[tapp]

> To this day, TV just absorbs me, I just can't stop watching.

Same here. Having grown up without much TV, I find it absolutely hypnotic when it's on, which is why keeping it off is critical to my productivity.

My not owning a TV isn't some form of elitism; I don't keep a TV in the house for the same reason a recovering alcoholic doesn't keep liquor in the house - I can't trust myself with it 24/7.

My question is - how do you maintain this discipline in the age of internet video on demand? As PG put it in his essay on distraction, I often feel like sometime in the last few years someone snuck in and put a TV on my desk.

I work from home much of the time, and that requires a fast, always-on internet connection. I've been reasonably successful at keeping my bad habits in check to date, but the temptation alone is a regular distraction.

I'd be very interested to hear how others deal with this.

[brandall10]

I do the Pomodoro technique when focus is crucial... it's surprisingly effective. Something interesting happens when you have permissible but cleanly defined segments of time to goof off.

[alrs]

This is exactly my answer to why I don't watch TV. "It's not because I am good, it is because I am a filthy addict who can't handle it."