It happened again...I mean, should have seen it coming…
Let me give you some context first? So, it was a bright Wednesday morning 2 weeks ago. I was under a lot of pressure because it was my last exam. But fortunately, I went through the exam pretty decently so that’s great. But a problem tagged along with me after the exam. Before and during my exams, I had gotten super chill with my creative routine and hence stopped making videos. So what’s the next obvious thing I did? Watch TV shows. To be specific Brooklyn 99 coz it’s hella Noiceeee. Surprisingly it all felt pretty normal because of our current situation in the pandemic watching TV shows regularly had become a pretty normal thing. More like a trend actually. If most of your friends are putting up Instagram stories about a show then not watching it felt like missing out on a social event. Oddly enough, all this was not just with the teenagers but even parents have started Binge-watching TV shows. Imagine walking out of your room to take a break from bingeing a show and in the living room see your mom 2 episodes ahead of you. Well, I don’t even need to imagine. Gotta catch up to her!
It’s so funny when I look at myself and hear my thoughts while watching a TV show from a third person’s perspective. The conversation in my mind goes something like:
ME: Alright I am going to watch one episode before I start writing my assignment.
MIND: Sure! That’s a responsible move.
(After the first episode ends... )
ME: ….
MIND: Understood! Next episode!
Amey and the show lived happily ever after… Until he realized that he had only 2 hours to submit his assignment. :)
Watching shows on Streaming platforms is the best thing only if you earn money when other people watch it. It’s designed to keep you hooked for as long as possible. When one episode ends, the next episode loads up so quickly that you don’t have enough time to pep-talk your mind into stopping it... Please don’t confuse this with mind exercise coz you’ll probably finish all the Shows on that platform. Sure I feel AMAZING while watching so many episodes but when I turn it off and look out my window. I get slammed back to reality when I realize that it is already dark outside. And my entire portion of the day slipped past me with my college work and making videos as pending. And without a heartbeat, I suddenly feel a surge of regret and all the fun time spent watching the TV show becomes a "Waste".
I am sure you all have once decided that you'll watch only one episode every day. Only a handful of you may have even succeeded in that rule but I for myself don't have that level of control, especially when the episode ends on a cliffhanger of some sort. I understood this small thing about my mind that my determination is like a grain when it comes to cliffhangers. I had to think of something beyond that. After tweaking around for a while I could come up with a brilliant solution. Just a disclaimer, this one could be pretty harsh...It was very crucial for me to do the needful so that I can have my time back.
So here it goes…
JUST DON’T START WATCHING IT!
Pretty simple right? Shocked? Let me explain. With all my experience with watching TV shows, I have realized this one important thing.
It is more difficult to stop at one episode than not watching it at all.
You can dedicate specified days to watch your favorite shows. If you feel like watching something before a task, DON’T. It’s safer to watch it after all your tasks for the day are done. I feel we all should realize that these shows are not going anywhere. You can watch it at your own pace. Especially for people like me who watch the same show multiple times. Now, I understand many of us need a breather after a long hard day and usually we turn to watch TV shows. In this case, you have to find something that has a specific time to it which won’t get you even more tired after doing it. Like reading a book, listening to songs, cooking, even watching a movie if you have the time (But obviously not every day). The goal is to relax and not tire your mind even more.
There are obviously more solutions to this problem, like having your streaming app locked after a specific usage. Having a strong determination of not having a FOMO when your friends are watching something. Because guess what? You don’t need a TV show to have a good conversation. Also, if any of these obvious solutions have worked for you then you my friend, are a superhero!
If you happen to have any more interesting solutions that you try to solve this then do let me know in the comments below! :)