Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

Good morning.

This is Laura.

Welcome to the Before Breakfast Podcast.

Today's tip is that just because your partner or kids are watching TV, you don't have to

watch TV yourself.

You can spend time in other people's presence while still doing another activity, if you'd

prefer.

Watching TV is generally not the most satisfying way to spend your leisure time.

Really, there's various time use research asking people how happy they are at various

moments.

And I can promise you, you will be happier, doing creative hobbies, exercising, reading,

interacting with friends, then you will be while watching TV.

But not everyone has read that research, or cares.

And if other people in your household like to relax while watching TV, you can face

a bit of a dilemma.

You want to spend time with them, in their presence.

It's nice to sit together on the sofa.

But then you wind up spending all your leisure time watching TV, rather than doing other

activities that you might prefer.

Fortunately, this is not inevitable.

It is indeed possible to spend time in people's presence without watching TV yourself.

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