Fame, eternal glory and a month worth of vacuuming.  These things are all at stake with this year’s NCAA Tournament.  My family has formed a bracket pool by putting in $5 each and the winner takes all.  However, my sister and I have formed a sub-pool by putting a month worth of vacuuming at stake.  We usually split the chore between us, but whoever gets fewer points on their bracket must do all of the vacuuming for a month.  Intense!

The last few days of my spring break have pretty much consisted of college basketball.  Unfortunately MU lost, but there have still been a ton of exciting games and that excitement promises to continue throughout the rest of the tournament.  Because I have watched so much basketball, I realize that it can be distracting.  In fact, watching TV in general is a distracting, typically non-productive thing to do.  That is why during this first week back at school I challenge us to not watch TV all week.

This will be hard for everyone.  College basketball continues during the week, most shows have new episodes after taking a short spring break of their own and Monday is the “Pretty Little Liars” season finale.  Utilize your DVRs and remain strong.  Instead of watching TV, try some of these activities:

• spend time outdoors: Spring officially begins this week, so celebrate the nice weather by taking a walk, jogging or going to the park.
• do homework: Not that fun of an activity, I know, but how great would it feel to work ahead and not have any homework over the next weekend?
• support you Stars: The soccer and lacrosse teams have their annual Black & Gold scrimmage on Thursday afternoon.  Enjoy the beginning of the new sports season and cheer on your classmates!
• read a book: If you read every night for the amount of time you’d normally spend watching TV, you can probably finish a whole book this week!  It will be refreshing to read something that is not school-required.

There is a time and a place for TV, so watch it at a time when you do not have previous commitments like school work.  By doing this challenge you will feel accomplished and productive.  So let’s go out this week, be productive, not watch TV and conquer this challenge!