What We Decided: {TV}

Isn't it funny how integral technology has become in our lives? All day I sit in front of a computer screen crunching numbers, then I go to the gym where I run on a treadmill, which has its very own TV, then its home, where Mike sits on his laptop studying, then the TV goes on, and between that and our phones, the night is pretty much shot.

Some days I would argue that going home and finding a cozy spot in front of the TV for a few hours is what we deserve. We work hard.
Other days I would argue that I have nothing else to do. I mean, I don't have any kids to take care of.

Mike and I have talked before of what kind of house we want to have when we bring children into the world. I knew that having the TV on all of the time wasn't going to work for our goals as parents.

Mike agreed. He knew of the opportunities that having less distractions could bring us. Not just for when we have kids, but the time that it would free up in our current lives.

So we dove in.
We made a list of our favorite shows that air Monday thru Thursday. Then we scratched a couple off the list.
We ended up with:

The Bachelor/Bachelorette
New Girl
Modern Family
Happy Endings
The Big Bang Theory

We decided that from Monday thru Thursday, the only times that we could have the TV on in the evenings would be when we were watching these shows. Other than that, the TV must be off. If we needed noise, music could be turned on. Morning television and weekend {Friday thru Sunday} television don't count.

We just wanted to free up a little bit of our time during the week, since it was already hectic enough.

We started on a Monday. And that first day was weird. What do we do with the TV off? How are we supposed to eat dinner if we can't do it in front of the TV? So what, now we're supposed to talk to each other?

But that first day really taught me something.

There were conversations going on that probably would have never happened with the TV on.
There were opportunities for learning things that we've always wanted to learn because now we had time without the TV being on.

For the sake of not completely losing our minds, we still allow ourselves other forms of technology throughout the evening. You simply just can't take away computer privileges from a law student and a blogger.

A few weeks later, and we're still strong.

And I even look forward to the quiet house when I get home. I relish the opportunity to focus completely on Mike, without having the TV blaring in the background.

And while I can't say that I accomplish a whole lot more each night, I still find that having the TV off more has been wonderful for my sanity and my relationship with my husband.

{My hiatus from Facebook is another post for another time.}