No television for a week

No TV for a week

               For this experiment, I chose to not watch television for a week. I wanted to try to do this because I believe I can be a lot more productive without sitting and staring at a screen. For the most part I was successful in not watching TV but I cheated once or twice to watch sports. This was good for me, because I used my time more efficiently and productive. I didn’t watch a ton of TV to start out with but this helped whenever I was trying to procrastinate and put things off that I need to do. Throughout this experiment, I found different ways to use my time. I was able to utilize my time for studying and getting assignments done rather than watching TV. I wish I would have gone to the rec but I had too much to study for this week and couldn’t fit it in among other obligations.

               Sunday was not a very good start to my week. I cheated on the first day and watched football. I was at the house and guys were watching football and I gave in and watched with them. I could have used my time better and went to the rec but I decided to watch football instead. It’s a hard habit to break because I’m so used to watching it every Sunday. Besides that, I was able to not watch any TV the rest of the day. I did utilize the rest of my time though and got all my homework done and was able to study for the finance test I had on Friday.

               Monday went a lot better. I didn’t cheat on Monday and went the entire day without TV. I kept myself busy throughout the house with homework and studying for Finance. I also had classes at 9 and 10 which also took time away from my day. After like 1oclock my day pretty much flies by. I was able to clean my room a little bit as well and felt like I accomplished a lot more than I do on a usual day if I had watched TV. On a usual Monday, I would have probably watched Monday night football during study hours but instead I got my homework done for the week and continued to study for my exam.

               Tuesday, I gave in and cheated again. I can honestly say I was not very good at turning down watching the big games. KU played Duke and it was one of the bigger games and I felt the need to support my school. I watched the game and it was worth it and I was not upset at myself for cheating because it was a ridiculous game and I would have been upset if I hadn’t have watched it. Besides the two hours the game was going on, I was television free and got all my homework and studying done. Overall, the game didn’t affect the productivity of my day and I was still equally productive.

               Wednesday was a busy day for me and I wouldn’t have even had time to watch TV if I wanted too. I was studying for finance all day and had classes at 9,10 and 1. I was diligent in studying that day and had to adhere to other obligations I had around the house. I could keep busy and it was very easy not to watch TV. Prior to starting this experiment, I never watched TV on Wednesdays anyway so it felt like an ordinary Wednesday and I didn’t have to change anything.

               Thursday was a hard day to stay television free. Thursday night football is hard to pass up but my upcoming exam was good enough motivation to just study and not watch football. I had class at 8 and 9 am and after that I went back to the house and studied with a bunch of guys who are also in finance and had the exam. I was able to stay focused pretty well and didn’t even think about watching the games and was able to stay updated through score updates on my phone so I wasn’t too worried about missing anything. Score updates helped me a lot because I could still see what was going on without having to just sit and watch the game and waste time. Thursday was an easy day to stick to the no TV rule because I knew I had to grind and prepare for the finance exam because I needed to do well in it.

               Friday I had class at 9,10 and 12 and got done around 2 but after that I didn’t have a lot of homework but I was able to finish some assignments for the following week. I didn’t have much to do though academics wise, so I was able to do other things such as clean my room and car which both needed to be clean pretty bad. I’m glad I didn’t watch TV or any games on Friday because I was able to have a productive day and get a lot of things done that I had been putting off for a while because typically I procrastinate cleaning because I really hate cleaning. I got my wallet stolen recently so I was able to replace a lot of things such as my school ID and debit card. I really needed to do that and since I was so busy throughout the week it was nice to be able to get those done and not watching TV freed up a lot of time to do those things. I was very satisfied with how productive I was on Friday and it was in other ways besides just academics. I think out of all the days besides Thursday, Friday was my most productive and the day I used my free time most efficiently.

               Saturday was different than any other day during the week because I had nothing academically going on. We had a tailgate for the KU game so I was able to watch KU get their first big 12 win in over 3 years. I didn’t watch it on the TV though because I was able to watch them win from our tailgate so that was another way I avoided TV. The rest of the day I was occupied with other things so TV wasn’t even on my mind. Saturdays are easy to avoid TV because I’m usually busy with a lot of other things.

               In conclusion, there were a few times I slipped up but I feel like because of this experiment, I could utilize my time a lot better and in the future, I will be better at not procrastinating and getting everything done and with better quality so I’m not rushing last minute. I cheated and watched some sporting events but I don’t think it is a bad thing to take time to watch sports. I don’t think I should completely cut off TV in that aspect but in the future, I plan to watch less TV and get more done that benefits me rather than stare at a screen and accomplish nothing.