July Goal Update {no t.v. for a month}

It's hard to believe that we're in the second half of 2012. Does it make me sound old to say, "Where has the time gone...?"

I have been doing pretty well on my 12 monthly goals for 2012 and am particularly proud of this month's goal. For July, I intended to, "Keep the t.v. off for all but 2 hours per week." I fully expected that the 2 hours would be Mike and I watching 30 minutes of t.v. a few nights a week or sitting down to watch a movie on the weekends. I checked this goal out with him before committing it to paper, and he agreed, but wasn't nearly as pumped up about it as I was.

As it turns out, I've had many more moments of "weakness" in the past 11 days than he has. There have been nights that I've said, "Want to see what we've missed on the DVR?" and he's replied, "Nah, let's go to bed early," or "That's okay...I have some stuff I need to do on the computer."

Not "unwinding" every night in front of the t.v. has gifted me with several hours of "extra" time this month. No one is more surprised than I am that I had gotten into the habit of flipping on the t.v. each night to zone out. I've had more time to meal plan so our afternoons aren't rushed, more time to tidy up the house and start our mornings fresh, more time to organize our new school room, more time to plan our next day's school activities, more time to implement ideas I've found on Pinterest, and, as of last night, I've finally found time to start scrapbooking again. (I am almost two years behind, but was able to bust out five layouts last night)

The biggest surprise is that I'm not necessarily going to bed earlier (because I'm filling the time with other things) but I'm waking up much, much more rested in the mornings. I'm not as groggy and there have been several times that I've woken up way too early and my body simply didn't need to fall back to sleep. Today was the earliest by far: My eyes popped open at 5:15 (I went to bed at 11:00 last night) and I couldn't drift back to sleep for the life of me! So I sit here now, someone who needs a minimum of eight solid hours a night, wide awake with only six hours of shut eye. And this is not the first time this has happened this month. Coincidence? I'm thinking not.

And how are the kids doing? Incredible. Once I told the big kids that the t.v. was staying off for a month, they haven't asked to watch it even one time. The "two hours per week" that the t.v. has been on has all been shows for Jason. Every other day or so, I'll need him to be captivated so I can focus on helping the big kids with schoolwork, uninterrupted. But even he's become bored with the t.v. I had Ryan put a show on for him yesterday and he didn't last 10 minutes before meandering back into the school room and pulling out some books so he could be part of the action.

Every time I do a "no t.v. challenge" like this I am amazed and relieved at the results. The kids play together more nicely, their creativity flourishes, their attitudes improve, and now that I've jumped on board (for the first time), my productivity is through the roof. Mike has been going to the gym more consistently. My house is less cluttered, our school day is smoother and I am ending my days in front of a quiet book instead of a blaring t.v. Last weekend, Mike and I even dusted off our Scrabble game.

If you've never intentionally turned off the t.v. for a period of time in your house, I highly recommend trying it. If you can't get your spouse on board, just start with you and the kids and take it one day at a time. The first day might be tough, but if you stick with it and help the kids expand their imaginations, you will likely find yourself as thrilled as I am.

So who's with me? Are you willing to give it a try?