My partner got mad at my show habit and it actually helped
He pointed out I was just staring at my phone during the last three episodes of 'The Bear' and missing everything. I felt bad because he was right, I was just scrolling. So I made a new rule: no phones during the first watch of any episode. It sounds simple, but it made a huge difference. I'm actually following the plot now. Does anyone else have rules to help them pay attention?
Background noise while you decompress" - that's exactly the problem. You're not decompressing, you're distracting yourself from fully relaxing. Real decompression means letting your brain actually REST, not splitting it between half a show and half your thoughts. Phones wreck focus for a REASON, and that same logic applies to treating shows as background. Studies prove multitasking with media just makes you feel more tired in the long run. Jenny's rule might seem strict, but it forces you to actually ENGAGE or not watch at all.