According to Tom’s Guide, a writer stuck in a streaming scroll rut used ChatGPT to build a personalized, seven-day rotating TV schedule. The process started with a prompt listing interests like pro wrestling, crime documentaries, and sitcoms. ChatGPT generated a detailed grid with time blocks from 10:30 AM to 11:00 PM, assigning specific genres like “Sitcom Comfort” and “Prestige TV” to each slot. It even integrated the user’s sleep schedule, mandating a “screens off” period by 11:00 PM and banning intense “twisty” shows after 8:30 PM. The final schedule included specific show recommendations for each day, mixing classics like “The Wire” with new discoveries, and successfully ended the writer’s habit of endless browsing.
The unexpected charm of AI curation
Here’s the thing: this is a genuinely clever use case for a general-purpose AI. It’s not writing a term paper or a press release. It’s solving a modern, first-world problem that’s surprisingly universal—the paradox of choice. You have everything to watch, so you watch nothing. The charm isn’t just in the recommendations, which are admittedly surface-level. It’s in the structure. By imposing an arbitrary, AI-generated regimen, it removes the decision fatigue. You’re not choosing a show; you’re following the schedule. It’s like having a super-nerdy, slightly overbearing friend who really wants you to watch “Fargo” on Wednesdays. And honestly, for a lot of us, that’s more guidance than we had before.
The sleep hack is the real win
But the most interesting part isn’t the TV picks. It’s the sleep optimization. The AI remembered a previous conversation about sleep hygiene and applied it here with almost comical specificity. “No prestige TV, no wrestling, and no Rick and Morty (it WILL ruin you)” is a fantastically human-like bit of advice from a machine. It highlights a potential strength for these tools: acting as a consistent, personalized system manager. It’s not just saying “wind down earlier.” It’s creating enforceable rules based on your own stated habits. Willpower is finite. Having an external, pseudo-authoritative schedule that says “crime docs = daytime only” somehow makes it easier to follow. That’s the real hack.
The inevitable burnout question
So, does this scale? Or is it a novelty that wears off in two weeks? I think the latter is a real risk. The joy of discovery here is still passive. You’re getting a list, not a deep understanding of *why* these shows fit together beyond genre tags. What happens when you finish “The Wire”? Does the AI just suggest “The Sopranos” because it’s the next drama on the IMDb Top 250? The initial surprise and structure are great, but the long-term value depends on the AI’s ability to learn from your reactions, which ChatGPT, in its current form, doesn’t really do across sessions unless you painstakingly tell it. It’s a brilliant first draft of a solution, but maintaining it might start to feel like homework.
A glimpse of a scheduled future
Look, this experiment is basically a quirky prototype for how we might delegate mental load. We already use algorithms for music and news discovery. Why not for our leisure time? The writer’s success points to a desire for curated flow in our entertainment, not just endless options. It also, subtly, reveals a weird truth: we sometimes want an excuse to watch the classics we’ve missed. Having an AI “assign” you “The Wire” makes it feel like a legitimate plan, not just another thing you’ve been putting off. Is it a bit sad? Maybe. But if it gets you off the scroll and into a good story, who cares? The channel surf is dead. Long live the algorithmically-assisted, sleep-friendly binge.
