It wasn’t so long ago when I was on Netflix and stumbled across Manifest and binge-watched the entire show — all three seasons, forty-two episodes, and 29.93 hours of it (in five days). And I’m not even much of a TV person.
Which is to say, I struggle with binge-watching just as much as the next person does. But I’m not against binge-watching. Binge-watching is not an outright “bad” thing.
It’s just something that needs to be better managed.
And this is how I keep myself in check.
I follow a strict “I don’t watch TV shows” rule
More specifically, an “I don’t start TV shows” rule, which, if you haven’t figured out already, means not watching the first episode.
Why do I do this? I do this to trick my brain into not getting immersed into whatever compelling story xyz TV show may have. See, the first episode of a show (aka. the television pilot) is what “sells” the idea of the show; you’re supposed to watch it to see if you’d like the rest of the show.
But that’s a trap.
That’s what Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ want you to do. They want you to get hooked — hooked to a story. Because when you get hooked to a story, you tend to want to watch more. And when you watch more, you tend to binge-watch. At least I do.
Hence my rule.
I don’t watch the first episode. I don’t let my curiosity be sparked and I don’t let my impulsive self be toyed with.
I’d rather not know there is a good show with a good story to begin with.
It’s because of my rule that I haven’t watched shows like The Queen’s Gambit or Squid Game. I’ve heard of them. I’ve been told they’re good. My brain just doesn’t know-know that because it hasn’t seen them yet.
At the end of the day, you’ll only ever know-know what you’re missing out on — such as whether a show is “good” — if you watch the first episode. You’ll only ever feel compelled to binge-watch if you start the TV show.
But if you don’t ever start, you can’t possibly continue.
Not starting makes binge-watching impossible.
If you don’t watch episode one, you’ll never watch episode two.
Makes sense, right?
Stop watching that dreaded first episode.
Learn to create your own rules
While sticking to my “I don’t start TV shows” rule has been immensely valuable in helping me avoid binge-watching, I understand it’s not for everyone.
You, for example, might still want to watch shows you’re interested in and shows recommended by friends.
To which I ask, how will you watch said shows so as to not allow your dormant binge-watching tendencies to take over?
Perhaps that means…
- setting an “x minutes a night” rule where you only watch x minutes of television a night (however much you decide)
- deploying an “x episode(s) a night” rule where you only watch x number of episodes a night (one, or two, or three — it’s up to you)
- adhering to an “I will only watch x, y, and z episodes tonight” rule where you choose the specific episodes you want to watch and don’t watch anything else
- following a “scheduled fun” rule where you schedule when you plan to and are allowing yourself to watch (as to avoid watching at irregular times and to start thinking of TV time as a commitment, like you would schedule a meeting)
- doing something completely different than what I’ve suggested because you know what you need more than I do
Here’s Neil Pathipati, SFU LYFE’s current VP of External Relations, on how he handles this in his life (via episode five of our podcast, The LYFE Show):
“Ooh. Really good thing is allocating your time effectively and only giving yourself a certain amount of time to do certain things. So I’ll only give myself between 6 pm to like 8 pm to do whatever I want—like watch a really long episode of a show or play my video games. And then I have that basically for like three days of the week and I have another separate time for Tuesdays and Thursdays. And then one separate timing for the weekends. So it helps me schedule myself better.”
My rule is my rule is my rule.
Your rule is your rule is your rule.
Find what works for you and stick to it.
If that means letting yourself binge-watch a series every couple of months on the long weekend, sure. If that means letting yourself watch only on weekends, sure. If that means taking the first commercial space flight to Mars on Elon Air with no less than a thousand movies and reruns of your favorite shows, then, sure.
As long as how much you watch is how much you meant to watch, as long as you’re being intentional in how you watch, you’re golden.