We Cancelled Our Streaming

My wife and I cancelled all of our streaming services - including Spotify - and it was the best decision we could’ve made.

It wasn't a money issue. It saved us maybe $30/month. I've gotten pretty good at getting streaming for cheap (plus, Hulu's Black Friday deal is pretty incredible).

What we were paying a premium for is time we'll never get back. Fewer hours spent together and with friends and family.

According to Nielsen, "on average, the typical adult spends more than 10 hours each day with media, with about half dedicated to TV content."

We'd been talking about it for probably months, but I one day woke up and decided to pull the plug on all of it. I couldn't be happier looking back on that decision.

I paired this with apps like Freedom that allowed me to remove all the distractions from my computer and the Brick that removed distractions from my phone. Putting the phone in grayscale really helped as well.

As a business owner - and someone who spent years as a freelancer - I have enough noise and things that want my attention (and a baby due in a few months who probably will also make noise and want attention).

Not only has this improved my focus when I'm working, it also allows more space to be present with my family.

This isn't to demonize media. We still watch movies in theaters on occasion, and we've got plenty of DVDs. There's just enough friction in physical media, though, to prevent the level of addiction that streaming and YouTube can create.

Anyone else tried this? I know there are some things we're missing out on, but the pros just outweigh the cons every time.

Thanks for reading,

Joe