you could do with 30 hours per week!
I think we’d all agree that, in most cases, there are more productive things to do than to spend hours and hours each week sitting in front of a black box. But we have to be intentional in setting up our days so that television-watching doesn’t become our default.
Here are three practices that have helped us:
1. Turn It Off!
Okay, so this seems like a no-brainer, but how often do you have the TV on in the background as you go about your day? Try just turning it off. It will mean less distraction and less noise in your day — which doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me!
2. Don’t Pay for Cable
This is another simplistic tip, but it really works! If you can’t get that many shows on your TV, there’s a lot less temptation to turn it on or channel surf.
2. Have Set Times for Watching
We don’t watch a lot of TV, but we do have Movie Time at 5 p.m. every day. Establishing a specific time for having the TV on at our house has been so beneficial as then I don’t have to field questions all day on “when can we watch a movie”? And also, it provides a lot of motivation for our kids to get their school and chores done by 5 p.m.! 🙂
More Reading
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of reading. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I sometimes put it as a higher priority than sleep (which I don’t recommend!).
Making good books a part of your life isn’t something that will just naturally happen. Again, it’s something you need to be intentional about — especially if you’re not much of a reader.
Challenge yourself to read for 15 minutes when you get up in the morning or when you go to bed at night. Listen to audiobooks while you’re driving or working around the house. Read aloud as a family.
Set small goals to make reading a part of your everyday life. I promise it will be worth the effort!
For more ideas, check out my post on 15 Ways to Fit More Reading Into Your Day.
For more on this topic, check out Ruth’s post on Less Television and Edie’s post on More Gratitude. I promise you’ll be inspired and blessed!
Crystal says
Something is definitely gained when the T.V. is off in my household! The extra noise can really add to the chaos of having 3 kids.
jenn says
I watch tv, maybe 5-6 hours/week but GASP, I still have time to read! I have a Kindle in my purse, a book at my bedside, a book in my work bag. I read way more during the week than I do watch tv.
With the DVR, we can condense 1 hour shows into about 45 minutes. Most of that time is spent folding laundry, picking up dog toys, etc. I don’t think we even watch non-recorded shows anymore. I love fast forwarding through commercials as well as parts of shows I don’t care to watch-opening credits, boring spots, etc
Marianne says
We have really limited our tv time which I’m thankful for. I’d love to know what movies/shows your family looks forward to watching at 5. I could use some great ideas!
Beka says
That’s funny you sometimes put reading above sleep! Haha, me too! I started crackin’ up when I read that from you, hits so close to home.
Laura says
We only have one television in our house, which is apparently strange today. I almost never just sit and watch television. I crochet, do prep work for preschool, or catch up on the paper while it is on for the hour or two a night at most.
The Prudent Homemaker says
I get asked all the time how I get things done. I don’t spend a lot of time watching television!
I have a few shows that my husband and I watch on Hulu. Since there are less commericals there, it’s not even a full hour per show. Depending on the season, we have 4-5 shows a week (about an hour a day). During that time I will often be doing something else. I’ll use the commercial time to do some quick cleaning. The dishwasher is running during that time, and sometimes I’m canning or baking during that show as well.
A few times a month we’ll watch a movie together.
My husband likes more shows than I do, so he has his own that he will watch on his computer while I am doing other things. He grew up with a television in every room (including the bathroom!) and he likes television a lot more than I do, but thanks to headphones, I don’t have to be distracted by a show that he enjoys while I’m doing something else.
Elizabeth says
I am a huge reader and sometimes prioritize it over sleep too. On the other hand, I watch way too much tv. I normally binge on one or two days out of the week (like the weekend for me, since i’m off work) and am just sitting there for a good six hours per day just chaining tv shows and movies from netflix. I’m glad I’m not as glued throughout the weekday. It also helps me that my SO and I do read together aloud, and separately (me, MUCH more than him!) sometimes. I find that you are still steadily learning while you’re reading. I look up new words, find out new meanings. learn phrases and boundless personalities. Reading is very rewarding!
But yes, still less TV for me.
MK says
I definitely think there are plenty of great ways to spend free time that we should all explore (not to mention that 30 hours a week is a pretty unfathomable), BUT that being said, I watch TV. I like TV. And I honestly refuse to feel any kind of obligation to feel bad about it or try to cut back. If I can veg out an hour or two alone before I go to bed watching TV, YES. Sign me up. TV is not inherently bad. It’s just a matter of whether or not it plays the right role in your home.
Slides 'n Sandboxes says
Thank you! Thank you so much for saying that!
Courtney M says
That study is weird. Even if it’s from 2012, I think the average person spends a lot more than 5 hours on the internet a week. Especially if you start counting the time on smartphones, and laptops, and tablets.
I like tv too. In fact, my tv time is often combined with my internet time catching up on blogs. I feel as long as there is moderation, it’s fine.
Jessica says
My suggestion to anyone who wants to cut back on their TV-watching is this – put it in an “inconvenient” space! 😉 We don’t have one in our living room/family room/kitchen area, and our children don’t have them in their rooms (nor will they be permitted to when they’re older.) My husband and I have one in our bedroom, but we’re hardly in there during the day.
As a result, we hardly ever watch TV – and even then, we only watch what we have purposely recorded on the DVR. We’re thinking of doing what many of you ladies have suggested and getting rid of cable entirely . . .
Amber says
I love this idea! It’s 6:15 in the morning, and I’m ready to wake my husband up to rearrange our house! I’m sitting in the living room thinking about how much better it would look without the tv in here. 🙂
Luba says
My husband and I were on a six-hour trip with a few other people this summer. Of course, I brought some books, especially since my husband had encouraged me to take more time to read. On the way there and back, I read/finished three books. Everyone in the car was amazed at me, but some people played games on their phone the entire time or just sat there. I told them that they could have brought books too, but some of them “just don’t read,” they said.
In a way, I understand. After all the required reading at college, I did not read much a few years after college (except for the Bible). However, this year I set a goal to read a book a month, and I exceeded that goal around March or April. 🙂
Chris says
I would like to add “screentime” in general to the limited hours as well. My neighbor has no TV due to believing kids shouldn’t watch, but her kids are constantly on the computer (some valuable stuff but also a lot of you-tube) and watching DVDs. Is that any better than the TV? In my opinion, no. The same goes for a lot of electronics (GameBoys, iPods, smart phones, etc.) The addictive nature of all of these things is very hard to resist!
Jenni says
I agree with this. My struggle is not watching television all the time, but when I put my computer in another room for the day, suddenly I have all of this free time!
Jen says
Oh my, I can’t even imagine 30 hours of TV in a week! My question is what are they watching? We do pay for cable (for my sports loving husband), but even with all those channels I can barely find anything worth watching. Every once in a while after a long day my husband and I like to relax with a TV show after the kids are in bed, but we can never seem to find anything we want to watch!
Marina Klima says
Since its just me and my husband living in the house right now (kids are off to college), we only turn on the television just to watch news.
In fact, the tv is no longer the prime source of media with the advent of the internet and the ipad.
Kim M says
We do have satellite, but there was a stretch of time over the summer that we went without for about 2 months- suspended it to catch up on bills during the “off-season”. We have Hulu and Netflix and found some new (to us) shows that we wouldn’t have found otherwise. Yes, I do have my days that I’ll veg out in front of the TV for part of the day- usually after the kids are in bed and I’m too wired to concentrate on anything else.. but we proved we could live without it. The contract with satellite will be up next year, so at that point we will reassess and rethink if we want to renew.
I’ll also leave it on for a little while for the kids, but they usually dont sit and just watch it, as mentioned before.. its more for background noise. However when its just me in the house (naptime or they’re outside playing usually), I’ll just leave Pandora on for background music rather than the actual TV. I prefer music anyway. I find if I leave an actual show on, chances are that I’ll stop cleaning or doing what I’m doing and sucked into whatever is on.
Jamie Rohrbaugh says
Awesome! I absolutely LOVE TV but my DH and I have had to stop watching mostly. I have very little self-control in that area. We don’t have cable but I could watch our local vintage TV channel for hours (The Rifleman! Bonanza! Happy Valley! etc). And at anyone else’s house, give me the remote and the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet and I’m done for. It’s bad… I’m pretty sure there’s drool. 🙂 Some people may be able to stop watching when they should but not me, so we switched to Netflix. Now if we want to watch something, it has a beginning point and an ending point and then it doesn’t take over our lives. That seems to help. 🙂
Alana/MiaTheReader says
Great post! When people ask me how I have time to read, my first answer is always “I don’t watch any TV.” Especially now that I have a book review blog, I get asked that question more and more. We watch some sports, but even the sports are on less now than they used to be. Our lives are so much richer if we spend the time doing what we really want to do–reading, playing, getting something done. At this point, paying for cable seems crazy to us. Glad to know others agree.
Anon. says
My house is too quiet without the noise!! It makes me lonely too have it off…
Susan says
I understand this so well. I spent 10 years living alone, in between having roommates and when I became a (single) mother in my late 30’s. I worked full time, had good friends and a social life, but when I was home alone the TV was almost always on. Sometimes I watched it; other times it was just background noise. But even when I was engaged in an activity — cooking, hobbies I enjoyed, or even reading a book, I didn’t like the quiet. Sometimes I’d listen to music, but with the TV on I felt less alone.
Mandy K says
I use mine mostly for background noise too. Lately I’ve been trying Audio books from the library, and I’ve really enjoyed it!
Julie @Logger's Wife says
Add me to this list of having the TV on for background noise. I find I need to have a storyline to listen to. Music doesn’t cut it. Which is strange for a girl who almost went to college for music education. I’ll listen to podcasts, audiobooks, or Adventures in Odyssey when I’m in the kitchen or sewing. But a lot of the time I have the TV on while I’m doing projects in the living room. I even have it on while I’m reading. That could easily have me in the 30hrs a week group even though I am certainly not sitting in front of the TV, just watching, for anywhere near that many hours.
cher says
Piusmedia.com is a great resource to add to those already listed as alternatives to cable. There are some really great wholesome dvd s. I love how much you love a good book!
Susan in St. Louis says
I’d like to add one more: simply go without a TV. We’ve had no TV all of our married life and don’t miss it at all. When we want to watch movies, we do so on my husband’s large laptop screen. No, it isn’t theater quality, but it works for us! 🙂
Alison says
I slowly got back into reading in the past two years and it has been a huge blessing- Both by being challenged and encouraged by the books I read, and not being discouraged by the negativity of news, reality shows, advertising, etc. on TV. I don’t watch much TV any more simply because I’ve got reading I’d rather do 🙂
Kari says
Thanks for this article! We have been talking recently about canceling our satelite subscription and just using Netflix and Hulu Plus. We’ve realized that a lot of times we have the TV on just to have it on. When there aren’t so many channels to chose from and you aren’t paying $90 a month I don’t think we’ll feel the need to watch it so much! I can’t wait to see what we do with the extra time and money! 🙂
Stephanie @ Mrs. Debtfighter says
We canceled our cable earlier this year and are just using Netflix. We haven’t even missed it! Before we canceled we really only watched tv first thing in the morning and right before bedtime for the kiddos. Now they really only watch in the morning but there are a ton of children’s tv series on Netflix that they love to watch. 🙂
moneystepper says
30 hours a week for an average is crazy. Given there is people without TVs and who watch very little, I’m guess there is people who watch 60 hours a week. I wish I had 60 hours a week where I could watch TV!!
Heather says
It’s probably counting people who have it on in the background – and small children.
michelle says
I agree you have more time in your day w/o watching tv. I have noticed I get more done w/o it and really wouldn’t miss it if it was gone all together. We have a old “tube” tv and the box to get the signal is going out so now we get very few channels. Our kids missed PBS at first, but it’s been 6months of not having it and they don’t ask any more. We have plenty of dvd’s, but many days the tv isn’t on!
Kim says
If it weren’t for football (for my husband), I don’t think we would have TV at all. I much prefer it off all the time.
Love to read, but unlike you, I fall asleep if I wait to read late at night. 🙁
Thanks again for all you do!