Watching TV and the Fine Art of Wasting Time

According to Nielson Media Research, in 2007 Men watched over 4 1/2 hours and women watched over 5 hours of TV per day. Is that too much? You decide...

Let's call it 5 hours watching per day. I'm going to do the math for you, five hours per day equals:nn * 35 hours per weekn * 140+ hours per monthn * 1,820 hours per yea
* 18,200 hours in 10 years!

So, in 10 years the average American has consumed over 2,275 eight hour days (normal work days) of their lives watching TV.

What could you do with a spare 35 hours per week? Or better yet... what great and powerful things could you accomplish with an additional 2,275 work days in the next 10 years if you invested that time wisely?

How many businesses could you build?
How much more could you connect with your spouse?
How much more time could you spend with your kids?
How many websites could you build to generate passive income for retirement?
How many books could you have read?
Better yet... how many books could you have written?
How many lives could you have touched through volunteering?
How much exercise could you have gotten to feel better, have more energy and live longer?

My guess to all of the above? A hell of a lot of all of those things (but you can see the P.S. below for a little more detail).

Next question? What are you getting out of all that tube time? Anything? Personally, I get some passive entertainment value and little else.

Am I sounding all holier than thou yet? Like I never watch TV and invest my precious time in more productive and enlightening pursuits? Well, don't let me fool you. I watch as much as you do. Maybe more, especially during football, basketball, baseball or hockey season.

At least until now.

Postscript:

I build e-commerce websites... with the right web builder it takes about a 25 hours to build one and optimize it properly (after you get the hang of it) and then a few hours a week to maintain. In one year, if you gave up just half the TV, you could build 35 new online businesses in one year. 35.

Small businesses can take hundreds, sometimes thousands of hours to get off the ground and make your own. Fortunately, if you choose to start one and forgo just half the TV, you'll have over 9,000 hours during the next 10 years to build your own empire.

Time with your kids? That's the easiest of all. Every hour you give up watching TV equals one full hour of qualify time playing with your kids. I won't do the 10 year look out thing because by then, your kids may be out of the house and gone. So, it's our call. We can spend an extra zero to Eighteen Hundred and Twenty Hours in the next year.

The average reading speed is 300 words per minute. The average book is 250 words per page. The average book is 300 pages. So, a book takes about 5 to 6 hours to read. Again, giving up just half the TV in the next year, we could read an additional 150 BOOKS IN THE NEXT YEAR! How much could be learn? Experience? Incredible.

I'm writing a book right now on search engine optimization so I have an idea on how long it takes to write a page or two. I write slower than most I imagine because I'm not used to it. I've read a lot on writing, from planning and preparation to editing your final draft. Most writers say they can write about 3 pages per hour. It would take 100 hours, give or take, to write a 300 page book. Plus, another 100 hours for preparation and planning. We'll call it 200 hours. So, I'll say it again; if you gave up half the TV, you could write 7 books this year. 7 books. You... as an author of 7 new books.

And you still get to watch over 900 hours of TV if you choose.

Can someone pass me the remote?

Kidding. I'm kidding. Get away from the evil glowing box for bit and live your life. I'll do the same.