How many times have we all said, “If only I had more time then I could get more done in my online business?” The solution is not getting more time – we all have the same amount. The key is to manage the time we do have and make it work more effectively for us. Ditching Your TV can actually help you make money. Learn how in this article.
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Why Ditch TV to Make Money?
Simply because, the average adult watches 2.8 hours per day of television, according to the American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This number is from 2019 before the Pandemic hit us worldwide. When this statistic was run, socializing with friends and attending other events accounted for an average of 38 minutes per day. How much of that did we do in 2020? not much if you were scared enough by the virus spread. Most of you followed Fauci and practiced social distancing and doing still in 2021. So the average number of hours spent watching stupid TV has gone up considerably. I bet when they release this report this year, it will be in 2 digits. Anyhow, you got the point right?
Even if you think you don’t have time to take on anything else, you might be surprised to discover how much time you’re actually wasting during the day. You can start an online business whether you have a full-time job or not. And we all know how many of those full-time jobs are still on.
So even if you decide to NOT watch the stupid TV and their disturbing news for an hour a day, you gain 7 hours a week for starting your own projects that can make you money.
Besides, time-saving, there are many reasons to ditch the TV. Some of the main reasons are-
- According to the studies from Tohoku University in Japan, neurosurgeon Adam Lipson says “They noted thickening of the frontopolar cortex, which is related to verbal reasoning ability, and also correlated with a drop in IQ in proportion to the number of hours of television watching.” Thankfully, we did not own a TV while I was growing up so my parents protected my IQ from the idiot box but now I’m on my own and I have the ability to protect my grown-up IQ ( if there is such a thing) from the Netflix and YouTube idiot box as I age.
- These studies also show that adults watching television also suffer from Type 2 diabetes, depression, and even crime. Lipton goes on to say that the adverse health and social effects increase with the number of hours we watch television. He says. “There have been EEG studies that demonstrate that television watching converts the brain from beta wave activity to alpha waves, which are associated with a daydreaming state, and a reduced use of critical thinking skills.” We have a history of diabetes from both sides of the family. So, TV is a strict no-no to me- at least watching it for hours without moving on the sofa is like ticking diabetes for me. Even if you do not have a diabetes family history, that couch potato lifestyle is giving you more pain than diabetes will ever!
- TV’s blue light affects your night and it is hard to break away from it. have you notic4ed just one show of Merlin turns into 3 sessions and then the whole series. The weekend is gone listening to the dragon getting angry at Merlin for not following his gut feeling. Yeah, no one needs that – not in 2021 at least.
- “TV increasingly traffics in violent programming to keep the viewer in a state of constant fear,” says Wheeler Winston Dixon, Ryan professor of film studies at the University of Nebraska. FEAR is the biggest enemy. Look what Corona Virus fear has done to our economy, our society, our schools, and our overall mental health. Thanks, Dr. Fauci!
- Wheeler also says- “TV also acts as a pacifier, a sort of virtual escape, but it is one that never satisfies, and only leaves the viewer wanting more of the same emptiness.” No wonder we have more broken relationships, nuclear families, more dysfunctional families, and a growing number of juvenile violence. Who wants that? Nobody. But very few know how to reduce this impact as we get more free entertainment on YouTube or cheaper TV shows on Netflix.
“Always know- not everything that’s cheap is good for you. Less is Better when it comes to watching Television!”
So, we decided to devote the entertainment hours to active entertainment rather than passive empty TV watching.
What we are doing instead of watching TV?
1. We are cooking all our meals at home together. Most nights, I am cooking and my hubby is organizing the kitchen, helps prep the veggies, and listing down our favorite recipes. This technology is not making us money. But it saves us money on take-out foods and snacks. Our monthly grocery spending is down to under $200 a month.
2. Hubby also helps me in setting the table for dinner. Earlier we would just take our dinner plates and prop ourselves in front of the TV for the entire duration of dinner. Now, we eat dinner in relative silence. There is actual science of eating in silence as you devote all your senses to the act of chewing food well and enjoying the tastefully.
3. After dinner, we take a stroll near the boardwalk. Sometimes this stroll turns into an hour and sometimes, we just go out and get some grocery shopping done in the evening. It is so quiet and relaxed to shop in the evening. I avoid large crowds and shop freely without a hyperactive mask touting shoppers.
4. We love putting the floor puzzles together. So, this one activity is pure entertainment for us.
5. We both are also spending our evenings on creative projects. He on his coding and me on my digital printable business. So far, he made a progress on his software with 3 months of testing all after work hours and I made 4 planners working 30-45 minutes every night.
Check out my Printables Shop!6. We are catching up on the most needed reading. Every year, hubby and I focus on learning 5 things about Personal Finance. This year we are learning about Forex Trading, Bitcoin, and Value Stock Investing.
What changed in the last 2 months?
1. We no longer eat in front of the TV so we are present fully and eat mindfully. Our portion size has been reduced considerably. We feel less bloated, lighter, and more active. I have lost 4 lbs and my hubby lost about 5 lbs since January. We are well on our way to reaching a healthy weight.
2. Since we walk a little bit after dinner, it is easier to fall asleep earlier in the night. We hit the bed around 10 pm and wake up by 6 am without having to snooze the alarm button multiple times. We also have been switching off the WiFi and all electronic devices within the vicinity of the bedroom. This and the earthing mat has improved our sleep quality considerably.
another bonus is – we started switching off the WiFi at night and also started to keep the phones away from the bed. So the quality of sleep is improved.
3. We gained back about 2 -3 hours every morning. This time is good for us to do stretching,
Qigong at the waterfront and have enough time to brew our morning tea slowly. We are doing intermittent fasting for the last 2 years. So, we do not eat breakfast but I started making lunch a little early for hubby to take it to work.
4. I don’t know if there is any correlation between switching the TV off and sleeping early, but my eyesight seems to be doing good. Interestingly, I am reading quite a lot these days and I still do not get headaches and eye strain
5. I get time to catch up with friends and family after work. Some of them are surprised to receive my calls on the weekday.
6. I am also learning to make money on this blog with the help of Suzi from the Start a mom blog. I am spending an hour every day in the evening going through her course and implementing the action items to build this blog and the content like this. Check out her free 12-month blog plan updated for 2020 below.
When Will You Find Time to Start Your Own Business or Side-hustle?
Sometimes when it comes to starting a business, many people have the mental picture that it’s all or nothing!
Most of us think that in order to be our own boss, we have to take the plunge, quit our day ( or night or both day and night )job(s), and put all of our efforts into building an online business. If you have a day job that pays the bills and provides you with health benefits, keep the job. Seriously, I would never suggest quitting a job in this economy. Instead, I suggest that you work on launching and growing your business part-time.
You can get up an hour earlier in the mornings to work on your business. You can spend your lunch hour working on the business. Preferably start an online business.
Do you want to think in 20 years that you should have started your own business back when the internet market was booming? I would not.
Since your business will be online, you’ll be able to access it anywhere. If you commute to work via train or another method where someone else is in charge of driving, you can work on your side business then, too. I personally have not done it but I used to listen to audiobooks and podcasts on entrepreneurship on my long commutes. You can give up one hour of sleep at night to work on the business and work two weekends a month. I love my good night’s sleep, so I rather sleep early and wake up an hour early. Choose to do something with your free time now.
My best way to work on my side of the business is in the evening- during the time when we tend to watch TV or Netflix.
Do you need to be a creative person to thrive in your business?
The answer is yes and no. No, because everyone is creative. A 2-year-old child is as creative as a 50-year-old man. Creativity makes us unique. It is a special gift we all are born with. What I can create with my creative skills is different than what you can do- e.g I can be super creative with my planning tasks. So I use that creativity to make my digital printables. My sister is super creative with her cooking skills. So she creates her own cooking classes and recipe books with her talent. My hubby uses his ninja coding skills to develop software and small apps.
When we work with our natural talents, we live in our Genius Zone. In this zone, there is pure joy and less stress!
Creativity is all about mindset. That really sounds super-thick. But it is. If you spend the next 30 minutes on what you can create with what you have, you will come up with at least 3 things.
The only difference between converting that creation into success or letting it sit in the notepad is not following through on it. Again, it sounds a cliche, but really it is the only truth. If you have come up with an idea to make e.g an app that will help you solve a problem, you do something about it. In normal situations, you will go to the app store and find out if such an app exists. If it exists, you go ahead and purchase it and think ” Of course, someone made this app. It’s not new. My idea is not new.”
How many times do you actually spend more time on using that app and see if it covers all the bases you want in your app. what is it lacking? what all it can include or improve upon?
If you spend another 30 minutes thinking about the extra features, you will do more market research- and it need not be fancy. simple things like how many other people are looking for an app like you are thinking about? How much would they be willing to pay for it? will they pay for it one time or on a monthly basis? just stick with your original app idea, modify it, research it, and build a foundation with a small mind -map to figure out of there is a good potential for developing such an app?
Try it and follow through on it.
' Stay in your lane and become a master of that lane'- one hour a day.How do you do that if you have no time?
Well, you have time. Give up your TV time for this idea for a few weeks. and see where it will take you. Even if this idea does not pan out, you will have to spend your evening time exploring how to work on a business idea? how to do market research. You will learn quite a lot in a few weeks by just giving up a few hours of TV time. and this my friend will come in handy when the times get tough- and they will get tough sometimes in your life. Don’t wait until that time comes. Don’t say- when I will get this, I will do this. Start now!
If you need help, ask for it. Don’t hold all your cards close to your heart. Let people in and be open to accepting the idea from others to improve your own idea. Tell people what you are creating. People will come up to refine your creativity. You will always need others’ input because they like being asked their opinion. Learn the basics on your own but most importantly learn from others who have gone before you and have achieved success.
In the end,
Use your time wisely. Not all of us want to build a side income or need it. Some of you rather spend this time building your relationship or use this time to find a new relationship. Some of you may use this time to plan homeschool or teach others for money. And some of you will just take time to relax and enjoy the downtime. Whatever you chose, try to reduce the amount of time you watch TV. It will eventually either save you money or help you make a ton of it by using it wisely.
So, how would you use your TV time? will you use this time to relax, connect with your family often or build another source of income? Share your thoughts and opinions. I would love to read them.
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This is so true. We have been spending way too much time in front of our
TV in last year since Pandemic started. Everyone is home- working from home, and homeschooling. We watched some of the series multiple times in 2020. I have a few good suggestions to take away from you. Hoping to get away from TV in the summer to get some projects done. Thank you.
That is great to hear. It is amazing what you can accomplish when you get away from TV every day. And you need not do any projects. Just spending time with family, creating memories with them is just precious. No other entertainment can match the value of family time. Wish you good luck with your summer projects. Do share how they go! Thank you.
Such an interesting post, Dee! The fact that you spend under $200 a month on groceries is amazing! I haven’t really watched that much TV in a while but I like listening to podcasts/music while I do things. xx
Lynn | https://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
Thank you, Lynn. I love listening to Podcasts too. We cut down on processed foods and ready-to-eat snacks a while ago. That helped save a good chunk of change in the monthly grocery budget. Before that, just one visit to the warehouse store used to take up whole month of the grocery budget.