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Should You Improve Your Life or Watch Television?

If you’re happy with the way things are going in your life, you can stop reading and change the channel to some other site. If on the other hand, there are things about your life that you’d like to change then stay tuned and turn up the volume : )

TV Schedule

I was listening to some co-workers talk yesterday about the upcoming fall TV schedule and couldn’t believe the conversation they were having. As they planned out their evenings based around TV shows they reserved 3 hours of their life a night plus a few hours on weekends. Based on their schedule, they’ll spend 15-20 hours a week in front of the TV this fall.

Time is Money

I don’t know about you but I would LOVE to find an extra 15-20 hours throughout my week to do something productive. For example, I’ve been neglecting my eBay business lately due to other projects and sales have fallen as a result. If I spent 15-20 hours a week working on it, I could make hundreds of dollars more a month! Check out this great article on the Opportunity Cost of Watching TV.

Improving Your Life

Of course using your time wisely can be about many things other than making money. Think about some of the New Year’s Resolutions you’ve come up with over the years that you haven’t achieved. If you’d have spent 15-20 hours a week working towards them don’t you think you probably would have been successful in reaching more of the goals? Take a look at some of the things people decide they want to do:

Lose Weight

Learn a New Skill

Get a New Job

Get Out of Debt

Travel the World

More Family Time

Get More Sleep

Don’t these all sound like better things to do than watching television?

The TV Trap

I’m horrible about walking through a room and getting sucked into a TV program but I do my best to fight off the tractor beam of the TV as it pulls me in. It is nice to spend 30 minutes zoning out in front of the television but it’s so easy for 30 minutes to turn into several hours. One of my least favorite feelings is when I get up from the TV and I realize I’ve wasted the night away in front of the screen.

Break Free from TV

Just remember, most anytime you hear a radio report or read an article about someone reaching their goals despite the odds or accomplishing some great feat, that person likely didn’t do it by sitting in front of the television. Keep that in mind next time you think you hear your entertainment center calling your name.