January without TV | What were my guilty pleasures?

Today I worked from home, but the lack of TV didn't bother me much. I still miss it during lunch, but I've been listening to a radio program that - besides being interesting - helps me feel less lonely. It's basically an interview program with all kinds of creative people. It's certainly better than "Celebrity wife swap". Yes, sometimes I watched that!

By the way, I haven't shared the TV shows that I like to watch. My favorite in the last months was "House rules" (I've conveniently chosen a period when that show is in between seasons to do this challenge, I confess...). I like to watch pretty much everything related to houses and house renovations and decor. I also watch TV series like "Game of Thrones", "The Walking Dead", "The Big Bang Theory"... Anyway, I will go back to some of my favorite TV shows after this month - my aim will just be to spend less time in front of the TV and to be more mindful and selective when doing it.

Well, it's late now. Night night!

 

January without TV | Only missed on the lonely days

This has been another day in which the TV wasn't missed. We had the one-year birthday party of a lovely cousin and were out most of the day. So I think that it is now confirmed: when life is happening and I engage with people I don't miss the TV - the TV is only missed on the lonely days...

Until tomorrow.

January without TV | Writing to a friend

I'm still missing the TV when I have lunch alone, and this probably won't change throughout the month... Still, my mood was much better than it was on the other days I worked from home.

In the evenings, I'm not missing it as much. Today I spent a lot of time writing an email to a friend - which is good, because I tend to procrastinate a lot on replying to my friends' emails, which makes me a terrible pen pal! But behold, I'm writing, not procrastinating ;)

What else to say? I'm a bit obsessed with the idea of finding another place to live, because I don't feel very happy in this apartment. It's actually a very good apartment, but is has two great flaws: it tends to not have a lot of light, due to its layout; and it is located in an area which, despite being near a pleasant small city, is quite depressing. We basically picked this apartment because we didn't find better options in the short period of time that we had to search for a house. And speaking of house - I wanted to rent a small house, not an apartment. I'm not an apartment person - I need some outer space!

Well, enough rating. It's time to go to bed. I suspect there is no one reading this, but I'll continue writing as if someone very nice and understanding was on the other side.

See you tomorrow :P

January without TV | Exercise to lift the mood!

Today I can say I didn't miss the TV. I was in company, during the afternoon, so maybe that may have helped.

Before starting this job and moving to this apartment (which happened in September) I used to exercise regularly (I love this workout program). I did it for varied reasons, but one of the strongest was because exercise really helps with my mood. It's a healthy antidepressant! But with the stress and the mess of starting a new life I've been letting that habit die. It's so much harder to be motivated and to get started... Anyway, I know how important it is, so I'm trying to do an extra effort to put exercise into my daily routine, again. Today I did this workout, and it really made me feel good! Yay!

Night night :)

January without TV | Low mood

Today I worked from home again, and my mood was very low during the afternoon. Now I'm sure the TV abstinence is influencing my mood and, for the first time since I started this challenge, I really felt like giving up.

I didn't realize just how much the TV (which I watched while having lunch alone and sometimes while having a snack in the afternoon) was keeping me company in these days of working from home. Now I'm beginning to think that our modern way of life is only possible because we have the TV and the internet. And by 'our modern way of life' I mean lives in which, for example, a couple lives alone in an apartment in no man's land and only engages with other people (besides work) on the weekends. Could I and B. do this without these two powerful distractions? Honestly, I think we would feel quite lonely and bored. The same applies to everyone who lives alone and/or very far away from friends and family. If we did not have these artificial forms of company and distraction, probably we would desperately want to be closer to other people and engage with them everyday...

Let's see how I feel tomorrow...

January without TV | Maybe my mood is being affected

I'm not feeling very good right now, even though my mood was fairly positive during the day. Maybe yesterday I was being too optimistic. Maybe my mood is being affected by the lack of TV. Maybe not being able to turn it on on the days I'm working from home does make me feel more lonely and bored. We have to remember that one of my rules was not to use the internet to replace the TV, and my internet usage lately has been very limited (I use it all day for work, and then at the end of the day the last thing I feel like doing is to sit in front of the computer and surf the web). So, at this precise moment I'm feeling this intense craving for mindless entertainment - how do I get that without the TV or youtube funny videos? How??...

Anyway, I'll hold on strong. My main curiosity is to see where this will take me. Will boredom motivate me to do something different? (Of course, it has already, in small ways.)

Night night.

January without TV | A new normal

Not watching TV is becoming my new normal, so I'm not missing it so much. I seem to be replacing it with the radio - when I prepare meals, do the dishes and have my meals alone. The radio can be entertaining and informative, and it is certainly not so addictive and absorbing as the TV. I still miss it - just not as much as I thought I would by now...

But my mood today was very low throughout the afternoon. I don't think this has anything to do with my TV experience... It certainly has to do with working from home, alone. I think I must review this option. The thing is, we're not living exactly halfway between our jobs. Mine is more far away and, since it is in a very big city, the traffic makes my journey much longer than B.'s journey. But we agreed on this because I could work from home 2 days a week! So yes, I have a conundrum here...

Anyway, I will probably end up making this blog more than just a journal about my experiences and also write a bit about what's going on in my life. It feels good to write!

See you tomorrow.

January without TV | Lonely - but eager to go out

Today I worked from home (I generally do this 2 days a week). I knew that lunch without TV would be hard, since I always watch something to distract myself while I eat. And yes, it was hard. And it was also weird. Just eating... Do people still do that? I felt my anxiety and sadness (old friends of mine) louder than usual. I felt lonely. I knew that this would happen - I know how much I (and we, in general) use the TV to create the illusion of being in company. I think that TV (and, of course, the internet) really succeeds in making us feel less lonely - at least in the short term. But I also believe that, precisely because of that, it tends to make us less willing to engage with the real world. At least I know that's what happens with me. And today I really felt it. I'm living in an apartment in an area where I know pretty much no one besides my boyfriend - we picked this place just because it stands midway between the cities where we work. It's also a place that's not very 'walkable', so going for a short walk during the day is not something that I feel very motivated to do. This means that a day spent working from home is a day where I pretty much don't see or speak with anyone besides B.. So TV does create a sense of company when I'm here all alone. Not having it today makes me much more eager to go to work tomorrow - and see real life people and trees and the sky... Now this is weird! I'm an introvert who doesn't feel this kind of stuff often. But maybe this is good...

So, I wanted to see what was here, within me, below the TV noise. I knew it wasn't pretty. But I need to know exactly how I've been pacifying and soothing these feelings and if there are better ways to do so...