Over the summer I developed an addiction, and an unhealthy one at that. This particular form of addiction is one that I would bet most people our age face. In my case, this addiction was a colossal waste of time and productive energy. That’s right, I’m talking about Netflix addiction. In my particular case, I became addicted to Gilmore Girls.
Throughout the summer, if I wasn’t working, I was watching Gilmore Girls. My obsession became so bad that I would leave Gilmore Girls to spend time with friends only to ask those same friends if they would watch the show with me.
When I moved back to school, I realized that I would have to give up my precious time with Gilmore Girls in order to lead a productive life once again. I also realized that this was not going to be the easiest feat. To make matters worse, my roommate was facing the exact same issue. We, by coincidence, were in the exact same spot in the series and were excited to live together because it meant that we could co-watch until we finished the show.
This being said, we both lead very busy lives at school and between multiple extracurricular activities, classes, taking care of our puppy and homework, we barely have time to breathe let alone spend 43 glorious minutes in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
Overwhelmed with all that was going on in our lives and desperately missing our Netflix escape, my roommate and I sat down and had a talk. We agreed that on nights when we felt like we really needed it, we would schedule in one or two episode viewings of Gilmore Girls, just as we would schedule in time to do our homework or go to a meeting.
Surprisingly, this worked better than I had imagined. With the promise of being able to relax and watch Netflix at night, I was the most productive I have been in a really long time. I spent less time checking social media sites throughout the day, I didn’t just lie around my house for no reason and, most importantly, I got my homework done with more than enough time to spare for Gilmore Girls.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, however, this productivity has carried into days that are Gilmore Girls free, allowing my roommate and I to go to bed earlier than we usually would, getting some much-needed extra sleep. We transferred this extra sleep into fewer daytime naps, which, in turn, allowed for more productive time.
Scheduling time for destressing is important for all of us. Destressing doesn’t have to mean watching Netflix. Relaxing could mean working out, reading for pleasure, working on an art project or even taking a nap. I highly recommend that all students schedule in time to destress.
If you do, you’ll find that, little by little, your stress levels will decrease and your motivation to get things done will grow significantly.
Most of all, taking time out is something, even if it is a small something, to look forward to. The importance of having a tiny light at the end of the tunnel keeps us motivated.
So even though my summer television habits were without a doubt unhealthy, they developed into an incredibly constructive incentive for this school year. My roommate and I will without a doubt still have late nights full of studying and we will surely still have days that are so busy they won’t allow for Netflix time.
Those few days where careful planning works its magic however, greatly outweigh the stressful, procrastination-filled alternatives. I hope that you can find your Gilmore Girls, and that whatever stress relief you choose motivates you to become not only more productive, but happier as a whole.
Claire Smrekar, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at CSmrekar19@wooster.edu.