Stop Feeling Guilty About Binge-Watching TV. Here Is Why It Is Good for Leaders.
Do you ever feel guilty about watching TV? Like you should be reading a book instead, or working on that project, or doing literally anything more productive? Many hardworking executives carry this quiet shame about unwinding with a show — as if rest needs to be optimised too.
I was at a dinner recently with a group of finance professionals. One of them mentioned in a slightly superior tone that he does not even have a TV at home. I just do not understand how people find the time, he said. I asked what he does instead. Read, he said, as if that settled it. I did not respond further — mostly because I was going home to watch Travelers on Netflix with my flatmate. We had just finished Severance and Adolescence.
But here is what I noticed. These stories did not stop when the screen went off. We talked about them while washing dishes, walking the dog, gardening. The characters, the moral dilemmas, the tension in the plot. They stayed with us. Turns out that is not such a bad thing.
A study from the University of Georgia found that people who binge-watch shows are more likely to remember the stories and continue engaging with them through daydreams, conversations and reflection. It is not passive consumption. It is active processing. The lead researcher put it this way: humans are storytelling creatures. Stories help us satisfy motivations for connection, autonomy, confidence and safety.
When you binge a series, you are not just zoning out. You are building mental worlds. You are following complex plot threads, connecting with characters who help you process emotions you might not have words for. And for high performers who spend all day solving problems and managing people, that kind of emotional outlet matters.
Books do this too. But TV shows, especially long-form layered ones, stick in memory differently. They give your brain something to chew on long after the credits roll.
So here is the reframe. Stop treating TV as a guilty pleasure. Start treating it as narrative therapy. Watch whatever grips you. Then — and this is the key — talk about it. With your partner, your friends, your team. The real value is not in just watching. It is in the reflection and processing that follow.
High performers do not need to optimise rest. They need permission to decompress. If a well-told story helps you do that, that is not lazy. That is smart.
