The No Cable Experience (Experiment)

Day 1 – May 9, 2014

So … I returned my cable boxes today.

I have been considering doing this since last summer and today I finally pulled the plug (literally). Why? After thinking about it extensively, I’d reached the point of sheer annoyance and cheapness at the thought of paying $100 each month to watch 10 channels. Yes, there are more available, but I never watch them. Ergo, I was wasting money.
Also, I found that I would watch re-runs before eight pm. I have been wasting precious leisure time with mindless television viewing. It was the norm for me to veg out on the sofa for hours only for the sun to set and realize that I’d accomplished absolutely nothing all day. I didn’t want to do that any longer. In this new phase that I’m entering in my life, I want to use my leisure time more productively by pursuing my interests and mastering new skills.

This will most definitely be a challenge because I have relied on television as a welcome distraction for three decades now. I will not be completely lost, however. I do own an Apple TV, and can watch Netflix, Hulu, videos on iTunes, and list of other networks for entertainment if I desire. But, that’s just it. I want television viewing to be entertainment and not a crutch, a form of dependency, or a means to distract or deter me from living and experiencing my own life.

So here goes! I will try to blog as much as possible about my withdrawal process and to share how I use my free time and how much television I watch using my Apple TV over the next few weeks.

Have you ever been without cable? What did you do during your leisure time?