You know the static on the screen that appears when your TV can’t get a signal? ​

You furiously search through each channel hoping a clear picture comes on but nothing is available. That’s what it felt like on Saturday when my friend, Galia, and I challenged ourselves to go a whole 24 hours without watching TV or movies. Keep in mind that watching shows and movies was our life. Any time we’re doing work, something has to be playing in the background. Our leisure time? Would probably be rewatching Game of Thrones, F.R.I.E.N.D.S., or Peaky Blinders. Don’t get me started on Peaky Blinders; I finished four seasons within a week before the challenge begun (Galia finished in about 5 days). If binge-watching was an Olympic sport, Galia and I would be getting medals left and right. So, you could only imagine how rough those 24 hours were. To paint a picture of what we were going through, here’s an hour-by-hour list of how our day went, and things definitely got weird:

Galia's Day:

​​​7 a.m.
When I wake up, the first thing I do is open Netflix to watch an episode of some show then go back to sleep. Today, I had to force myself to stay asleep in order for me to not think about my shows.

8 a.m.
This is getting really annoying. My family has turned on the TV in the living room, which means I have to walk around the house with my eyes covered. It is so tempting to watch when I can hear the sound of the TV.

9 a.m.
I just had breakfast and went back to bed. The only way I can keep myself away from the TV is if I go to sleep.

10 a.m.
​I am getting ready to go to school to meet with Tin so we can keep an eye on each other. OH GOD! Today will be a long day.

11 a.m.
​We are already talking about TV shows.

12 p.m.
​I am hungry and craving Peaky Blinders. (laughs) I went to the student store to get away from my computer. People do not understand how hard it is to not watch something.

1 p.m.
​Tin has stopped tempting me to watch Peaky Blinders but my brain has not given up yet.

2 p.m.
​I have started meowing the theme song of Peaky Blinders. This is harder than I thought it would be.

3 p.m.
​I have been staring at Tommy and Grace for the past four hours. I have to fulfill my need to watch them by just staring at their pictures.

4 p.m.
​Now I feel like I am singing every theme song I know in my head. I don’t know how Tin is feeling. She is focused on work. Also, I have not done anything for the past 9 hours. I have just been sitting at my desk.

5 p.m.
​Every time I open the Instagram app, I am secretly hoping a trailer would pop up just so I can watch something and call it an accident.

6 p.m.
​I finally came home. Thankfully, the TV was off. I walked straight to my room and started working on projects since I spent all day doing nothing.

7 p.m.
​My sister decided to watch Arrow and Flash, which was a very mean thing to do. I had to put on my headphones to not be tempted to walk out and watch it with her.

8-9 p.m.
​Occupied with homework and junk food.

10 p.m.
​I picked up my phone to check Instagram. It is so tempting to just open Netflix and continue watching Peaky Blinders. I am getting tired and I need to finish the challenge.

11 p.m. - 1 a.m.
​I am sleeping.

2-6 a.m.
​Sleeping. It is 4am and I am awake checking the damn time to see if it is 7am yet.

7 a.m.
​Finally! I picked up my phone and opened the Netflix app. I don’t even care about anything else. I just need to watch a movie or two.

Tin's Day:

​​​7 a.m.
I woke up realizing I can’t watch anything on the day I usually catch up on all my shows. Why did I agree to this?

8 a.m.
Breakfast would be much better with an episode of Peaky Blinders right now.

9 a.m.
Thank goodness I finished Peaky Blinders the night before. If I didn’t, I would be really inclined to finish the season finale right now. I feel the need to rewatch it to see if I missed any plot lines.

10 a.m.
I’m meeting Galia in studio. I wonder how she’s doing. Is she going to crack? I’m going try to get her to watch something today.

11 a.m.
Since we can’t watch anything, we’re talking about shows. A friend showed us memes about F.R.I.E.N.D.S.. This is actually harder than I thought.

12 p.m.
I don’t want to be in studio. I’m tempted to have Netflix playing in the background while I work. It doesn’t help that I have a photo of Tommy (the main character of Peaky Blinders) on my monitor.

1 p.m.
Galia is doing fine. I think? I gave up trying to get her to watch something because I’m preoccupied with trying to keep myself from watching a show.

2 p.m.
WIFI is still out. This is a sign. Galia has started meowing. Don’t ask why.

3 p.m.
Galia is still meowing. Other than that, it’s pretty quiet. I’m burying myself in work that requires my full attention to distract myself.

4 p.m.
I’m actually doing work. This is amazing. I should do this more often. (laughs) Just kidding. You better believe I’m rewatching Peaky Blinders after this. Also, thank goodness I’m leaving for work in a bit.

5-6 p.m.
WORK.

7 p.m.
WORK. (Does the documentary playing in the background count? It’s only a 15-minute speech that’s playing on loop.)

8-10 p.m.
WORK.

11 p.m.
I’m going out. I’m tired. I just want to go home and put on an episode of The Office.

12-1 a.m.
​Still out.

2 a.m.
HOME. I got ready for bed and was about to put on an episode of The Office when Michael was going to run a marathon. I stopped myself as soon as I was about to go to Netflix.

3-6 a.m.
HOME. I got ready for bed and was about to put on an episode of The Office when Michael was going to run a marathon. I stopped myself as soon as I was about to go to Netflix.

7 a.m.
You best believe the first thing I did was turn on Netflix and watch The Office.

Did I get work done? Yes.
Did Galia start meowing? Yes.
Did we find out how addicted we were to shows and movies? Yes.
Will we stop? Probably not.
Will my prescription on my glasses go up because of staring at the screen for hours on end? Most likely.
​
The most important lesson we took from this is that we made the whole 24 hours without failing the challenge, but did we binge watch shows and movies the following day to make up for the time we lost? Absolutely.

And that’s all folks!

---

<< Prev

Next >>