Reclaiming Your Leisure Time: The Power of Curating Your Personal Watch List

In a world dominated by streaming algorithms, it is all too easy to fall into the trap of passive consumption. In a recent episode of Before Breakfast, host Laura Vanderkam highlights a simple yet transformative strategy for improving our evening hours: curating your own Netflix queue or personal watch list. By shifting from mindless browsing to intentional selection, we can turn our screen time from a default habit into a genuinely enjoyable experience.

The Problem with Algorithmic Consumption

Many of us reach the end of a long workday feeling exhausted. As Vanderkam notes, "so many people are tired at the end of the day and write off this time." In this state of fatigue, we often collapse onto the couch and let streaming services dictate our viewing choices. We default to whatever is in the "current top 10" or whatever the platform’s algorithm assumes we might like.

However, Vanderkam argues that this approach often leads to "zoning out in front of the screen." When we allow platforms to determine our entertainment, we lose the opportunity to engage with content that truly enriches our downtime. By failing to exercise "intentionality," we miss out on the potential for our evenings to be "one of the most enjoyable times of the day."

The Benefits of a Curated Queue

Drawing inspiration from a participant in her "evening hours challenge," Vanderkam suggests that creating a dedicated watch list allows viewers to "consciously work through things" they genuinely enjoy. This practice echoes the early days of Netflix, where users built a physical queue of DVDs. As Vanderkam points out, "a lot of people enjoyed making the queue as much as watching the movies."

Revisiting this habit of curation provides several key benefits:

• Active Engagement: Instead of being a passive recipient of content, you become an active participant in your leisure time. You move from watching whatever is fed to you to watching shows and movies you are "anticipating."
• Personalized Discovery: By curating based on "recommendations from friends, reviews you've read, best of movie and TV show lists, Oscar and Emmy winners, and movies or shows with your favorite actors or directors," you ensure that your viewing time is spent on high-quality content that aligns with your personal tastes.
• Social Connection: If you maintain your list outside of the streaming platform—perhaps in a planner or a digital document—you can "keep track of who recommended each movie or show." This enables you to follow up with friends, creating a shared experience where you can "compare thoughts" after watching.

Practical Steps to Mindful Viewing

To begin curating your own media experience, Vanderkam offers two practical paths:

1. Utilize Platform Features: The next time you feel the urge to "mindlessly turn on the TV," log into your streaming service and utilize their built-in list features to save titles you truly care about.
2. Create an External List: For those who want more control, try maintaining a list elsewhere. Vanderkam suggests treating it like a "list of 100 movie dreams" kept in a planner or on your phone. This approach helps you maintain a long-term view of your entertainment goals rather than getting lost in the immediate, fleeting options presented by an app's homepage.

Conclusion: Making Screen Time Special

Ultimately, the goal of this strategy is not to stop watching television, but to make our screen time feel "more special and fun." By applying a small amount of intentionality to our evening hours, we can ensure that our downtime is restorative and aligned with our interests. As Laura Vanderkam reminds us, we should not let streaming services dictate our leisure; instead, we should take the lead in identifying the stories and performances that we truly want to see.