Why Watching HGTV Is Perilous To Your Productivity
Posted on November 11, 2011 by LJ Earnest
Categories: Productivity
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It used to be that when I had the television on, I would inevitably end up watching Home and Garden Television (HGTV). Full of decorating, gardening and home advice, the commercials were not aimed at children, and the information seemed useful.
That was, until the day I realized it was having an adverse affect on me.
HGTV presents houses in perfect order with no clutter, and perfect decorations. You get home renovations that miraculously take shape in 30 minutes. You get decorating ideas that come together simply and quickly in 30 minutes. Everything is neatly packaged in 30 minutes.
Why this is dangerous is we start thinking, “I could do that.” Maybe not in 30 minutes, but it isn’t that hard, right? Because the pros can do it so quickly and effortlessly. I’ve heard hosts say that an entire project could be done in a weekend.
So we start thinking we could have the results from the show. We can see those very things in our own living space. It’s just a quick project, right? One weekend?
What we don’t see is all the hard work behind the scenes. All the other people involved in making that result happen. All the delays and mishaps and mistakes. The staff builders and the shoppers and the cleaners. All professionals, all contributing to the results.
So it leads to unrealistic expectations. We grossly underestimate the effort involved in something that we decided to do on a whim, and it completely sinks all the other projects we have been working on.
Have you ever been submarined by a project that looked easy? Share below.
Photo by gardener41
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Comments (1)
It looked so easy in Mother Earth News…. so we tried to build our own Cordwood house. While we lived in it. Despite that the articles had at least a dozen people working on their houses and mostly it was done by just two of us and the occasional friend who stopped by.
It took decades and we lived with no closets, sheet rock, siding, with plywood for floors to name just a few. Finally had to have a contractor come in and finish it all. Thank goodness: it’s a beautiful and unique house now… and just needs normal work and repair.
It was a great source of frustration and depression living in that house all those years and I highly recommend that unless you are very skilled and know what you’re doing you don’t fall for how easy DIY magazines and shows make it look.
If you want the experience then find a professional that will help you work along side them.
Or start small. Very very small. Like… make a bird house.