One Simple Decision Guaranteed to Improve Your Life (and Business)

Put the TV remote down and slowly back away. 

Seriously…it’s that simple. I promise.

My life has changed pretty drastically over the course of the last year and a half, and it all started with that one simple decision. I put down the TV remote.

I used to watch TV a lot. It was my routine. I’d come home from work, go to the gym, eat some dinner, and then sit in front of the TV until it was time to go to bed. According to Nielsen, the average person watches 34 hours of TV per week. That’s nearly 5 hours per day. Now, I hate to admit it…but I was pretty much average.

Lucky for me, I eventually had enough. I could no longer find any history on the History channel, nor could I learn anything from The Learning Channel. I became fed up with the seemingly endless amount of Reality TV dreck that consumed every station. The straw that finally broke the camels back was when I saw a commercial for “Alaskan Women Looking for Love” (Yes…sadly that actually exists) on TLC of all places. I saw my life going the direction of “Idiocracy,” and I knew it was time for a change.

My routine looks a bit different now. I come home from work, go to the gym, eat some dinner, do masters homework, read a book about real estate, take my dog for a walk, check for e-mail from my property manager, and go to bed. In case the benefit of this isn’t clear yet…here is a brief Pros/Cons list.

Pros

1. 1) Saved almost $1000/yr on cable
2. 2) Read a book a month
3. 3) One semester left in an MBA degree
4. 4) Bought 1 investment property (closing on 2 more this month)
5. 5) Began sleeping a full 8 hrs every night
6. 6) More time to cook = eating healthier

Cons

1. 1) ....(crickets)

Get the idea?

Now I'm no saint. I still watch the occasional Netflix documentary on Saturday (check out Urbanized) and I wouldn’t think of missing my New York Giants play (and likely lose) on Sunday.

However the big takeaway from my year and a half long self-experiment is this…

I no longer use the Television as a crutch throughout my daily life.

I’ve replaced it with more productive uses of my time, and I don’t miss it at all :-)

Sincerely,

Tyler