TV is Harming You, Learn How to Stop It!

Hey Strategists! Today's topic is why you should be selective about your TV shows or visual media. We obviously live in a world where there is an infinite amount of content from places like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime video, etc. It can be hard to pull away from the endless entertainment, which is a problem if you have stuff to do! So let's talk about how to make it easier to be productive instead...  

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Why should I watch less TV?

The primary reason you should be selective about the TV shows that you watch is because they have an impact on your behavior. 

I noticed this in myself when I would watch the TV show Curb Your Enthusiasm. It's one of my favorite TV shows! If you aren't familiar, it stars Larry David who is the co-creator of Seinfeld and the entire show is basically that he is an a**hole... and that's it. That's the whole show! It's a comedy, so it makes me laugh.

If I happen to binge watch the show, I notice that I'll pick up some of his mannerisms and behaviors. Essentially I turn into a little bit of an a**hole myself (in a funny way I hope!).

Another example of this is if you've ever been to a karate movie or action movie, you always leave the theater feeling as if you can do some crazy kung fu.

It Has Side Effects

One way to explain this is called the "Tetris Effect," and it is a phenomenon in psychology whereby engaging in an activity for an extended period of time leaves an imprint on your brain that affects your perception. 

So the more TV that you watch, the stronger the effect will be. 

What can you do with this info? Well, two things...

First, you should avoid TV shows that have a negative impact on your behavior. That can mean different things to different people. 

If you're watching some serial killer on CSI and all of a sudden you think...

• everybody's out to kill you
• everybody's a serial killer
• you want to serial-kill everybody...

...you probably should stop watching that show. Of course, that's an extreme example of how it could affect your thoughts or behavior! 

The idea here is that if you do notice TV having a negative impact on your behavior, it might be time to change your routine!

My second point regarding TV's impact on your behavior is kind of the opposite of above. If the Tetris effect from media leaves an imprint on your mind, you can take advantage of that phenomenon and seek out shows that have a POSITIVE impact on your behavior! 

Build A Routine

It helps to have intention, purpose, or goals to help to make theses decisions about what to watch. If you are watching The Simpsons all the time, how is that helping you reach your goals??

It might help to rethink your wants and needs as they relate to productivity and entertainment.

So let's say you wanted to run your own business where you help busy professionals build sustainable health strategies for getting lasting RESULTS (e.g., Vera Health Strategies!). Would it be more productive to watch episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm or a podcast on a health-related topic?

Don't get me wrong- I'm not swearing off great TV shows like Curb! Again, it depends on my goals or intention. If I designate a part of my day to just relax, or if I want to improve my mood because I'm feeling blue on a particular day... of course I can watch some entertaining TV! Maybe you WANT to feel like you can do some karate moves before your job interview at a security firm.

Generally speaking, I think the best idea is to consider limiting TV for weekends only, or specifically designate times that work for you.

From a physical health perspective, you should watch a little less TV if you don't want to sit down as much. They do say sitting is the new smoking.

The next time you catch yourself mindlessly watching TV, ask yourself, "why am I watching Netflix?". Is watching Netflix in line with your goals or being productive? Unless your goal is to sit down and watch Netflix, the answer there is "no." 

Value & Variety

There are plenty of outlets that are more productive than just watching pure entertainment. Over quarantine, I built this new routine for myself that worked great. Anytime I came across a YouTube video that I wanted to watch, I would add it to the "watch later" playlist instead of letting it distract me in the moment. Essentially, I built myself a channel! There are so many videos in there now that it'll take me forever to watch all of them. Think of all the time I would have wasted!

With my watch later playlist in particular, I have educational and entertaining content both mixed into the one list. It allows me to maximize entertainment value and information value! The first video could be a 20 minute Ted Talk and the next one might be a three hour Joe Rogan podcast episode on the benefits of elk meat and jiu-jitsu. 

Having both education and entertainment is important to me, because variability has been scientifically proven to cause spikes in dopamine. 

That is actually the reason that Facebook creates their feed the way they do! When you're scrolling through Facebook, the content is highly varied; thus getting more spikes in dopamine. You are more likely to not only get satisfaction from using it, but you'll probably use it more frequently as well. 

Win/Win

As long as you are using your time productively according to your goals, creating your own varied playlist is a win/win. 

Personally, I try and use my time productively by listening to podcasts while doing mindless tasks, which is something I talk more about in my article on how to stop procrastinating. Mindless tasks are things like chores, laundry, and dishes in which critical thinking is typically not involved at all. If you're critically thinking while you're doing the dishes, there may be a problem there!

Make Healthy Decisions

At this point, it's in your hands! Make a conscious effort to build a routine that works for you. If you are in the habit of sitting down and watching TV at a particular time (e.g., after work), try something new. If you start building that new habit, with the intent of increasing productivity and being informed, it really has the potential to bring you great results!  

Overall, it's important to always consider that every decision you make is either improving your health or subtracting from it. Maybe read a book tonight before bed instead of watching that TV show tonight.

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Original article on www.verahealthstrategies.com