This Wednesday: 9 tips to make TV-watching a source of happiness.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.
This Wednesday: Nine tips to make TV-watching a source of happiness.

In terms of hours, watching TV is probably the world’s most popular pastime. Among Americans, it’s the most common free-time activity – for an average of about five hours a day. It’s a source of relaxing fun.

But while television is a good servant, it’s a bad master. It can swallow up huge quantities of people’s lives, without much happiness bang for the buck.

Here are nine tips for keeping TV-watching a source of happiness:

1. Watch TV with someone else. We enjoy all activities more when we’re with other people, and we tend to find things funnier when we’re with other people. Use TV as an excuse to get together. Sports TV, awards TV (the Oscars), and competition TV (American Idol, Survivor), in particular, are a lot more fun to watch with other people. In fact, you can even…

2. Use TV as a bridge. If you’re having trouble connecting with someone – your sweetheart or your teenager, say -- try joining that person when he or she is watching TV (even if football or Project Runway isn’t necessarily your favorite). Watching TV is companionable, you share an experience, you can comment on the action here and there for a bit of conversation…it’s a way of showing someone that you want his or her company and engaging in a low-key, pleasant, undemanding way.

3. Use TiVo. Recording shows allows you to use your time more efficiently. You can skip the commercials and watch a particular show according to your own schedule and mood. Also, interaction with actual real live people is the most important element to happiness, so you don’t want to leave your friend’s house early because you need to get home to catch a show.

4. Don’t use TiVo. Anticipation is an important aspect of happiness. Looking forward to a certain day and time so will heighten the pleasure you’ll take in your favorite show. And it’s fun to think that you’re sitting down at the same time with people across the country to see what’s next for the folks on Lost. Also, you’ll be able to enjoy reading about it right away (see #5), without worrying about spoilers.

5. Enjoy the commercials. This is particularly easy if you rarely watch TV. An enormous amount of ingenuity and creativity goes into commercials, and they can be fascinating if you pay attention.

6. Learn about TV. The more you know about anything, the more interesting it becomes. Read some TV criticism, read some interviews with the creative people involved in the show, become more knowledgeable.

7. Don’t surf. Especially if you’re feeling frazzled and overwhelmed with multi-tasking, sit down, start watching, sink into the experience, and stay on one channel. Let the show unfold in its time slot, don’t keep switching around to catch bits and pieces of other shows. Be a satisficer, not a maximizer.

8. Do surf. One of the joys of watching cable TV is the cornucopia of shows on display. As is oft remarked, “So many channels, yet so little to watch” -- but nevertheless I love seeing the variety of sports, music, pop culture, dance, movies of all sorts, old TV shows, religious programs, history…it’s fascinating. (Btw, surfing is so addictive because of the phenomenon of “intermittent reinforcement”: activities that sometimes, unpredictably, do yield a big, juicy reward – “Look, Tootsie is on! -- and sometimes don’t – “Is Antiques Roadshow really the best thing on TV right now?” -- tend to have an addictive quality.)

9. Choose to watch TV. This sounds obvious, but often, we don’t really choose TV, it’s just the easy default activity. Make the effort to ask yourself, “What would I like to do for the next hour?” before you plop down with the remote control.

Bottom line: if you watch TV mindfully and purposefully, it can be a source of happiness, especially if you use it to connect with other people. If you watch it passively, automatically, and for want of anything better to do, it can be a drain on happiness.

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Lifehacker never fails to instruct and entertain. I used to feel intimidated by the number of hacks that were utter gibberish to me, because I'm just not tech-savvy enough to understand them, but now I just glide over those and read the posts that resonate with me.

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Comments

[TasterSpoon]

Thanks for this post. I feel like I accomplish a lot both at work and at play, and I'm done feeling guilty about truly enjoying television. Way back when, kings and conquerers didn't feel guilty about having minstrels and acrobats to amuse them while they ate; neither will I.

That said, I love TiVo. That's how I keep TV a servant, not a master. (Which is a great line, BTW.)

[Zyada]

It was lifehacker that led me to your blog.

[Wendi Kelly]

Ack!

When I started to read this one I grimmaced..As a rule, the TV is never on at our house, unless we are puting in a DVD to watch together. But you bring up some very good On-Purpose points that make a lot of sense.

I don't know if I could do commercials though. That seems like a torture chamber to me. Probably the main reason I walked away!

[Melissa]

i love this because it speaks to being mindful and balance and the fact that what works for you might not work for someone else.

i really do enjoy watching tv and will defend my active watching against tv naysayers always! haha. i have always found people who ban tv to be extreamist.

but watching tv is a great way for me to relax. if i read or craft at night i am wired and have much trouble sleeping. tv is a great way to spend some time relaxing the brain.

[JDWired]

Gretchen,

I love your blog! Looking forward to your book release.

Best,
Joe Miller

[jaydeebug]

Oh,No! It is taking a few minutes to wrap my mind around this one....I come from the day that TV's got turned off if company arrived. My Mom thought it extremely rude, so after I left home, I thought that was a given. First time I visited a friend and they kept watching TV, I went home, thinking they didn't like me! Back then, TV was a get-together on purpose for the Sat. night fights, a game of Scrabble, and the New Year's Eve festivities in NY.
I have a neighbor across the hall who invites me over constantly, but she leaves the TV on loud and looks at it while talking to me....Sorry, that is not companionship for me. Being alone and watching something would be more fun. Now watching a movie together is a different manner.
But at least you put a positive spin on it!

[blue bicycle]

having just stumbled upon your blog - i can't wait to read your final results ....

so tv can make me happy? i'll agree that it definitely helps me connect with my teenage son when we can share the humour of The Office together!

on another note ... i always thought happiness was rather fleeting and ephemeral .... that peace and contentment are what we should be striving for ...

maybe i've been reading too many Zen articles lately - heh!

[Alex Fayle]

I think #9 is the most important one for me. I'm all about consciously doing thing, about not letting life just happen.

Television is something that many people just let happen. The TV is on without anyone really paying it any attention.

Whatever you do, choose to do it and do it fully.

[Leslie]

I like this post. So often, people talk about the evils of TV and what a waste of time it is, but I think it's a case of moderation. What you say about choice makes all kinds of sense. I have a number of shows that I really like to watch. Our DVR was a revelation, because finally I don't have to choose whether to go out with my friends or watch my show - I can go out whenever I want and my show will be waiting for me whenever I'm ready to watch it! This does tend to annoy people who want to talk about last night's episode of whatever, though, when I say "oh, sorry, I haven't even watched last week's yet." :) I also appreciate being able to skip commercials.

@jaydeebug - I think TV watching together is only companionship if you both agree to watch it. If I go to a friend's house, I pretty much expect that the TV will be off unless that's what we planned to do - likewise I turn it off when they come to my house.

[zent]

It's nice to read something good about tv for a change. ;)
I only watch a few series and lots of dvds and I record films. Yep, I love cinema.