Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of IHeart Radio.

Good morning. This is Laura.

Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Today's tip is that if you are going to watch TV, you can make this time more satisfying by turning screen time into a party.

Today's tip, like some other recent ones, comes from Sarah Hart Unger, my co-host on The Best of Both Worlds podcast.

She mentioned that a recent highlight in her life had been watching the dance moms season finale with her family.

They knew it was coming up. They all planned to be together to watch it. They gathered with special snacks, and they enjoyed the experience together.

In other words, they turned TV time into a party. I love this idea.

Contrary to what you might assume, I am not totally anti-TV. I don't watch myself other than the

occasional sports game, but I know that there is a lot of excellent TV on offer these days.

The key to making TV time feel more like a treat, rather than a waste of time, is to be intentional about watching it. Consciously

enjoying screen time with other people is a great way to do that. So think about how you might lean into TV as a shared experience.

Maybe you and your family all like a particular show. Maybe it's one that's been out for a while,

or maybe it's a new one coming up. Maybe you and your friends all generally enjoy some major

cultural experience like the Super Bowl, the Oscars,

or the weekend games of one of your local sports teams. Maybe you all like movie adaptations

of Jane Austen books or any show with Benedict Cumberbatch. Think about what is truly

must-see TV for you. Then, once you have figured out what you enjoy most, figure out when you're going to watch it collectively.

For certain live events like the Academy Awards, that's easy to do.

But these days, a lot of stuff can be watched whenever.

The problem with that is that people don't think about it ahead of time, so they don't get

the benefit of anticipation. So, think about it. Put a specific time on your calendar and make sure

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