Picture Puzzle Perfect: A Guide to Weaning Yourself Off TV

I have been slowly trying to wean myself off TV for years.  And it is slowly working.  We all know that trash TV is bad for us, it's a no-brainer.  A whole host of studies have shown the damaging effect of watching too much TV.  But is it tricky to cut down, especially if you have had an exhausting day and just want to flop.

But over the years I have gone from being a person who watched TV in the morning, at lunchtime and every night, all night (I don't even want to count the hours!), down to someone who watches about eight hours of TV and films a week. So if, like me, you want to cut down on TV, here is what I have been doing to get a better balance:

1. Cancel the Cable. We cancelled our cable TV about two years ago and now only watch programmes via the Internet or on DVD.  I can honestly say that I absolutely can't stand ordinary TV now, the adverts drive me totally nuts!  Who can be doing with all this 'still to come' and 'what we just saw' nonsense!  Not me, that's for sure.

2. Be Selective. We are much more selective in what we do download to watch now, mainly from the BBC iplayer.  Good quality dramas, films and documentaries in the main.  I have found that the more I watch these types of programmes, the more I absolutely do not want to watch Strictly Come Ice-Skating or Eastmoaners.  More Professor Brian Cox, less Bruce Forsyth, thank you very much, (no offence Brucie). 

3. Have a TV night.  We aim to make Friday night our TV night.  We have our dinner on our laps and we watch all the good downloads that we have collected from the week.  It is a total feet-up, slob-fest and one which JW really needs after a manic week.  That TV night done, we really try to avoid TV the rest of the week. We never watch TV during the day, (I can't even understand why I used to watch This Morning! and let's not mention how many episodes of Gone Fishing I have sat through with JW on a Sunday!).  If JW really wants to watch a film on a Sat or Sunday afternoon, he watches it on his laptop with head-phones, so that it doesn't take over the entire house.

4. Films are Fab.  We go to the cinema once a week, usually on a Tuesday, when our local cinema does a cheap night deal, and we might also watch a film at home about once a week. 

5. No TVs in the Bedroom.  We have never had a TV in our bedroom and No.1 Son hasn't been allowed one either.  This keeps the bedroom as a place to totally relax and removes all temptation to watch the news before you go to sleep.  I took this decision as I was brought up with a TV in my room and I watched it all night and basically couldn't go to sleep without it on.  Talk about addicted!  Having no TV in the bedroom also makes it pretty fun when you go away in a hotel and there is a TV in the bedroom. It has become a totally novel experience for us, rather than the norm.  That said though, now that No.1 Son is 16, he does have a computer room to retreat to, it just isn't in his bedroom.  It just too annoying for him to watch Have I Got News for You with Mum and Dad!  I get it, I remember being 16!

6. Plan other activities.  I am more positive about reducing our TV watching than JW, and I totally understand that.  He has a really stressful job and wants to take his mind off it.  So, I have to be proactive in arranging nice, relaxing things to do, such as: massages (I am a qualified aromatherapist, so this isn't a euthanism!); haircuts; a hot bath; time spent in the kitchen while cooking dinner; seeing friends; hunting out that great book that I know he won't be able to resist reading; getting good Radio podcasts to listen to and the like.  I find it is really the thought more than anything, the temptation to watch TV is really strong, but once you start doing something else you quickly forget about it, and that goes for JW as well as me. 

In effect, the easiest way to cut down your TV would definitely be to get rid of your telly and the subsequent temptation, and just use a laptop for stuff now and again.  My sister KitKat went through a stage of keeping her little TV in a cupboard and taking it out to watch things now and again.  This was the first stage to her then getting rid of the TV altogether!  The fire is the centre of her sitting room; wouldn't that be so much nicer than a big TV...

Unfortunately JW is quite attached to his giant 56'' screen (you can see my challenge!), so I am just quietly waiting for it to break, it is about five years old, so knowing technology these days, it won't be long now...

You may be wondering what the picture of the woodland animals is all about!?  This was JW and I's latest activity, a jigsaw puzzle.  Cheesy, I know, but it was surprisingly good fun and the evening really did fly by.  I am not sure JW would want his mates to know about it, but it was a challenge for us to do together!  Maybe a more manly puzzle of pints of beer or various cars next time!  So go on, you can do it, get your own Picture Puzzle out and find your own perfect way to switch off that TV.