On Copywriting

Results Since Getting Rid of TV

It's been five full months since we got rid of our TV last spring.

I love it.

Here are some of the changes I've noticed.

• More peace and quiet. I, for one, do not like living in a noise-addicted society. My home is now a sanctuary.

• More reading time. Without the TV, my wife and I read before bed more often. And we read more in general. So far, I've completed 30 books this year. I'll probably hit close to 40 by the time the year is out.

• Our kids are more creative. Instead of begging for TV, they actually play with blocks, Legos, toy cars, etc. Their imaginations have grown tremendously, and they no longer require our constant attention (or the TV's) to keep them occupied. This is a blessing.

• More enjoyment when we do watch TV. Occasionally, we will see some football at a family member's house. I enjoy it a lot more since we don't have TV at home.

• Lower tolerance for TV. When the TV does happen to be on at a friend or family member's house, we can only stand so much. My biggest pet peeve is when the TV is just running in the background. Anymore, I don't ask for permission. If no one's watching, I just walk over and turn it off.

• More positivity. Ever since quitting the newspaper and television, we don't see all the negative press. Which really helps us to stay positive. As Thoreau pointed out, after you've read a story about a man's untimely death, you know the principle. Do you really need to know about every specific tragedy?

If there is one overarching lifestyle change I recommend more than any other, it's getting rid of your TV. I don't mean putting it behind closed doors or in a low-traffic area. I mean get rid of it. Sell it or give it away.

If you are afraid of how your kids will react, just tell them (and your spouse, if necessary) it's an experiment. You'll do it for a few months then reevaluate. I bet once the experiment has begun you'll never go back to your old way of living.

A Funny Question I Get Asked a Lot

Ever since we got rid of the TV back in April, friends and neighbors have wondered... "So what do you do?"

Clearly, they must think there is nothing to do outside of watching television. That watching television is what man was born to do.

So what does my family do now? The answer is simple. We watch birds.

We sit at the kitchen table during meal times... and... watch birds.

It's quieter. It's fascinating. And it allows for meaningful conversation. (Chris O'Byrne probably understands this better than most people.)

You see, we got a couple bird feeders and planted them smack in the middle of the yard so we could see them clearly from the kitchen. The birds came.

We've counted over 30 birds feeding in our yard at once. Here are the kinds of birds we've seen:

• Grackles
• Doves
• Pigeons
• Robins
• House Finches
• Gold Finches
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Hummingbirds

My two-year-old son has become particularly interested in birds. He can identify most of them by name, which is quite uncommon for a kid his age. His seat is positioned so he can watch the birds at every meal time if he wishes.

Would this have become such a past-time for us had we kept our TV? Probably not.

Of course, bird watching is only one thing we've chosen to replace TV time. Mostly, we get to do more of the things we really enjoy... like reading and playing board games.

The word gets around, you know. People who shouldn't know we got rid of our TV are asking what it's like not having one. Which means people are talking. That's a good thing, I suppose.

But from the outside, it probably appears that we just keep getting weirder and weirder. I work from home, have no TV, ride a motorcycle, like to write letters by long-hand, plan to homeschool my kids, etc. All extremely unusual in a homogenous place like Highlands Ranch. We're like suburban wackos. I like it.

Now, go watch some birds!

Flowers Where the TV Used to Be...

I finally took my own advice.

Unplugged the TV and carried it out into the garage.

Disconnected the DVD player, VCR, and antenna.

Now, where the TV used to be, there's a vase of flowers.

As I've mentioned in the past (two years ago, actually), my wife and I don't watch much television. Maybe an average of an hour a week.

The challenge is the kids. It's way too easy to use the TV as a babysitter when you need to get ready to go out or get something done.

So I decided today would be the day. In fact, it's been on my mind ever since listening to James Brausch's Life Management 101 CD.

It's a good feeling to ditch the TV. I encourage you to get rid of your TV too. There are a lot of reasons why. Increased productivity. Better health. Improved sense of well-being. Etc.

Back in 2005, I wrote a brief article based on The Plug-In Drug by Marie Winn. You might want to read it.

If nothing else, remember what Jim Rohn says about television viewing: "Rich people have big libraries. Poor people have big TVs."

P.S. Ever since canceling my magazine subscriptions (another of James Brausch's suggestions), I've been reading more books, which is great. I imagine the same thing will happen now that the TV is gone.

P.P.S. I wrote a poem a long time ago about television called "Satellite Gods." I'll post it here in a few days.