The #1 Reason You Get Bored Watching TV Shows & How to Fix It!

I’m probably the worst person to give this advice, but when investing in a movie, TV show, or even a miniseries…please be patient.

I should take this advice myself.

There were a lot of shows that I started watching… but then I stopped because I got bored.

With reading, I feel weird if I don’t finish the book.

Unless the book straight-up sucks, I’ll finish it.

And even if it does suck, I’ll take a break or finish it slowly.

But I’ll often finish it.

Lately, I’ve been closing the loops.

Those shows that I dozed off with midway through?

I’m picking them up again.

And this time around, I’m surprised by how great the shows actually were.

Why We Get Bored

Remember in school when we were the perfect students at the beginning of the year?

We took notes and everything.

This year was going to be different.

But somewhere in the middle of the year, something changed.

There was one part where we got lost.

Suddenly, the formulas no longer made sense.

That’s how TV shows work, too.

There’s a period where we’re paying attention—AKA not looking at our phones every five seconds.

Then suddenly, there’s an episode where we’re looking at our phones a lot.

Then we look up and think:

‘Who the heck is that guy?’

Nothing makes sense anymore!

The number one reason we stop paying attention to shows isn’t because of our attention span.

It’s because of our phones.

We need to watch TV shows with our phones in a different room.

They’re a huge distraction.

How I’ve Felt Watching TV Shows Without My Phone

Ever since putting my phone in a different room, I’ve been hooked on the storylines more.

You may be thinking, what’s the big deal?

I’ve talked about this before.

But I think watching TV can be a good hobby, especially if you’re a content creator.

If you’re creating any kind of content, then understanding storytelling, camera angles, lighting, narrative building, and much more is so important.

And you can’t do that if you’re on your phone.

There are days when I’m on my phone thinking:

“I’m still hearing what’s going on.”

Look, you can hear.

But if you’re not seeing and hearing, then the scene loses 95% of its meaning.

That’s the number one reason people stop paying attention to shows.

It’s because of their phones.

Another Reason People Stop Paying Attention

Another reason people stop paying attention is that the show starts off slow.

And I get it…

A lot of shows do start off slow.

Where’s the action?

The drama?

The spice?

Here’s the thing….

The show is slow for a reason.

It’s to build up the characters.

Take Breaking Bad, for example.

Everyone says that from Season 3 onward, the show was amazing, but Seasons 1 and 2 sucked.

Seasons 1 and 2 do suck when you first watch the show.

But if it’s your second time watching, suddenly, Seasons 1 and 2 plug everything into place.

Those seasons were meant to highlight Walter White’s personality shift.

Right now, I’m watching a miniseries called Sharp Objects.

At first, I thought the beginning was boring.

And it was.

However, the beginning isn’t meant to immediately grip you.

It’s meant to make you question why these random scenes are being shown.

What are these different characters’ deals?

The more you learn about that, the more the show starts making sense.

The Similarity Between TV Shows and Books

I have a philosophy:

• If I get one great idea out of a book, then the book was worth it.

It doesn’t matter if the book was 300 pages long.

Even if 299 of those pages were trash.

If one page had an idea that shifted the way I looked at things, then it was all worth it.

That’s why I finish a book all the way through.

There was one time I was reading a Dan Kennedy book.

He repeats the same concepts in all of his books.

One day, I was reading one of his books, and it was his usual spiel.

I was about to stop reading it.

Then I thought:

“Just finish it.”

Literally, in the last two chapters, he had an idea I had never heard before:

“Don’t run a product business. Run a process business.”

When I heard that, it changed the way I ran my entire business.

The comparison to TV shows is this:

• If one moment moved you, then the show or movie was worth it.

When I watched Presence, I thought most of the movie was okay.

Nothing special.

But the last scene was so amazing that it moved me.

It made the whole movie click.

And because of that, I think the movie was great.

A lot of times, you can learn what not to do.

If a movie moved you in a bad way, then it was worth it, too.

There were times I’ve watched TV shows that were boring from beginning to end.

Why, though?

When I analyzed why it was boring and articulated it, I made sure my stories didn’t have the same patterns.

Don’t just criticize something and call it a day.

Criticize it, then ask why.

You’ll become a better storyteller for it.

Finish Things All the Way Through

Confidence isn’t built from how many tasks you start.

Confidence is built from how many tasks you complete.

Likewise, it’s the same with storytelling.

You’ll become a better storyteller when you see things through.

You ride the emotional waves and continue anyways.

When you learn how to ride the different emotions:

Anger. Sadness. Boredom. Anxiety. Joy.

And more…

That’s when you become a compelling storyteller.

So be more patient with TV series and movies.

Your future stories will thank you.

And your future readers and watchers will thank you, too.

For more insights into storytelling, check out the Art & Science of Storytelling book

✨Ebook

✨Paperback/Kindle

✨Audiobook

– ArmaniTalks 🎙️🔥