Challenge Accepted
Last week when I was on vacation, I read an entire book (Dan Brown's Origin) in four days. I haven't read a book that fast since finishing grad school. Time was of the essence. I borrowed the book from my sister's vast collection (most is much more literary than Dan Brown, by the way) and, though she probably would have been ok with me bringing it back to Texas, it was a hefty hard cover and would have been difficult to fit in my small carry-on. So, I read and read and read. Morning, occasionally afternoon, and all evening. On the morning of my last day, I turned the final page. Done. With a sense of accomplishment I hadn't felt in a quite awhile, I put the dust jacket back on and returned it to its place on my sister's book shelves.
How did I do it? How did I read nearly 500 pages in four days? Something I would never, ever, ever attempt at home? Ready? I didn't watch any TV. Ok, I watched one movie ("Dunkirk") one evening, but that was it. Ok, I mean other than sports. I watched a lot of hockey (Las Vegas Golden Knights are in the Stanley Cup Finals!) and tennis (Rome, the last major clay court event before the French Open). Oh, and one baseball game (the Padres actually held a lead going into the ninth inning and won the game). I guess I should rephrase. Other than sports, I didn't watch any TV. I discovered something pretty cool about watching sports. You can multi-task while doing it. One David Ferrer match in particular, I recall tuning out and tuning back in and realizing that more than a set had gone by (arguably David Ferrer on clay isn't the most scintillating to watch point for point). I probably read fifty pages while tuned out.
Anyway, get to the point, right? If I can do that on vacation, why can't I do that all the time? Granted it's the end of the "prime time" season and most of my favorite shows are on hiatus until fall so there was less to entice me... But let's get real, I don't like to read (Don't let the stack of books waiting on my nightstand fool you) and TV can be mindless perfection (It can also be awful, but I think of myself as a choosy consumer, i.e. no reality TV). And truly with everything I have going on in my life right now that isn't mindless, TV provides a welcome distraction.
However (I'm going to wince when I type this next statement because...well, just because), I actually enjoyed reading last week. There I said it. I enjoyed reading. Usually I endure it and maybe on occasion, if I've got a murder mystery fluff piece in hand, I kind of maybe almost sort of tolerate it. Maybe. Sadly, last week has me thinking. What if I tried to go a month without TV - with the exception of hockey (the Stanley Cup starts Monday), tennis (the French Open starts tomorrow), and a baseball game every now and again - and read all the books on my nightstand? I can hear the laughter and shouts of "Inconceivable!" Look, I managed to give up diet soda and I never thought I'd be able to do that. This reading/TV thing honestly seems a couple shades easier.
Besides, we all know I need an array of on-going challenges to keep my psyche in one piece. If I'm not training for a half marathon and publishing a novel and working too many jobs and trying to cut pizza out of my diet (not gonna happen in this lifetime, FYI), I feel like I'm not doing something right. Life, for me, is a constant challenge of continuous self-improvement. If I'm not gaining ground, I'm losing ground. On what? I don't really know and I don't suppose it matters. But a step forward beats standing still and it really beats moving backwards. So, I push and press and work and try to gain an edge. Over what? I don't really know that either. It's just who I am, how I choose to live. Mastery over TV seems to be the latest thing that comes to mind.
It's not that I watch too much TV. I generally only give myself an hour, maybe ninety minutes of "relaxation" most days. The rest of my day is filled with driving forward, work, working out, the occasional chore or two. What I am proposing is that instead of filling my downtime with the mindlessness of TV, I read. It doesn't have to be significant, groundbreaking stuff. It can be a novel, much like Origin, or even one of my light and fluffy murder mysteries. The key is that when I'm reading, I'm not mindlessly watching TV and, more importantly, I'm not surfing social media, updating my social networks, and planning my next vacation. When I read, I'm tuned in. For the most part. Even when there's a hockey game or a tennis match in the background, reading means mindful engagement.
I guess I'm proposing three linked challenges, (1) no TV, (2) less small screen time, and (3) more reading. For one month. Just June. In July, I'll reassess. Who knows? Maybe I'll form new habits that I can carry on into the future. Or maybe I'll despise reading even more than I do normally and never want to pick up another book. I keep trying to remind myself that I successfully cut out diet soda. All it took was focus and rising to the challenge. Rising to the challenge. Now that's something I usually excel at.
I have a couple episodes to clear out of the DVR and I'll be ready to go. Next Friday, June 1st, it begins. For better or worse. For one month. Thankfully, a thirty day month. With a lot going on - book release, promotion of said book, orders to fill, a website and blog to update, friends coming into town, maybe a move to a new house around the corner, dog sitting gigs, running in the heat, sleeping enough to keep all the balls in the air while the plates keep spinning... Man, I'll need to relax. And that relaxation will be...reading? Oy.
How did I do it? How did I read nearly 500 pages in four days? Something I would never, ever, ever attempt at home? Ready? I didn't watch any TV. Ok, I watched one movie ("Dunkirk") one evening, but that was it. Ok, I mean other than sports. I watched a lot of hockey (Las Vegas Golden Knights are in the Stanley Cup Finals!) and tennis (Rome, the last major clay court event before the French Open). Oh, and one baseball game (the Padres actually held a lead going into the ninth inning and won the game). I guess I should rephrase. Other than sports, I didn't watch any TV. I discovered something pretty cool about watching sports. You can multi-task while doing it. One David Ferrer match in particular, I recall tuning out and tuning back in and realizing that more than a set had gone by (arguably David Ferrer on clay isn't the most scintillating to watch point for point). I probably read fifty pages while tuned out.
Anyway, get to the point, right? If I can do that on vacation, why can't I do that all the time? Granted it's the end of the "prime time" season and most of my favorite shows are on hiatus until fall so there was less to entice me... But let's get real, I don't like to read (Don't let the stack of books waiting on my nightstand fool you) and TV can be mindless perfection (It can also be awful, but I think of myself as a choosy consumer, i.e. no reality TV). And truly with everything I have going on in my life right now that isn't mindless, TV provides a welcome distraction.
However (I'm going to wince when I type this next statement because...well, just because), I actually enjoyed reading last week. There I said it. I enjoyed reading. Usually I endure it and maybe on occasion, if I've got a murder mystery fluff piece in hand, I kind of maybe almost sort of tolerate it. Maybe. Sadly, last week has me thinking. What if I tried to go a month without TV - with the exception of hockey (the Stanley Cup starts Monday), tennis (the French Open starts tomorrow), and a baseball game every now and again - and read all the books on my nightstand? I can hear the laughter and shouts of "Inconceivable!" Look, I managed to give up diet soda and I never thought I'd be able to do that. This reading/TV thing honestly seems a couple shades easier.
Besides, we all know I need an array of on-going challenges to keep my psyche in one piece. If I'm not training for a half marathon and publishing a novel and working too many jobs and trying to cut pizza out of my diet (not gonna happen in this lifetime, FYI), I feel like I'm not doing something right. Life, for me, is a constant challenge of continuous self-improvement. If I'm not gaining ground, I'm losing ground. On what? I don't really know and I don't suppose it matters. But a step forward beats standing still and it really beats moving backwards. So, I push and press and work and try to gain an edge. Over what? I don't really know that either. It's just who I am, how I choose to live. Mastery over TV seems to be the latest thing that comes to mind.
It's not that I watch too much TV. I generally only give myself an hour, maybe ninety minutes of "relaxation" most days. The rest of my day is filled with driving forward, work, working out, the occasional chore or two. What I am proposing is that instead of filling my downtime with the mindlessness of TV, I read. It doesn't have to be significant, groundbreaking stuff. It can be a novel, much like Origin, or even one of my light and fluffy murder mysteries. The key is that when I'm reading, I'm not mindlessly watching TV and, more importantly, I'm not surfing social media, updating my social networks, and planning my next vacation. When I read, I'm tuned in. For the most part. Even when there's a hockey game or a tennis match in the background, reading means mindful engagement.
I guess I'm proposing three linked challenges, (1) no TV, (2) less small screen time, and (3) more reading. For one month. Just June. In July, I'll reassess. Who knows? Maybe I'll form new habits that I can carry on into the future. Or maybe I'll despise reading even more than I do normally and never want to pick up another book. I keep trying to remind myself that I successfully cut out diet soda. All it took was focus and rising to the challenge. Rising to the challenge. Now that's something I usually excel at.
I have a couple episodes to clear out of the DVR and I'll be ready to go. Next Friday, June 1st, it begins. For better or worse. For one month. Thankfully, a thirty day month. With a lot going on - book release, promotion of said book, orders to fill, a website and blog to update, friends coming into town, maybe a move to a new house around the corner, dog sitting gigs, running in the heat, sleeping enough to keep all the balls in the air while the plates keep spinning... Man, I'll need to relax. And that relaxation will be...reading? Oy.
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