Binge watching, we all do it and while there is no right or wrong way to do this every show or series requires a specific binge agenda. It also depends on the individual and their needs, while some can go hours without any outside contact, food, water, and other essentials, that is not the case for everyone. After much thought and practice, I have come up with a guide to binge watching that fits the many needs an individual may have and more importantly fits the show or series.
The first thing you are going to want to get settled is what show or series will be binged watched. This is a crucial piece of information because it will ultimately set the tone for what is to come. If it is a show that is anything over 5 seasons, each with more than 10 episode an hour long will require a significantly different process than a show or series under 4 seasons.
Now for the shows or series that are extremely time-consuming you are going to want to set a goal end date. So if you are a college and you want to finish before finals week and you have 5 weeks, that gives you a longer period to relax and live a normal life while you binge. However, if you only have two weeks before finals, or you are on a break and only have two weeks, you are going to need to get used to the idea that you will not be seeing sunlight until the end of your binge.
If you are asking yourself whether or not it is even possible or not to binge watch a show or series in 2 weeks if it is 7seasons long, each with 10 plus episodes all an hour long, let me tell you yes it is possible, I have done it twice, you just have to be committed to it. The trick to being able to do this is establishing the backstory of the show, this normally is set up in the first 2 to 3 seasons after that it is easy to get a lay down of what is to come, the plot becomes somewhat predictable. When you reach this point of predictability you have 2 choices, first you continue to watch the entire episode even though you know exactly what is going to happen, or you could start skipping the parts that just seem redundant, this reduces an hour long episode to 30 minutes and you miss nothing essential. Here is how you know what to skip, after season 3 you know the characters, to a certain point on a personal level, and there are some characters that you will not like and that have lengthy scenes you don not mind missing if you skip ahead and has no impact on the big picture that is the end result of the season.
Keep in mind that the above plan is for the individual that does not mind being separated from humanity for 2 weeks straight except for the occasional outing to restock on supply and to let people know you are alive. It is time-consuming but depending on the show or series it will be worth it, and it lets you squeeze in a lot in the short amount of time you have to binge watch.
Now the majority of individuals prefer the binge watching over a long period of time. This can extend anywhere between 1 to 6 months, you may also be watching more that 1 show or series. If that is the case the trick is to be consistent, for example, if you are watching a long show or series with a short show or series alternate days. Meaning watch the longer one on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the other shorter show on Tuesday and Thursday leaving your weekend free to go out or watch movies.
How do you know which type of binge watcher you are, try each method once and see how it goes. If you like it great go with it, if not well now you know. Each method can be applied to every type of show or series you just have to pick a show and go from there. Happy binge watching!
