Every night, NBC airs nearly four hours of the Olympic games. You know what’s going to be shown that night — maybe swimming and gymnastics, for instance — but you don’t know when. Bob Costas drifts in and out of your living room as he transitions back and froth from one sport to another with no pre-announced schedule. If there’s an event you particularly don’t want to miss, you may find that you need to keep your T.V. on for the entirety of those four annoyingly unpredictable hours. Ugh!
Even during non-Olympic season, there are plenty of times that you may find yourself only sort of watching T.V. You’ve got some downtime during commercials, your show briefly explores an uninteresting subplot, or your favorite team halts play during a time out or play review.
If you’re not choosing to invest fully in what’s airing on your T.V., you’ve got a grand opportunity to carve out some pockets of productivity. Here are 35 ideas for things you can accomplish with one eye on your task and one on the T.V.:
