While working remotely, no one is watching. Stealthily, remote workers can add in non-work activities – watching TV is one of them. But does TV time affect productivity? Should we embrace TV time or cut it out completely to transform our remote working efficiencies?
Watching TV while working remotely can benefit you: It relieves stress, lifts mood, and gives your brain a break. But watching TV in an ill-disciplined way can disrupt your concentration and emotions, sap away your time, and result in longer work hours.
TV can be a smart mode of multitasking if we add it into our workday – whether in between work tasks or during mundane tasks.
Since we talk a lot about living in a flexible and location-independent fashion, in reality, the distractions of TV extend beyond our homes.
Outdoor environments are difficult to control and can even be hard to predict.
Sometimes we get distracted in noisy coffee shops and airports, in environments that are too warm or too cold, or when our lower back aches from sitting too long. And the distractions of TV and entertainment on our phones become a convenient escape.
Let’s dive more into how to manage the distractions of TV, and even using TV to our advantage.
Is watching TV while working remotely a good idea?
Since the rise of remote work in 2020, more and more people are using TV as a source of entertainment during the workday.
On average, employees working from home watch 5 hours of TV weekly, during work hours.
The physical distance of remote work has created a new opportunity for flexibility that cannot be stopped. Leisure and recreational hours are hard to police, as micro-managing and controlling bosses can no longer stop employees who choose to watch TV on their phones and personal laptops.
Here’s a summarized list of the benefits of watching TV while working remotely:
- Reduction of boredom
- Stress relief
- Lifting of mood and energy
- Better productivity helped by background noise
- Replenishment of brain power using TV breaks
- Efficient multitasking while watching TV
But TV time, amongst other leisure activities, is a double-edged sword. We need to be tactical about managing its pitfalls.
How to be productive while watching TV
So before we talk about the don’ts, let’s entertain the do’s – what types of work can you tackle efficiently while watching TV?
How should you use TV to multitask and how can you remain productive while watching TV?
Watching TV while working entails splitting your attention, so you should do so by tackling less mission-critical and less cognitively demanding tasks. In that way, you can multitask without compromising your overall productivity.
Of course, there will only be an overall net benefit if your mode of TV is somewhat educational or improves your quality of life in some way.
In fact, your mode of “watching” TV should entail more listening and less watching.
If you have to watch, you only have a set of eyes – you will be pausing either the video or your tasks for the other. It is going to be distracting, unless we are talking about a short 5-10mins TV break.
It is better to just listen and be entertained. Multiple things on your screen results in visual clutter and excess stimuli. Thus by listening, you can afford to not see the video. Switch to podcasts for entertainment or education if possible.
Personally, I sometimes keep a YouTube video or podcast playing in the background, and just tune it out when I really need to focus on my task. It is non-intrusive and not a big deal.
Here are some ways to consume TV while working at the same time.
Related: Multitasking Hacks: Improve Your Work from Home Experience
Watch TV on a separate device from your main
Watching TV – or doing anything leisure – on your main device can clutter up your screen. Not only would you see those extra tabs and applications, but you will also be more tempted to access them while working. That is a bad idea.
What separate device should you use? Any apart from your main work devices.
If you are using two screens for work (e.g. one laptop and one monitor), then you should set aside your phone, portable monitor, or smart TV for consuming podcasts/videos.
Additionally, if you are an employee, you do not want to risk getting caught watching TV on your company-issued laptop.
Watch TV while doing easy or mundane work
During the workday, consuming TV is almost harmless when you are working on tasks that require little brainpower.
Examples of such tasks include emails, organizing and sorting work tasks, data entry, responding to team chats, and so on.
Thus, consuming TV during these mundane tasks may not set you back, and may help with mood and stress relief.
Use TV to provide background noise
Some people focus best while working in a silent room, while others do best with some sort of white noise or background noise.
Studies show that music and background noise can offer benefits such as better cognitive performance, concentration, energy levels, and mood.
Sometimes you might prefer TV to music, white noise, or silence. Maybe you are not doing super serious work, or you are just using TV to get into the mood and rhythm of productive work.
Watch TV while getting a workout done
Whether you are watching educational or entertainment content, you could do simple yoga stretches or basic lifts with dumbbells and barbells. You might even get a short cardio workout done.
When you work from home and can afford to purchase a bench and some weights (such as an adjustable dumbbell or barbell set with clips), this could make a significant difference in your health, fitness, and time management.
Use TV noise to shut out other distracting noises
When working beyond your home, in noisy environments, the sounds generated by TV content can come in handy.
Plug in your earpiece. Use TV content from your phone to shut out other distracting sounds in public places, such as cafes and coffee shops.
This article was originally published on unboundist.com. If it is now published on any other site, it was done without permission from the copyright owner.
Underused techniques to avoid the pitfalls of TV
Frankly, the risks of consuming TV outweigh the rewards, as there are so many pieces of stimulating, emotionally distracting content that are easily accessible in the digital age.
Eliminate TV if hooked to certain shows
When it comes to TV, have you found yourself getting emotionally hooked into a storyline when you did not intend to, spending the next few hours fighting the urge to watch the next episode of a series?
Yes, we all have.
Habitually consuming certain shows, during certain times of the day, can send you into a downward spiral if you are not careful.
If you find yourself hooked to TV, identify these crutches and ruthlessly eliminate them.
Use TV as a clever reward
One way to boost productivity, especially on a difficult day, is to arrange your workday with mini work sprints and mini rewards.
That means that when you work, you could:
- Set a timer — that timer could be 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes. Then, shut down your email, close your browser tabs, and silence your phone. You want no distractions. Focus on getting work done during this period.
- When the timer sounds, you have the choice of allowing yourself to watch TV should you choose to. ‘Reward’ yourself if you like.
- When you watch TV, set another timer (5-15 minutes depending on you), and switch the TV off when it is time to work.
- Repeat the process by setting another timer for working.
With this mental trick, you may sometimes choose not to watch TV and instead ride the momentum of work, which is perfectly fine. Either way, you would have successfully worked for a set amount of time.
Close entertainment tabs once you’re done
Do not get lazy after you finish a leisure activity. If you do not close your tabs, windows and applications after you are done, that leaves you room to be distracted by hopping back on to consume more entertainment content. Leave yourself no room for that.
Furthermore, a cluttered screen provides distracting visual stimuli that harms your productivity.
Multiple programs left running could also slow down your computer.
Stick to short, uplifting films
If you have to watch or even listen to a movie playing in the background while you work, be cautious.
The film/video should not be too captivating to you. Otherwise the emotional hook might lead you to chase the next episode.
It should not cause any negative emotions. Negative emotions disrupt your mental state, focus, and ultimately the quality of your work.
A good rule of thumb – if you have to watch something – is to stick to short films or videos that are uplifting.
Only positive, uplifting, or motivating emotions are welcome. Thus comedies or watching comedians might be fine. Even YouTube videos that are mind-numbing and provide stupid entertainment might work well to give your brain a positive break.
Substitute TV with white noise (or lower the volume)
If TV is too distracting but you want some background noise, first try lowering your TV volume so that it is hard to hear words audibly.
If it is still distracting, substitute it with white noise.
You can easily find a white noise playlist on YouTube. There are even white noise sound machines available to buy on Amazon. The fan in your room provides white noise and so does the sound of rain.
Fix the root cause of your distraction
Sometimes you are distracted and turn to TV because of external factors.
Your environmental factors may be contributing to this, especially if you are working outside – at a coffee shop, during a business trip, etc.
Thus you have to fix the root causes. Here are some examples:
- Noisy environments: Use noise-canceling headphones!
- Environments that are too cold: Always have a jacket ready with you and hot/warm water in a thermos bottle.
- Environments that are too warm: Use a portable fan or avoid them entirely.
- Bad chair or ergonomics: Anticipate this if it is not your first time at the spot, so that you can bring along a portable ergonomic tool that can solve your pain.
There are many more distracting factors but you get the point.
Solve the root cause of your distraction rather than trying to take away TV time itself.