Quit wasting time… or why binge watching Glee helped me break-up with Netflix

Binge watching Glee over the December holidays helped me break-up with Netflix.

Ok, like not really break-up, more like take a break – like Ross and Rachel.

Here’s the thing, I’m going to get really personal about my TV watching habits, and you are likely to judge me by the shows I watch and the amount of time I spend there. It’s cool, because we can be like that with each other, right? Are we there yet? Let’s just pretend anyway.

It was a snowy day, and while I was supposed to be working on my 2016 social media plans, and eCourse content, and novel writing, and everything else that I had piled on my to-do list, I realized that I had reached the most recent episode of Supernatural. It had become my latest Netflix obsession, and before I could allow myself to go into Sam and Dean withdrawal I needed to come up with the next show, quick. But it was Christmas hiatus for new shows on regular TV, so I scanned my Netflix options and found Glee. Now in honesty I did watch Glee when it was on, but lost track of it after the third season, and decided now is the time to conquer Glee.

And so I started, at the beginning. And the first three seasons were just like I remembered them, full of life lessons, ridiculous plot lines featuring violent cheer-leaders and bad lip syncing to incredible vocal talent. I loved every minute!

And then came season four and the introduction of new Gleesters and repeated storylines, but I stuck it out, because in honesty I wanted to watch the tribute episode to Finn/Cory Monteith. Alas I made it to Season 5 Episode 3 – “The Quarterback.” It was well done, I cried – I mean after days of doing nothing but watching Glee these people were my family, I was invested. And then I moved on to the next episode and started to feel a little hollow. What was I doing? I wasn’t even enjoying this anymore, I was powering through because I had a need for completion.

That need for completion, like finishing all your dinner or you don’t get dessert, or write this university paper before you buy another pair of shoes has been ingrained in me, in many of us. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, until it starts to spill into time wasting and obesity. And so, it was finally on the fifth episode of the fifth season of Glee that I decided I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t waste my time watching every episode waiting for them to get better, just so I could finish the series. I couldn’t waste my time powering through a book that I didn’t like, just to say that I read it.

And thus, my first resolution was born for 2016, three days into the New Year. I will no longer spend time on things just to see them through to completion, especially when the only person it impacts is me – in that I’ve wasted all that time.

This is relevant in business too. If I’ve made a strategy or plan for my business, and as I’m rolling it out, or as it is progressing through various stages I learn, intuit, or decide that the strategy isn’t working, or isn’t right for my business or my clients, it makes no sense to waste time, energy, and resources on that strategy. This doesn’t give you an excuse to change your mind every time something starts to go awry. It gives you an excuse to assess and determine whether you are going in the right direction and whether changes need to be made.

So take a moment, think about the things in your life and business that you are doing just to get them done and ask yourself:

• Is it crucial?
• Who am I impacting if I don’t complete? In what way?
• How is following this through to completion going to serve me? Others?
• Why is it important?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments. What are those time wasters in your life and how are you letting them go? What is your Glee?

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