Turning Off the TV

I don't know about you, but too many of my evenings are spent in front of the TV.

Dancing with the Stars. Modern Family. Psych. The Big Bang Theory. Elementary.

All of these are shows I don't want to miss each week. And that's not even counting the shows I watch blindly as I work on other things.

It's so easy to allow television shows to become like white noise when we're tired from a long day. I don't usually have a problem wasting the day away with TV in the afternoon hours, but for some reason, we've gotten into a habit doing that in the evening. Before you know it, it's well after midnight and you're half asleep on the couch, wanting to watch "just fifteen more minutes" before hauling yourself to bed, eyelids half-shut. Been there before?

So Matt and I decided once a week, we're going to have a no TV night. Sort of like being on vacation. Only, without the vacation.

Let me tell you, it was HARDER than I thought! For the first hour or so, I can't tell you how many times I was tempted to turn on Netflix and start up a Psych rerun or to check the DVR list. But as the evening went on, we chatted with each other like we usually only do on weekends and even found time to play a board game (which Matt annihilated me in, not that I'm keeping track). As I write this, it's only a little past 10 o'clock, and I'm planning on a cozy evening with Becky Wade's My Stubborn Heart. When was the last time that I really read a book when I wasn't feeling sleep deprived, super late at night?

Have you ever tried something similar? Did you find that it helped you reconnect with your spouse/family? I think we're going to try to start doing this at least once a week every week. You just don't realize how accustomed you grow to the noise of the world until you turn it down a few notches, and then it's amazing what you can hear.

If you're feeling overwhelmed this week, I would encourage you to think through what you are making time for that perhaps you don't really need to make time for. Prioritize the most important things and feed those with your greatest energy. It's amazing how much better you feel when you do!