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The photo booth gig last weekend went great. The hours before it were some of the most stressful of my life, but when I got to the venue everything smoothed out. The funny thing was that the bride wasn’t even expecting me. My booth was so popular that she was more than happy to write me a check at the end of the night.
The last few days, though, I have gotten nothing done. My evenings have consisted of coming home, making food, and sitting in front of the TV. It also doesn’t help that I moved my computer to the living room because that’s where I have my mixer set up. The last three days may have been the least productive in the last month. It’s all because I couldn’t tear myself away from the tv.
The ironic thing is that I don’t even pay for cable. If I want to watch a tv show I either do it on my iPad or iPhone. Most of the TV I watch is either a movie I’ve seen a few times, or a TV show that I have on DVD. Somehow that’s enough to keep me on the couch and off my computer.
This is a pattern I have noticed before. When I was in graduate school I would grade papers in front of the tv. That would only go well if there was a football game on. Every other time I wouldn’t get any work done. It may be the very reason why I didn’t finish my degree.
When I quit my job at the bar this winter, and was trying to get my online business off the ground, I would do most of my work on the couch with Netflix running in the background. It’s no surprise that all of my attempts to make money fell flat on their face. When I was working at the bar I would come home from work and spend the rest of my night with my laptop in my lap in front of the television. I probably would have gotten to bed before 8 am if I had skipped the distraction and worked at my desk instead.
When I started my personal blog I made a decision. Instead of trying to get my work done in front of the TV, I would use my second bedroom as my study. All of a sudden I was getting more done and seeing more results than the last 6 months combined. I had finally figured out one of the big things that has been holding me back.
This evening has been different than the last three. Instead of putting on the next episode of House, I sat down with my iPad and started working. With the only distraction being my cat chasing a bug across the living room, I’ve gotten everything done that I haven’t done since Saturday. Lesson learned. The TV is a reward for when the work is done, not something to have in the background to make the work more interesting.
Getting rid of this distraction has helped make me more productive. What are some of the things that are holding you back from getting things done?
Hey Kevin,
I totally get your point – TV is a Killer! I try and limit myself to a couple of shows that I really like but you know yourself, sometimes you just sit down for a minute and before you know it the night is gone and you got no work done
Cheers,
Noel.
Noel Cunningham recently posted..By: Noel
Yup, one minute turns into a few hours, and you have no idea where the time went. What I am starting to do is get my work done first. If I can sit down and get a few hours of work done before I do anything else, then I’m able to resist temptation and get things done.
Hi Kevin,
Where I live now I get cable as part of the rent deal, so I’ve got lots of channels to choose from. However, I’m actually moving this month and where I’m going I’d have to pay for cable, which I won’t do. So, hopefully I’ll spend less time in front of the TV as well.
-Karl
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I love to watch TV because I’ve turn it off a long time ago. I can watch TV occasionally and when I was on waiting area.
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Will you go the whole hog and get rid of the TV ? Or even have a TV fast and not switch it on for a week. Jon Morrow reckons you should read books in place of watching TV if you want your writing to improve. I kind of agree, watching TV is too passive where as reading a book makes you think not only about how the words are put together but of the imagery that the words create. And as most people in internet marketing say, copywriting or writing in general is an essential skill in your success.
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Good to hear from you Ade. I’ve been paying attention to you’re crazy blogging challenge over the past couple weeks.
I’m an avid reader as well. I have found that the more reading I do, the better my writing gets. Unfortunately, when I get hooked on a book (or a whole series), things go out the window as well. The recent addiction has been The Game of Thrones series… I finally got up enough courage to start the second book last night. I know it might hurt my productivity, but the story is just so damn good I can’t help it.
I probably won’t go all the way and get rid of the TV. I enjoy my shows just a little too much. Something about an engaging story that gets me every time. What I am doing, though, is not allowing myself to turn on the TV unless I have finished all of my work for the day.
Hi Kevin, you are so right,TV can be a major distraction. I have nowadays managed to cut down on my TV viewing drastically. Funny enough my latest post is also about productivity. In it I talk about how email can be a major distraction as well.
All the best,
Gerald.
Gerald recently posted..How To Manage Your Time For Better Productivity
You are right on about e-mail. If that distraction isn’t controlled in the same way TV is, it can get even more out of control.
I’ve found that when I find a distraction I need to go at it like a doctor – either cut it out or try to kill it. Distractions can be compartmentalized. This is something I developed when I was having problems sleeping. They say you should reserve your bed and bedroom just for sleeping, nothing else. Any other things you plan on doing should be done in other rooms. I compartmentalize the way I use the internet. My phone is for games, facebook, twitter, and some surfing. My iPad is for work, blogging, commenting on blogs, and forum posting. The computer is for developing my websites and for tasks that are too awkward on the iPad (the list is getting smaller every day).
Doing this has allowed me to “cut out” some of the main distractions that most people complain about. The big things for me now are TV and other forms of “entertainment.”
You should definitely stay away from TV.
I am a victim of TV myself as my computer
is in the living room together with my tv..haha..
I am also learning to let go of the tv now because
most of the successful people I know hardly watch tv.
hell, they don’t even read the newspapers.
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My computer got moved to my living room recently too. Probably why the TV was such a problem this week.
You are right. Most successful people just don’t have time for TV, they are too busy living, learning, and growing their business. If you want to be as successful as they are, it’s a pretty good idea to emulate them as much as possible.
Hey Kevin
The TV thing resonated with me, I got rid of mine about six months ago, so there is no excuse not to get any work done. Plus in the UK we pay for a tv licence ,saved myself some money in the process
Cheers
Paul
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