On my way to work today the radio DJs were talking about television shows that “everyone” seems to be watching. They asked listeners to call in if they have never seen a single episode of one of these popular TV series. As they rattled off the names of the shows I realized I have never seen a single episode of ANY of these shows.  Breaking Bad, Duck Dynasty, Walking Dead…the list goes on and on.

I often get asked, “How do you do it all?” I have a full-time job, I run two businesses, and I have 4 children in school. I usually reply, “You just do what you have to do.” But now I think I have a better answer. My new answer is, “I don’t watch much television.” I think if people added up the hours they spend watching TV they would be shocked. Television is a huge time-suck.

We no longer have cable in our house and haven’t for quite some time. I refuse to pay for it when I don’t really watch TV.  We have Netflix and basic television channels.  After dance I typically watch the news and maybe one sitcom before going to bed. That is, if I don’t have online work to do.

I am not suggesting that most people would want to carry the crazy schedule that I have. There are plenty of days when I wish there were more hours in the day. (And some would accuse me of being a workaholic, but I enjoy the work I do on my own businesses, so it doesn’t even feel like work most of the time.) And some days I wish I had more hours to sleep. I do love my sleep. But the truth is, for most people, there are more hours in the day. They just have to use their time more wisely.

There are of course other things that can suck time away quickly…surfing the internet, Facebook, etc. So my challenge to all of us going into the New Year is this – think about how you use your time and consider if you can spend a few hours a week doing something more productive than watching endless television. Read an informative book, go to a park and walk, organize your linen closet or heck, start a business in your spare time. You only think you don’t have spare time. I bet if you really looked into how you use your time you probably have more than you know what to do with.

~ Rebecca