compliments of robertokabana from Pixabay

Time is an irreplaceable resource, allocated democratically—an asset that each one of us can use wisely, or squander. Although electronic devices and inventions are hailed as time savers, they can ultimately be time wasters as well—especially when we engage in mindless web surfing that leads to dissatisfaction with our lives. Perusing seeming endless achievements of other people is not something we were meant to do. Fixating on a screen for an extended period without a work-related goal (or purpose in mind) draws us into a wormhole of preoccupation, resulting in our precious vanishing minutes spent on pursuits that neither relax nor advance us. For each activity we choose, we can ask ourselves how does this help me to help myself (and other people?) If there is no discernible answer, then perhaps the activity could be curtailed and potentially eliminated.

Like TV.

*In his book Taming the TV Habit, Perrotta reports that:

• TV in large doses is associated with less scholastic achievement.
• Watching television results in an inefficient usage of our time.
• TV watching attenuates the correlation between life goals and their attainment).

Relatedly, cell phone addiction occurs when miniature devices, for the time we stare at them, control our minds—reminding us at periodic intervals with a “ding” that signals we have something new in our e-box, an addiction fueled by the same slot reward system that gamblers crave at machines. Forcing ourselves to engage in “periodic checking,” setting up specific times to view e-messages (instead of continuously scrolling in search of cyber gold) provides structure and discipline to our day, as does turning off the TV and DVD/video games.

Twenty-four hours is all any of us are granted in a day. 1440 ‘jewel encrusted minutes,’ that we can either use wisely, or squander in an irresponsible fashion. Reclaiming our time occurs with concerted effort, as Turner explains in The Fringe Hours (and accompanying website) that includes work sheets—an hour by hour tracker for each day of the week, so that short falls in being good stewards (with our time) appear obvious. Electronics have usurped everyone’s free time on a grand scale, swallowing up hours in which we could be doing a host of things other than Internet surfing.

As an experiment, try the following:

• For one week, turn off the TV. Fill the time with activities you had postponed, or on which you’ve procrastinated, or which are half finished.
• Read. Jack Campbell suggests that if we read for one hour/day, we will have read in one year the equivalent of two hundred books.
• Volunteer your time. Take those extra hours and donate them to a worthy cause. You will be the ultimate recipient, even though the time is invested in others.
• Mend fences or refresh a forgotten relationship. In The Luck Factor, Wiseman mentions that people make their own luck by fostering connections and maintaining contact. Who in your life has been inadvertently “wrapped in mothballs” so to speak? Perhaps it’s time to shed light on some neglected relationships.

• Make a list of all the things you put off/procrastinated and see how many of these you can accomplish when you reclaim your time from the TV—e.g., personal grooming, exercise, or just silence to see what revelations the universe has in store for you.

• Rework your bedtime routine. Instead of channel surfing when you undo the covers, revisit your “to do” list, and select one item that you could easily complete in bed – like reading. Only one hour of ‘book-worming’ each night can lead to several titles consumed in a single year.

• Extend your TV abstention to all your electronic devices, to include TiVo, DVR, laptop, iPad, iPhone, and droid. The “pings” we continually hear on our handhelds, the ringing of our electronic doorbell signaling that we “got” something distracts us. I now store my droid in a separate room (when I am working), and limit checking to 3x/day—primarily because the mere presence of a cell phone causes stress. Similarly, I pretend my computer does not have wireless – because then I am not tempted to “sneak” onto the Web to check on something that could do quite well on its own without my meddling. Pandora’s box of “everything” is a slippery slope, one where we may end our search on a completely unrelated topic.

• Formulate goals and set aside time to complete them. Do you wish to lose weight, start a blog, finish a book, script a letter, rekindle a friendship, join a club, volunteer, and/or foster a pet? Setting time aside each day to accomplish our dreams necessitates that we push away the unnecessary.

• Exercise discipline. Reward yourself for the days when you stick to your 3x/day habit (which, after approximately 21 days, should be solidified into routine). To the plugged-in generation, a few hours of absence from e-mail/texting may seem like an eternity – but for those who did not grow up with Internet, it is far less of a stretch. I remember the days with no cell phone, no DVD, and only a single, small black and white TV with stubby foil covered rabbit ears. So much happier! Our electronic tools can seem more like chains than collaborators. Try giving them a breather and see how much more focused you become.

• Limit cable subscription. The more we have the more we watch, and the greater our potential time wasted. Paring down options saves both time (and money) and provides less to worry about in terms of potentially missed shows.

The Pomodoro technique suggests uninterrupted concentration for twenty five minutes (with no distractions) is more beneficial than a back and forth with myriad different activities in a much longer time frame: e.g., no Internet surfing, no snack, no getting up and looking at anything else. In an age when our attention span has shrunk to the size of a pea, try typing an agenda of all the things you wish to accomplish at the start of each day – gathering our “to do” list from inside of our heads and into a plan. Checking off items in an orderly manner provides a feeling of accomplishment, which can occur via e-calendar (like Outlook), a handwritten “bullet journal,” or from a typed bulleted list (my personal favorite). The overwhelmed feeling from trying to tackle everything all at once melts when we methodically proceed through our agenda, one step at a time.

Activities that control our mind rob us of reaching our potential. Whenever you engage in a pastime, ask yourself: “Is this distracting me from achieving my lifetime goals?” If the answer is yes, then the time could better be spent in self-development, or in service to another. We can shed what does not challenge us to become a better version of ourselves. Time is a fleeting, precious, and non-renewable commodity. Use it wisely.”

*modifed and adapted from:

Gilbert, J. A. (2011, April 16). TV: The ever-present time waster [blog post]. From https://organizedforefficiency.com/tv-the-ever-present-time-waster/

Gilbert, J. A. (2018, April 7). Seven ways to reclaim time [blog post]. https://organizedforefficiency.com/seven-ways-to-reclaim-time/

Gilbert, J. A. (2018, March 14). Reclaiming time to enhance our itinerary [blog post]. https://organizedforefficiency.com/reclaiming-time-to-enhance-our-itinerary/