TV, I've been cheating on you. With the Internet.
Even though I am in the advertising business, I don't have time to watch commercials.
I have my DVR set to record all of my favorite programs and generally watch them within a day or two of the original airtime. Though the initial appeal of a DVR was the ability to skip commercials I find I rarely bother to bypass them. Why? Because I am too busy multitasking on Twitter, Facebook and all the other amazing sites on the Internet while I consume my TV.
So the advertisers are winning? I am watching all their commercials, right?
Well, sort of. You see, like in most multitasking scenarios, I am rarely giving anything my full attention. Therefore I am likely wasting more time than necessary and accomplishing half of what I could in double the time. And it is killing my productivity in my personal life.
Yes, it is my job to know what is happening in advertising, the Internet and my client's industry -- but I am not required to be in front of a computer and online 24/7. That is why we have smart phones.
I spend a lot of time explaining to my family, friends and colleagues that I don't have time to fill in the blank outside of work. I do have a busy life with a lot of commitments and I spend most weekends out of town. But so what? Am I more busy than others?
No. Instead the multitasking is killing me. So, I am changing the way I watch TV. No more TV watching with the computer. Hopefully this will make my time outside of the office more productive. And more interesting.
I'll take a spin and let you know how it goes. And if you IM me and I don't answer right away, don't be mad. I am just focusing on my TV watching. Or cleaning my bathroom. Or taking my dog for a walk around the block.
Comments
I'll be interested to see how this goes since I have recently discovered the joy of watching TV and conversing with others on Twitter about what we are watching.
Anson, I hear you. That is how I got into my trouble! I love TV and I love the Internet, I have just realized when I do them at the same time, I get sucked into a vortex of lazy. I am also hoping that splitting up the time will make me weed out some of the bad TV programs that I watch.
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