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Each year, there are weeks set aside in April and September where Americans can participate in a TV turnoff week.

I decided to give it a go during Sept. 13-20 to find out for myself how challenging it would be to go a week without the tube.

Here's what happened:

SUNDAY

It's the first day of my challenge and I'm taking full advantage of my TV-free time. When I woke up, I spent the morning reading and relaxing. After lunch, I took my dog on a long walk, something I don't do nearly as much as I should. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing lightly. If I had spent the afternoon watching TV, I would have missed out on exercise and a beautiful day.

MONDAY

It's only 9 p.m., but I'm about to hop into bed and turn out the light. It's about two hours earlier than my usual bedtime, but the temptation of turning on the TV leaves me no other choice. My favorite teen drama, "Gossip Girl," premieres tonight and I'm dying to find out what's going on in the fake lives of the rich New York City teens. This is the only show that I'm really eager to see, so it should all go easier from here, right?

TUESDAY

Today was busy and productive. After school I went straight to work on my homework. I continued writing, reading and studying until it was time to go to my job at a local restaurant. Without "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" on in the background to distract me, I completed more homework in two hours than I usually would.

WEDNESDAY

I found out that today is an early dismissal from school, and I worried about what I would do with all my free time. Things went better than expected, though, because I spent the day hanging out with my friends and the evening at a successful Edge meeting.

THURSDAY

I have to admit that I kind of cheated on my challenge today. I baby-sat two elementary school-aged kids and ordered a pizza for dinner. While we ate, they insisted on turning on the small TV we have in our kitchen. But I decided it wasn't really breaking the rules since Cartoon Network isn't really my cup of tea.

FRIDAY

It was easy to leave the TV off today. I helped a friend with a history paper, went to the school tailgate party and cheered on our football team at the game. After such a busy day, I was too tired when I got home to even think about grabbing the remote.

SATURDAY

Saturday is usually my lazy day, so I had to try hard to keep myself entertained. I went to a restaurant with two of my close friends and enjoyed a delicious deli sandwich. Tonight, I watched the horror comedy movie "Jennifer's Body." I hope that doesn't count as cheating.

SUNDAY

The Emmy awards show was on tonight. Usually I'd be sitting in front of the TV judging how the stars looked on the red carpet, and praying that my favorite show would win an award. Instead, I spent this time working and hitting the hay early. It was tough to miss the big awards show, but I kept telling myself I could see it later on YouTube.

Overall, when I took on this challenge, I worried that I wouldn't even make it through a day without turning on the TV. But after the first few torturous days, I barely even thought about it anymore.

I exercised more often and spent more time with my friends. The week made me realize that even though TV is a nice way to escape reality on occasion, there are also better ways to spend your free time.