Hi, my name is Mikki and I am a recovering TV addict. As a child, my family lived in the country and only had an antenna. We got 6 channels on a good day, 3 if it stormed. There wasn’t that much to watch so it wasn’t a problem. Fast forward to college and I was let loose into a dorm with cable television and a lot of time on my hands. Suddenly the colorful world of television was at my fingertips. I watched hour upon hour of any show I thought was remotely interesting.

As I got older and got more responsibilities, my television watching kept up, just after work and weekends. The screen was constantly lit up. When I got pregnant (and sicker than a dog), the television was a great distraction. Those early months of maternity leave were spent binge watching shows on Netflix. But then Mac got old enough to start paying attention to the television and I knew something had to change. So I came up with my rule about electronics.

My rule about electronics is quite simple and easy to understand. It is:

No Screens While the Sun Shines

In the summer, that means no watching TV until just before bed or if it is raining. This rule also applies to the winter. So in the frozen tundra that is Minnesota, that means we can turn the TV on just after work because the sun sets around 4:30. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. Usually that exception is some kind of sickness (currently, it is teething.)

So far this rule is somewhat easy to implement. My daughter is only 1, so I am the one who controls the electronics. It is mostly about self-policing right now. But as Mac gets older, it will be much easier to have her look out the window and look for the sun to determine if we should turn the TV on.

Now, this isn’t a rule that will fix everything. I still occasionally find myself reaching for the remote. But I remind myself that TV isn’t important. Spending time with Mac, especially outside, is what is important. I have also found my productivity goes way up when I don’t have the television on. Read about my other productivity tips here.

What rule about electronics does your household have?