I have a really hard time sitting down and watching TV.

Actually I have a really hard time sitting down.

I like every activity to have an end goal or accomplishment- writing on this blog has become my latest leisure activity because no matter how poorly written, in the end I have something to show for my time (and I’ve wasted a LOT of time on here).

Ok back to the subject of television.

I can’t sit and watch TV, it makes me anxious.

As I watch I check how many minutes are left, I make lists of the things I should be doing, or I fall asleep.

Mr. Spreadhsheets chooses the movies and shows because within about 15 minutes I am fast asleep.

That isn’t to say that I don’t watch TV in my own way.

I prefer to think of TV like the radio. I like the story but I don’t need to sit and watch the show, I like to pretend that TV is the radio of the 1940s and 1950s.

I’ve watched entire seasons of shows without ever knowing what the characters looked like- I know, it’s really strange.

In order to “watch” TV this way, you need a very specific type of TV show. You need a show that has enough descriptive dialogue that the picture really doesn’t matter.

The Gilmore Girls is a great example of an “Ashley Show”.

You don’t actually need to see Stars Hollow to understand the story, the dialogue is more than enough, you understand that Luke loves Lorelei without seeing him wear the same blue ball cap for 5 seasons.

The West Wing is also a great “Ashley Show”. Sure the picture is pretty, but do you really need that much visual stimulation when you have Aaron Sorkin dialogue and CJ Cregg, Sam Seaborn, Josh Lemon Lyman, and President Bartlet?

No, no you do not.

I highly recommend watching television this way.

The best way to do it is to use the Netflix app on your phone (so it’s portable), pick a show, and then either put the phone facedown on the counter or stick it in your pocket, and go about your life.

Can I just way I had no idea Alicia Florrick of the Good Wife was a brunette until season 3 or 4 when I actually sat down and watched an episode.

If you do decide to start watching television this way, be prepared for all the people around you to start hating you.

It turns out that no one else likes to watch TV this way, no one else sees this as a feat of efficiency and a stroke of genius!

People just find this annoying and weird.

So be prepared for that, but just think of all the things you can do if you are treating TV as a radio, it’s fabulous.