I have been a kind of TV addict in the past- being addicted to Korean dramas and Hong Kong drama series. These drama series come in an average of 20 episodes. Once you are hooked on the first episode, you would plan your life around your TV drama watching time. And once you are hooked, you would watch the next drama… and the next…. and the next. It never stops.
Perhaps you do not spend a long time watching TV or Netflix. But you are hopelessly addicted to YouTube… spending hours per day devouring the videos that are available. YouTube really know how to get a person hooked to their videos… those “Recommended for You” videos. Geez… what are they? Mind readers?
Either way, as we spend hours away hogging the screen in a semi zombie state, we are moving further and further away from our goals.
It has struck me in a profound way that it is really pointless spending time to watch TV. Because it is meaningless. Because you ain’t gonna remember much of the show anyway. It is a waste of life.
There are some goals that I want to achieve. I want to spend as much time as I am producing content for my blogs such as this one. Not only my content is able to benefit some of my readers, but it also enables me to earn a little bit of passive income in the long run.
To be honest, I earn very little money from this blog. But this blog is a labor of love. Like many naturally creative and often disorganized person, I struggled with trying to stay afloat in this chaotic world. I share my experiences and hope it can help someone else who may be going through the same thing.
I like it that I can write what I love and earn a little from it. But maybe one day Google will stop sending lovely persons like you guys to my site. On the other hand, maybe this little blog will grow.
But I will never know if I do not try. And I will not be productive if I am spending time watching television or sucked into the abyss of YouTube recommended videos.
Note: After hours of watching TV/ videos, I feel like our dino friend above.
If you don’t have goals, it is hard to give up a bad habit
First, it is very important to sacrifice your favourite mind numbing pastime if there is nothing more worthwhile to replace this bad habit. You need to have goals to work towards to.
Examples:
You may already have a day job that you absolutely hate. You may be thinking of ways to get out of the job. Before you can get out, you must have a plan. You must have a way to earn an income that can eventually replace your job. You need time to do research and narrow down your options. Then you need to learn new skills and constantly work to improve your craft. Or read some books. All this requires time- and by giving up your coach potato lifestyle, it can free up your time to achieve this.
Or you want to learn up a new skill. Perhaps web design or coding. Or to learn how to paint or play a music instrument. There is no need to go back to college to acquire these skills. There are many inexpensive online courses such as Skillshare or Udemy where you can learn these skills from.
Or just do research on the topic that you like. Sometimes I would read a real good book and then take notes from the book. If you cannot afford to buy new books, try to find a local library nearby or purchase ebooks.
Why not spend time with your loved ones? Instead of having your kids playing with their mobile devices, why not teach them to play Scabble or build complicated Lego set structures together? Or simply put on a jigsaw puzzle? When a friend of mine was recovering from her back operation, instead of just lying down to watch TV, she learnt oil painting (something she had wanted to do since a child but she did not have the money then) and to put together Lego sets.
Final note
I am typing this article in my room, behind closed doors. I could clearly hear the sounds of TV as my family are enjoying their TV in the living room. I have literally given up TV for the past few weeks. I do not recall ever being this productive and it makes me happy that I am moving towards my goals.
Surprisingly I do not miss watching TV even though I can hear the clear sounds playing outside.
And once a while, if you feel a little demotivated, which you will, you can turn to YouTube for inspiration. There are a lot of quality motivational videos out there. Just watch a few and move on. Avoid going down the rabbit hole of excessive entertainment videos which for sure will crop up the recommended videos.
