Wheatberry Bakery
Grain CSA
Fields & Fire BlogMaking the Time
It’s been a strange week (in a strange summer) here. I must confess that I’ve got a serious case of the crankies. So let’s talk about something else!
(new apron for the bakery, baby vest, child’s Waffle hat)
I often get asked “How do you find the time to do so many things?” (or a similar question). I’ve thought the same thing myself, when looking at other people’s blogs. I think the deeper point here is that we’re all given the same number of hours in a day, and we have to choose how we use them. This is obvious, and also, not always so easy to remember. I think the biggest time saver I have is that we don’t have a TV (no, we don’t watch TV on the computer, either). I watched TV and movies most of my life, and really loved movies, in particular.
Or thought I did. I didn’t like feeling like I’d wasted hours watching a junky movie, or standing in the video store trying in vain to find something that looked decent. When we moved to this house, there was no TV reception, so we switched to Netflix. No ads, thankfully, but still, a lot of time spent selecting, watching. After Ella was born, and I started to really think (and learn) about the effect of TV on children, I pushed hard for us to get rid of the TV altogether. (I highly recommend You Are Your Child’s First Teacher, and also Heaven on Earth for their info on this.) Ben agreed, bless him, so our TV sits unplugged in a spare closet, waiting for the few times he watches Weed the Soil, Not the Crop, or horse driving videos. I turned off the TV for my daughter, but I’ve definitely benefited hugely. (And the few times Ella saw even short little videos on the computer, it had a very noticeable effect on her behavior.)
The thing I’ve noticed recently is not just the time I used to spend actually watching, but all the time (and mental space) taken up by thinking about what I’d seen. Replaying scenes, wondering why this happened instead of that, being haunted by some of the more traumatic ones. I still have these things come into my mind sometimes, and it’s been nearly three years since I last saw a TV show or movie. They are tenacious.
TV is very deceptive – it feels like you are relaxing, but it’s actually making your mind whirr. It drains your life force, instead of nourishing it. Sometimes activities which seem like they use more energy (yoga, creative arts), actually end up replenishing more than they take. TV just takes.
So there you go – make some space in your life, if you choose. I mention this, particularly, because I’ve been surprised (and delighted) to see a number of folks giving up their TVs this summer (folks I wouldn’t have imagined watched TV!). So there’s my biggest tip for making the time – take the industrial, advertising machine out of your life. And then, who knows what you might do?
I`m trying to convince my husband to get rid of one of the two tv`s in the house. We would still have one in the basement, for him to watch daily, and for us to watch the odd movie. I would like to get rid of the tv from the upstairs living room, to encourage me to spend my time doing other things. I`ve stopped watching tv for 3 days now and it has been surprisingly easy. I`m only 3 years behind you…
Every journey starts with a step! Best of luck!
we still use our computer to watch the daily show or what have you, but have been tv free for…2 1/2 years? i am also very sensitive to images, and appreciate your description here (the mind whirring). and for the little ones, i’ve been thinking about if/when videos might come. thanks for sharing that you did notice a difference in your girl, it helps me remain stalwart. also, that pickle crock in your previous post has me drooling!
Hear hear about giving up TV. I don’t miss TV at all. I’ve also been doing a general media fast since about mid-June which has been really, really good for me. I thought it would free up more time for me but I was wrong… I’ve been swallowed whole by local food activism, but at least I’m doing that and not other things!
I have a serious case of the crankies too (mostly because Tom has been gone for days, traveling for work). Glad to see you are posting about gratitude as well, because that is a sure antidote.
How did I miss this post? I agree with so much of what you say! As you now know, we don’t watch much of anything on our TV. We watch some movies on our computers (my husband, mostly) and my screen time suck is blogging and blog reading. (Yes, I have been thinking A LOT about this. Another closely related topic.) I agree so much….it is how we choose to use our time. I also agree that TV stirs me up.
My husband read my post on this topic. He had read all the comments too. We had family over and didn’t have a chance to discuss our thoughts on all the comments, but he did say the photo of the kids watching their Papa DVD made him cry. We’ll see what happens next…. Thanks for this post, Adrie!
Nicola
Nicola,
Best of luck to you – I think it seems hard to start, and then it turns out not to be such a big deal! Best wishes, whatever your journey brings you! It’s always so wonderful to hear your thoughts.