The thing that incessant streaming entertainment and social media erode is ‘presence’.
My ability to be present has been crippled.
Reading a book has become hard because my mind goes on so many tangents as I read. I used to blame bad writing but I’m not so sure any more.
If I get anything out of this project I’m hoping for a much stronger sense of presence by the end of it.
Bottom line: I watch way too much Netflix.
Staring at a screen all evening has become a compulsion. A convenient never-ending distraction. A reliable crutch.
For this new year’s resolution, I’m thinking 28 days of No-Netflix (or any other streaming service).
Just to see if I can.
The rules are:
- YouTube and social media are okay as long as it’s for work, not entertainment.
- Going to the cinema is fine, as long as it’s with friends.
- No video games, even if its with friends.
This is not a social media cleanse or about reducing screen time. It’s about feeling replenished. Watching TV like a zombie every evening is not restorative recreation.
I would never be able to do this on my own, so my incredible partner has decided to jump on board.
Part of me is just curious to see what we’ll get up to without defaulting to Netflix.
Adult recreation aside, I’m looking forward to throwing a dinner party and inviting friends around. Puzzles, evening drives, and going dancing are all on the list. I also made a video of my trip to Japan that I never finished. Looking forward to getting back into that.
Over the next week, we’ll be slowly ramping down our evening screen fix and putting together more ideas for things we want to do during the 28 days.
I’m not necessarily looking to create any new habits here.I’m thinking of this as more of a window to reconnect with myself and discover fun new ways to spend my evenings.
I intend to go back to watching TV. I love watching good TV…but not like this, not compulsively.