Why I Don’t Own a Television

Television takes up a large part of many people’s spare time. Yet those same people often complain they don’t have time to do the things they want. While I do have some subscription services where I watch selected tv shows on my laptop, I don’t own a TV.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, over the years I’ve won a few televisions in various online competitions and chose to sell them, because I preferred the money to having a constant distraction in my flat. Having a handful of series I watch through subscription services, means I watch an episode or two, then get on with something else. I don’t have endless repeats distracting me, or risk getting dragged into a soap that never seems to end and where the story lines are repeated — only with different characters — but the programme makers hope you’ve forgotten about that.

Another reason is the cost. The license fee is more than the combined cost for my Netflix and Prime subscriptions. I also get a better choice of what to watch. Because I try to be selective, I free up more time for my writing and feel inspired — which also helps. I’m always working on multiple projects, but I wouldn’t get half as much done if I had a television.

I’m not suggesting people throw their TVs out of the window and write a novel, run a marathon or whatever else they want to do. However, cutting down on TV for one hour (or even half an hour) each day will free up time to do some of the things you’ve been putting off.

In one hour, you could walk about three miles, run five miles or more at a manageable pace (obviously you’d have to build up to that) or knit a jumper over a number of weeks or months. My point is, one hour might not seem like much, but if you commit to it every day (or even just two or three times a week) you can complete a bigger project over time. Something you might find more rewarding than watching repeated shows or story-lines until you lose your mind.