I don’t know about you but, things in our house are starting to heat up!  Calendars are filling up with places to be and people to see and leisure time is fading into the wind.  In the midst of all this busy time, I need to find ways to relax.  So I turn to my guilty pleasure, television.

One of my stress relieving tactics is catching up on a good show or watching a movie.  There is nothing like diving into the storylines of Harvey from Suits or Olivia Pope from Scandal to escape.  Wanting to catch a good show is one thing, but having the time to do it is something else.

Whether it is Pitch, the new Fox show, Queen Sugar, the new OWN show, or countless of other favorites returning, I’m excited about the shows on television, I just don’t have time to watch them.

With my crazy schedule and my long days catching my shows live is just not realistic. After years of missing out and falling asleep right before the most crucial scene I’ve learned how to use the tools I have to make life easier.

Here are a few tips I use to make life easier.

1. Don’t leave things to chance.   When I start to see previews for shows I want to watch I schedule them right away.  I stop what I am doing to search for the show I want to see, I don’t assume I am going to remember I do it now.  (This is how I schedule on the go check out the link here)
2. Create your own schedule, on your own time.  Scandal Thursday is often Scandal Friday or Scandal Saturday afternoon in my house, because I have to watch things when I have time.  You are not relegated to when things come on you can put together your own schedule.  I use my DVR to tape programs I want to see and if it takes me a year to watch them  I know they are there whenever I am ready.  My Fios DVR has over 200 hours so I have lots of space and that means I have lots of options.  
3. Work your service.  My DVR has 200 hours of recording time and I am not ashamed to say that I have things on there that I recorded at Christmas.  Because I use my DVR as a tool,  it can creep up to 75-80% pretty easily so knowing what I don’t have to tape saves valuable DVR space. 
4.   Pay attention. If you have a favorite show or you want to catch one of the new shows everyone is talking about before the new season starts look for marathons. It’s a great way to binge watch or catch up on your favorite show without filing up your DVR.  Sometimes it takes time for new shows to show up on demand so pay attention and keep looking at what is out there.
5. Don’t Feel Guilty.  You live a busy life and seeing shows live may not work for you that doesn’t mean that you have to miss out.  My DVR is full of things I want to see and things that may not come on again.  Instead of missing them, I can watch them when I want and I can watch them over and over again.  The shows and movies I watch on my DVR don’t have a time frame, I don’t have to watch them by Friday, next month or even next year, with this kind of freedom I can enjoy my downtime on my own terms.

If you are busy and want to catch up on some of your favorite shows you may want to try these tips as well.  My Verizon Fios service includes 200 hours of DVR recording space, which makes recording shows and movies that I don’t have time to watch live possible.  If you like the idea of having that kind of freedom, check out the Verizon site for great specials