My gut instinct upon arriving home from work is typically to grab something quick and easy to eat for dinner, plant myself in front of the television and veg. Since giving up TV on weekdays, it’s been hard to resist this habit, which I’ve termed the “evening mind numb.” It’s really difficult to go from an eight to ten-hour day at work and invest your energies in anything other than frivolous activities.
But I’m determined to conquer the inertia and invest my time wisely.
What do you do when you can’t watch TV? When you’re not allowed to forget about your goals and priorities in the sea of entertainment? I’m not at the point where I’m immediately focused on my high-priority tasks. But I notice I’m far more productive. I start looking for other things to do. I organize my medicine cabinet. I clean the kitchen. I spend a good chunk of time reading a huge book about PHP, which I’ve just started learning. I write this blog post.
And I feel so much better about what I’ve accomplished for the evening. I don’t miss the TV one bit. It’s an exhilarating feeling.
How do you avoid “evening mind numb”?
7 Comments on Avoiding Evening Mind Numb
1Pingbacks & Trackbacks on Avoiding Evening Mind Numb
-
[…] overcome evening mind numb, which has definitely helped my productivity in the evenings. But I’m determined to take back […]
Karl
April 21, 2010 at 4:19 pm (15 years ago)I have band practice a few nights a week after work. I find that playing music is a great way to spend my evening, without thinking about work, and without vegging out.
Marie
April 21, 2010 at 9:12 am (15 years ago)That sounds like a great way to spend an evening. I feel similarly about running in the evenings as well. I find that it’s really peaceful to run in the evenings with some music in my ears or just silence to be alone with my thoughts.
suki
April 21, 2010 at 4:39 pm (15 years ago)It's hard to avoid, but instead of television shows, I turn on some music, so I can get my brain at least motivated to move. It's nice to get stuff done, even if it's not something new, such as laundry, cleaning, baking…
Marie
April 21, 2010 at 9:13 am (15 years ago)That’s a good idea too. When you’re listening to music it’s so much easier to get the mundane tasks done. I’ll have to try that this evening!
A L
August 24, 2010 at 4:43 pm (14 years ago)I cancelled my cable last year. It's one of many things I've cancelled, to free up more time. Now I'm just working on my internet surfing addiction.
the_simplist
August 26, 2010 at 10:04 am (14 years ago)Yes, I’ve been thinking of canceling cable myself. I hardly ever watch it and when I do, I zone out and just completely waste time. I have problems with Internet surfing as well, it’s another black hole that I can get easily sucked into and waste hours on if I don’t watch it. 🙂