CHALLENGE

I am going to tell you all about a challenge I am giving myself. Why? So that I'll report somewhere and you can hold me accountable in a way that only you, the blogosphere can. :o)

This week (i.e. from Today until 9/18 - the next 7 days) I am going to refrain from MINDLESS TV WATCHING. 

What is "mindless TV watching?" I am defining "mindless TV watching" as that of turning on the TV to flip channels until something suitable turns on as "background noise." It might be something you've seen before, or it might be something you've always wanted to watch but haven't seen before. It could also be something that you saw the beginning, middle, end of but not the rest of it. How many of us do this "mindless TV watching?" Am I the only one? I always turn on the TV during lunch, while making dinner after I get home from work and on Sunday afternoons while I take a nap (or evenings while I work on a project). As I sat on the couch last night mindlessly watching TV trying to unwind from a long day of meetings I realized that I was wasting precious moments that could be better spent doing projects that are lying around unfinished, reading books that need to be read, or visiting with friends and family that I love. (also, this was partly spurred by the CES Fireside in which Elder and Sister Oaks spoke to the youth of the church. Sister Oaks' words really hit home for me several times.)

So there you go. I didn't turn on the TV when first stepping into my apartment today for lunch. Instead, I continued talking to my mom, ate lunch, and read one chapter from a church book and a few chapters from my fictional read for the week. I feel very accomplished. :o) I will only watch TV that I PLAN to ahead of time to watch. I won't just turn on the TV to "find" something to watch. So, pretty much the only thing that I will probably watch this week will be the BYU-U of U football game on Saturday night. ;) Bored on a Friday night and want to turn on the TV? I will either browse the TV guide online FIRST or I will do something else  better with my time because I have thousands of projects and articles to read that will be better for me compared to mindless TV watching.  If I want to watch a movie or something, I'll find one that I haven't seen in my drawer not waste my time flipping channels.

so here goes,

wish me luck!