Day 4: Overcoming Tv Addiction

Hello day 4.

So... until now, I fell off the wagon once, learnt to schedule in TV time, and surprisingly became healthier along the way.

On Saturday, instead of watching something online, I went to the gym, came back and tidied up my entire house. Then, I organized my weekly scheduled and fixed my portfolio incase I want to sent it out in the near future... by the time I ran out of things to do, I was happy to leave the house and hang with friends.

On Sunday though.....hmmm... the devil sitting on my shoulder convinced me to watch Bill Maher while cooking. I guess I could write this one off as an informative program rather than a time-waster. And, of course, afterwards, I joined the rest of the 111.3 Million people to watch the Super Bowl. What can I say... I guess I am a conformist.

Today, I am back on my Tv-diet. I am holding my '1hr' limit for Monday night comedy. It's been a long time since I got excited about watching TV... this overcoming TV addiction is becoming quite pleasant.

-R

Day 1: Overcoming Tv Addiction.

Welcome to Day 1.... or so I thought. 

This morning, I woke up at my regular time (6:30ish), and I was excited to start Day 1.
But... wait.. was I going to give up TV all together, or learn to use it moderately. I settled for the latter.
So I decided on 1hr/day maximum.

Challenges on Day 1: 

1) Morning Routine: I usually set my Ipad on the bathroom sink, take out my headphones and watch something on Netflix while blow-drying my hair every morning. So, while I finished drying my hair much faster, I was quite bored.

2) Work: Since my day job is predominantly behind the computer, at times I found myself going on the website where I usually watch TV shows and movies, but I quickly switched over... I mean it will be a HUGE blow to my ego if strayed on my first day.

3) After work: I didn't preplan what I wanted to watch during my 1hr/day allowance...  So when I got home I got excited and spent a full hour watching celebrity news. What a waste!!!! (I should  probably include this little detail on my day planner from now on).

Day 2... Here I come.

Daily Solutions # 3

Do You Have a Hard Time Falling Asleep?

Solution: Concentrate on Your Breathing

Forget the gadgets and prescription medications. Most acute sleeping disorders are a result of not being able to 'turn our brains off' (kids, relationship, bills, mortgage...etc). So, by concentrating on your breathing when you have your eyes closed, you will go into the meditation stage, and thus, in a more relaxed stage needed to fall asleep.
 If done correctly, when concentrating on your breathing, it is impossible to think about anything else.  

It will take a several tries. Commit yourself. It will work.

One more day until the start of my month-long challenge to overcome my TV/Online TV addiction.
You could come up with your own 30 Day Challenge, and let me know about your progress on my blog or via twitter @solutionaddict.

Don't undermine the power of support!

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Daily Solutions #2

Did you know that over-analyzing increases anxiety and leads to negative thoughts?

Image from 12tribesministries.com

Solution: Journaling.

By writing down your thoughts, you allow for a more logical analysis.
For a more productive journaling, write down your thoughts, read it over and try to justify the thought. This way, you are more likely to determine if what you are feeling is based on a logical occurrence, or a product of over-analyzing.

Daily Solutions #1:

You Snooze, You Lose

Want to wake up more alert in the morning?

Get rid of the Snooze option on your alarm clock. Studies show that you tend to be more alert if you wake up with the initial alarm.
Want a challenge? How about placing your alarm clock away from arm's reach.

February= OverComing TV Addiction

So, apparently the first step to recovery is acceptance. Here, I am suppose to admit to the various addiction that I think I have. Who am I kidding; I don't 'think' I'm addicted, I 'know' I am.Here it is:

I am addicted to watching TV shows online. It seems mediocre, but it is by far one of the most disabling addiction I have. First of all, it is easily accessible, always available and there is always a new show or episode that I could convince myself to watch.

My addiction to watching TV shows started during last summer when I developed an acute anxiety disorder. Watching shows became a way that I escaped my highly anxious reality. Watching shows like Californication, Weeds, and MadMen for hours upon hours, considering many of the so-called good shows had been on air for several seasons meant sleepless night and drowsy days of watching exhilarating TV shows. I eagerly played the next episode when the current one was done because I just couldn't wait to find out what happens next.

Once I finished watching the 'good' shows, I discovered my anxiety became much worse, now that I didn't know what else to watch. So, I settled for anything semi-decent with some what of a story line to keep me busy. Now almost 8 month into this, I have been late to complete my Master's thesis, apply for internship and job postings related to my field, my anxiety disorder has gradually become chronic and I find myself surfing for new episodes of anything, in order to distract myself from doing what I should be doing.

Hopefully, with the start of this blog my TV addiction will come to the end.
Everyday, until the end of the month, I am going to write about over coming one of my addictions.
It will work. I know it will.