Anyone worrying about watching GOtv or binge-viewing TV for an excessive amount of time is not alone. According to British data published in 2021, adults in the country spent an average of five hours and forty minutes consuming TV and online video content each day.
You no longer have to hurl your TV out the window and force yourself into a strenuous evening schedule.
To keep your nights interesting, adaptable, and enjoyable, you need a collection of tools and other hobbies that you naturally lean toward and easily switch between.
Simply choose a couple that piques your attention and use them to partially replace your GOtv time. Then try it, make adjustments, and add your own. With time, you’ll discover what gives you the most strength, focus, and relationships so that you may sleep well at night and wake up with a smile on your face.
Tame the triggers of tomorrow
Manage your instincts in advance rather than fighting them all day.
Spend a few minutes before going to sleep to avoid distractions for tomorrow. It can be as easy as clearing your desk, getting your supplies ready, scheduling your day for five minutes, or removing your phone from the bedroom.
- Focusing in the morning is made immensely easier by eliminating distractions in the evening.
- Not all distractions are external. We probably keep our most distracting stuff in our heads.
- Create a to-do list, schedule appointments in your calendar, or perform a 5-minute brain dump in the evening to record your personal issues.
- The unanswered issues from today don’t weigh on our minds tomorrow because we wrote them down.
- “An empty brain is a productive brain, and the more stuff we get out of our thoughts, the more clearly we think,” Chris Bailey writes in Hyperfocus.
Don’t Let Your Mind Eat Junk
Talk shows, reality TV, and celebrity rumors are like junk food for our brains. We consume it while being aware of its poor quality and extensive processing.
One of the most intelligent choices I ever made was to cease consuming what author Paul Greenberg refers to as “junk media” a few years ago. Instead, I watch a fantastic movie or documentary while keeping up with a select group of YouTube content producers.
This kind of content leaves my brain in far better shape than if I had loaded myself with junk media if I did choose to watch something in the evening.
Resist The Urge To Mindlessly Distract Yourself All Evening
Evenings should include more rest. After a long day at work, we immediately occupy ourselves again by checking social media, reading the news, and turning on the TV.
Instead of giving our brains a break, we’re stimulating them more through our smartphones’ additional input, information, and stimulation.
I understand that removing all technology from your evening is impractical, but I don’t believe you should. Having some thoughtless fun and letting out some steam are both acceptable.
High-quality leisure should not, however, outweigh low-quality leisure. You want your mental acuity and energy to have improved, not declined, after the evening.
Introduce Board Game Night
Try scheduling one night a week when your family will play a board game together if your custom after dinner is to retreat into your individual spaces in the home and slip into your own virtual reality.
Playing board games puts you in a flow state, or meditative state, where your brain can regenerate and your breathing and pulse rate settle down, claims Tanya Gooding, a digital detox specialist.
Also, when you are in a flow state, your brain releases feel-good neurotransmitters, making it a pleasant experience and a joyous way to pass the time in the evening.
Call the Friend You’re Texting
Research shows that while texting creates an illusion of closeness, it actually decreases a relationship’s stability and satisfaction.
Use texting for logistical purposes and save emotional conversations for phone calls or face-to-face communication.
Read Something Fun And Not Work-Related
According to research, one of the best methods to lower stress is to read fiction. More than music, exercise, or sipping tea, reading fiction has been demonstrated to reduce stress levels by 68%.
For the most part, reading is seen as a way to improve one’s abilities, knowledge, or interest.
Yet, best-selling novelist Matt Haig once stated, “Reading isn’t necessary because it makes it easier to find employment. It’s significant because it allows you to exist outside of the given world.”
I’m presently reading Brandon Sanderson’s The Mistborn Trilogy again.
Let Them Wait
Communication is now free, simple, and rapid, thanks to platforms like WhatsApp and Messenger.
And because of this simplicity, we’ve grown accustomed to expecting you to be available at all times to answer the phone, respond to texts, handle emails, and update our social media.
Opt to reclaim control over your availability by choosing to remove yourself from these unreasonable expectations of instant messaging.
If you are friends, your friends will respect your need for distance and time. If not, they probably aren’t worth returning to nonetheless.
Remove The GOtv From Your Bedroom
Rooms serve purposes. Kitchens are for cooking, dining rooms are for dining, offices are for working, living rooms are for entertaining, and bedrooms are for sleeping.
The better we use each room for its purpose, the more productive it becomes. Use your bedroom for sleep and intimacy, and remove work items, laptops, and televisions from your sleeping environment.
Write One Line A Day
My favorite birthday present from last year has to be my One Line a Day journal. In contrast to having a complicated journaling practice, writing just one line a day feels manageable and attainable.
It’s a great way for me to put down a final thought before falling asleep at night, and it helps me focus on the small joys in my days.
At least one of these activities inspires you to spend less time on your devices and more time investing in your relationships, rest, and focus.
Thanks for reading, and as always, stay kind! 🙂
