Step One: Scheduling an Analog Week

Eliminating random consumption

Back in the Analog Era, TV shows appeared once a week, at a certain time, on a certain network. If you missed the latest episode, you had to wait until summer re-runs to catch up. Everything was Appointment Television.

Movies? You had to go see them in the theaters when they came to town. Sometimes their run was only one week. Maybe they might re-appear at the drive in or on a double bill later, but otherwise you had to wait until they popped up on network television several years later, in an edited form.

The effect of this scarcity created anticipation. I remember living in a small town in 1975, waiting for Jaws to arrive. I had read the paperback the year before, like millions of others and by the time it arrived in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, it was a national phenomena. This was the era of slow releases, movies spreading out from major cities to small town America over the course of weeks, and often, months. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed when I finally caught it.

You also experienced the joy of discovery. I would habitually go to see any horror or science fiction movie that came to town. You didn't have the nerd media infrastructure you have today, except for Famous Monsters of Filmland, so you usually didn't have advance notice of something special. You just played movie roulette, which about 50% of the time meant you watched a bad movie. (The Thing with Two Heads, ugh) But you could also be surprised by something exciting and new. (Black Christmas, Silent Running, Fantastic Planet)

Anticipation also existed in television. You had to wait week to week for your favorite show's latest episode. When Monty Python's Flying Circus dropped a new episode on PBS, wow, did that become the high point of my week. Building weekly interest is such a powerful marketing tool that premiere streaming shows still use it; Sunday night at 9 pm Eastern remains the golden hour.

The Streaming Era has created abundance, eliminating scarcity for the most part. Have you ever sat down to watch some TV and been overwhelmed by the choices available? Just endlessly scrolling, unsure of what to watch? Have you gotten tired of binge watching TV shows? I binged Homicide: Life on the Streets recently, and as good as that show is, I got tired of it after a while and stopped. Also, did you know that The Hallmark Channel is making 47 new Christmas movies this year? That is absurd.

I believe that consuming too much of this content is not healthy. It's great to have so many movies and old TV shows available to enjoy, but the temptation to mass consume can push out too much of the rest of life. For that reason, I decided to schedule my consumption to make time for healthier pursuits and limit my intake.

To clarify: for this project I am not trying to replicate the experience and technology of the Analog Age, I am trying to restore the values and positive benefits of the Analog Age.

So yes, my TV and Movie choices will be delivered via digital streaming. This isn't about delivery, it's about curating your life and creating a background for future work.

Here is my new, tentative evening schedule:

Monday and Tuesday are quiet nights taken up with reading and listening to music. (More on the music part in a later post) Wednesday and Thursday replicate the TV nights of my youth, with three hours of genre fare.

Here's what I will be watching to start out:

WEDNESDAY

• Yellowstone

• Rockford Files

• Alfred Hitchcock Hour

THURSDAY

• Wallander

• Whitechapel

• Law and Order, Season 24

And the weekend is made for movies. I'm going to try and program double bills, for instance, my first weekend I am having a friend over to watch Late Night with the Devil and Friday the Thirteenth, Part Five. One good horror movie to savor, then a bad one to make fun of after we've had a few beers.

This will limit my weekly movie consumption to between three and six, forcing me to be more particular while allowing for some adventurousness.

Why enforce these limits?

Right now, I'm gorging on two to four hours of television every night. That is not healthy. I try to read in bed before falling asleep but there are too many nights where I just zonk out right away. I'm going to talk about the importance of reading versus viewing in the future, but I am sure that replacing hours of passive watching with engaged reading will improve my mental muscles. Being choosy about what I consume should enrich me rather than satiate me.

I'm going to give this at least six weeks before passing any judgments. I might drop a TV show and replace it; consider that changing the channel. I may post an update along the way if I find any surprises but will definitely provide an assessment at around that six week point.

Does this sound tempting to you? Are there ways you can structure your watching habits to a more healthy level? If you do, let me know how.