I Stopped Watching TV, and You Should Too

On the first of August, I stopped watching TV cold turkey. I wasn’t a huge TV watcher to begin with, but I often found that sitting down to watch the news at six ended with me watching the news at 11. Five hours of channel flipping, not really watching anything important.

So I quit. Going into the second week of September, I’ve only watched half a football game - this because I was sick and didn’t feel like doing anything at all.

What’s TV worth: Nothing.

To tell you the truth, I don’t miss TV in the least. What’s changed:

• My nights are longer once I get home from work
• I’ve been much more productive with personal projects
• I’ve spent more time with my son
• I’ve read more
• I’ve had some great Scrabble games with my wife

It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s made me a good deal more content with life in general. As a nice side effect, I’ve actually cut down on the regular weekend video rental as well.

Give Up Your Addiction

I’d recommend that everyone give up TV for a month and see what results. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.