One day last week, I felt it was time to go back to watching some news. It wasn’t a feeling of having to go back right then, just a feeling it was time and I’d start back on Monday, today.
For the time being, I’m only going to devote an hour a day to watching news on the television. I’ll still, as I’ve been doing the past month-ish, get my news via Twitter or web searches. I’m not ready to go back to having the news on in the background all day yet. In fact, I’m pretty sure that will not be my routine anymore.
The past month has been more productive, and more relaxing. I’m not sure if I am aware of everything going on in the world, and our country, as I was before—one can only get so much on Twitter. Maybe that is okay.
As long as I stay up on the things I care about, do I need to know every thing going on. If I keep to just an hour a day for the long-term, I’ll still get enough of a synopsis for the day to conduct further searches if a story warrants it. Plus, there are plenty of blogs and books to reference for deeper dives into an issue.
What I’m trying to decide is which news show do I watch as there are two that I really like. These two speak to me as the anchors don’t beat around the bush, cover more than just the surface of an issue, and I trust them to give me the straight up. Each are hard hitting in their own ways, and have made me think and reflect on issues based on new information they’ve provided.
Who knows, maybe in a month or so, I’ll be okay with watching both of them. I can use the hour between their respective shows to read, write, or just chill on our back patio and watch the garden grow.
The flip side is, maybe after watching the news for a few nights in a row, I’ll decide doing so is no longer for me. I just might find Twitter, blogs, and my own searches and the stories I find to be more worthwhile, and a better use of my time.
I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 