Journal: Unplugg Yourself!

1. Give your extra TVs to charity.

Allow your home one TV in a room dedicated to nothing but reading or TV watching. Kids do not need to have their own TV in their room. Donate the rest to a school or charitable organization in your community.

Rearrange the furniture.

Arrange your living room so that the television becomes not the focal point of the room, but an afterthought that requires twisting around or rearranging the furniture to view.

3. Hide the television.

Moreover, hide it. Put it behind an armoire, hang a blanket over it, or stick it inside a cabinet. Do whatever you can to ensure it fades into the background and can’t be seen for what it is — a dangerous time sucker.

4. Make a TV-watching plan.

Sit down with the viewing guide and pick out the shows you want to watch that week. Watch only those shows, and when they’re over, turn the TV off. If the shows you watch regularly are canceled, don’t replace them with new shows. Instead, decrease the time you spend in front of the television.

5. Stop the TV surfing.

In other words, don’t just turn it on and go surfing for something worthwhile. Hours are quickly wasted, switching from one show to the next, watching all and none at the same time. Also make a decision not to use the television as background noise. Keep it turned off unless there is something specific you want to watch. If you are that kind of person who likes background noise, turn on the radio.

6. Throw out the remote control.

It’s impressive how much less television you’ll watch if you have to get up every time you want to change channels or adjust the volume. Plus, it eliminates all those hours you spend channel surfing.

7. New rule: You can’t watch if the sun is shining.

Recognize that time spent watching TV is not spent actively and you do not do other things that are important or enjoyable. Go for a walk, ride a bike, or get some other kind of healthy physical activity for at least an hour before you can turn on the tube. This rule also works great for your kids or grand-kids.

8. Another rule: You must read 30 pages.

…of a book or magazine before you can turn on the TV. Depending on how fast you read, you may never watch telly again!

9. Develop a fast-moving news routine.

Most news shows are scheduled down to the minute. So research the handful of shows you watch and figure out when they run the features you are most interested in. Add it all together, and you have a total national news briefing in about fifteen minutes. Sounds like the perfect evening television routine. Watch it when you get home, and then turn off the television for the rest of the night.

10. Say no to Titanic for the 15th time.

Often we can be strangely drawn into watching things we’ve seen many times before. There’s something comforting in the repetition. Well, resist it. Watching the same Dirty Dancing movie or Star Wars episode again and again is unhealthy for your body and your brain.