The US has a very different culture of work and rest than Europe. Three times a year the country slows to a halt and people disconnect to be with family and friends. This past weekend was one of those occasions, Memorial Day weekend. Everyone was off on Monday and the streets were awfully quiet as people stayed home, attended cook outs and hopefully stopped to remember and honor those who gave everything for the rest of us.
Having lived in the US for over 5 years now, I generally enjoy Thanksgiving, Fourth of July and Memorial Day weekend. Like for most Americans the rest of the year is a bit of a blur as I work on my business, spend time with the various start-ups I advise and the community organizations I'm involved with. Don't get me wrong, as a Nomad I have plenty of time to play and travel. But these three weekends are truly times to reflect and, well, do nothing.
So with a friend visiting us over the weekend, I was exposed to some traditional American TV. I haven't really watched TV for over a decade, even when I lived in Brussels and London. Some nights I'd come home from work, tired and in need of disconnecting, so I'd pick up the remote, scan the various channels to see what was going on in the world. Television overseas is interesting in that you have several channels from each European country - BBC to see what the Brits are debating, French talk shows that are incredibly intellectual and philosophical, Italian flair TV, Spanish food channels etc. And there are nowhere near the amount of ads we have on American TV.
Since moving to the US I stopped watching all TV for good. The main reason was there was just too many other things to do - work was all consuming, outdoor activities like golf and travel were more accessible here, and I love to read. A lot. Plus cable is a major rip off here - the average household spends over $100 a month on their cable. Thats over $1,200 a year. Even the 45m Americans at the center of the Healthcare debate somehow manage to have their cable TV so they can watch sports, reality shows and the myriad of other channels available to the American public.
But this past weekend I had lost control of the remote control which meant no Apple TV or Netflix (these I do watch when I'm in the mood and its too bad the Europeans don't have them yet). Strictly reality shows about obese brides shopping for wedding dresses, wannabe singers and dancers mostly making fools of themselves, Football stars trying to dance, the phenomena of "hoarders", people who's homes are full of useless stuff they are obsessed with having, several remodeling shows for homes and gardens, average Joe's traveling the country gorging themselves under the label 'Man vs. Food', and a myriad of other programs that turn losers into celebrities. Yes, I'm talking about strippers, porn stars, criminals and gangsters who all seem to have their own reality shows where they bare all and TV stations sell ads. Even the "News" programs are garbage - since when did news anchors give their opinion on whats right or wrong? Give me the facts please, hold your 2 cents.
America is glued to its television.
Television shows that kill brain cells.
I felt millions of my brain cells die a horrific death on Sunday afternoon as we decided to stay in and relax. After 3 hours of scanning the channels and watching a few of these popular shows I can honestly say I am dumbfounded (and dumber). How can people watch this crap? I googled the stats and it turns out these channels have tens of millions of viewers who tune in each day and night to watch useless material. Maybe its an escape from reality, but then there is the stat that says the average TV viewer spends 14 hours a week watching cable shows. Thats an average of 14 hours, which means some watch upwards of 20 hours a week - almost an entire day.
Something is terribly wrong.
I lost three hours of my life on Sunday that I'll never have back, but I quickly went back to doing more productive things with my time. I had dinner with a new friend of mine last night, Louis. Louis is an American who spent over a decade in Japan, studying Japanese and working for a financial services firm before starting his own innovation company 5 years ago with the backing of a Japanese VC. He returned to Pittsburgh where he grew up to set up an office, hire local talent from CMU and build the US presence of his promising company. Louis had spent the entire weekend working. He doesn't even have cable.
The past month Louis and I have spent quite a few evenings smoking a good cigar and discussing the many culture shocks we have both had moving back to the States. Louis observed that its very difficult to have a social connection to the average person here if you are not up on all these reality shows, entertainment gossip, sports and sitcoms. Just look at the joke that is Charlie Sheen and Two and a Half Men. I have never watched an entire episode of that show, not because its trashy like the reality shows, but because I never get anything out of watching it. It has absolutely no value to me. Yet its been prime news for the past two months, watched by millions here and around the world, followed on Twitter, Facebook and all news sources. Individuals have spent hours on this one topic and they have nothing to show for it.
It is what it is, we are not going to change the pop-culture or whatever you call it. But I do believe individuals have a choice and should think about what they are doing with their time. I recently attended a Board meeting for a non-profit I serve on where a few of the Board members attending had not been to a meeting in over a year. At the break I approached them one by one to get a feel for why they didn't have 2 hours a quarter to meet their responsibilities.
These are not people who watch television instead of meeting their duties, they are working professionals, family men and women with kids, and active in the community. They just struggle juggling everything and need to make better choices about what to commit to (or not). But it made me think that these are the minority. Most people complain they don't have time to do what is needed, yet they spend an average of 14 hours on the couch thinking its "relaxation" time. BS.
I have another acquaintance who I run into at a local coffee house I go to when I'm not traveling. He works 5 jobs to make ends meet, including working at the coffee house on Sundays and holidays like this past Monday. While he isn't a sitcom or reality TV addict, this guy does spend a lot of time watching sports. He knows all there is to know about the professional teams in the city. Interestingly his strength is that he is a people person, so it helps to talk sports. Yet he would love to be earning more money and doing something more with his life. There is a disconnect.
You have to choose whether you want to be a producer in life, and that means understanding what value you get from the various activities you choose to follow. One could easily suggest that spending time on a golf course or in the gym is the equivalent of another man's TV time, but I don't buy that comparison. Golf is a recreational activity and most people don't do it alone. Those who decide to dedicate the 4+ hours a round it takes to golf do so understanding the value they get out of it. And spending time in the gym, well, just look in the mirror and ask yourself whether you need to spend some of those 14 hours a week there instead of on the couch.
Years ago a mentor taught me the importance of time management. I always perceived it as a 'work' thing. He taught me that time management is first and foremost about your life goals. He drew me a simple plan carving up my life into 5 components he called buckets: Personal, Business, Financial, Relational and Spiritual. "Its the same for everyone" he said. Under each bucket you write down your goals and objectives, which you can change when and as you see fit. But write them down, and write them down as an action, not an outcome i.e. don't write "lose weight", instead write "Go to the gym 4 times a week, start a diet, take Yoga class" etc. Actions are the goals.
Once you have completed this exercise (which could take a few days if done properly), you then want to identify, on a daily basis, the highest value activities (HVAs) that you accomplished that day to achieve your goals. Its an eye-opening exercise. The first week I did this I struggled to come up with even one thing that was truly an HVA to my goals. Yet I was 'busy' and tired from the 12 hours I put in that day. Many of us are time wasters, we just don't want to admit it. Successful people aren't. And I define successful by their own measures, no one else's.
My personal opinion: shut off the cable, save the money and get a Netflix subscription. Go to a friends place to watch the game. Use the resources on the internet to stay up on the news that really matters. Avoid anything that dumbs you down, avoid anyone that speaks in absolutes (yes, you the right and the left) and beware the man with only one book. Its time to take back control of your life.
So with a friend visiting us over the weekend, I was exposed to some traditional American TV. I haven't really watched TV for over a decade, even when I lived in Brussels and London. Some nights I'd come home from work, tired and in need of disconnecting, so I'd pick up the remote, scan the various channels to see what was going on in the world. Television overseas is interesting in that you have several channels from each European country - BBC to see what the Brits are debating, French talk shows that are incredibly intellectual and philosophical, Italian flair TV, Spanish food channels etc. And there are nowhere near the amount of ads we have on American TV.
Since moving to the US I stopped watching all TV for good. The main reason was there was just too many other things to do - work was all consuming, outdoor activities like golf and travel were more accessible here, and I love to read. A lot. Plus cable is a major rip off here - the average household spends over $100 a month on their cable. Thats over $1,200 a year. Even the 45m Americans at the center of the Healthcare debate somehow manage to have their cable TV so they can watch sports, reality shows and the myriad of other channels available to the American public.
But this past weekend I had lost control of the remote control which meant no Apple TV or Netflix (these I do watch when I'm in the mood and its too bad the Europeans don't have them yet). Strictly reality shows about obese brides shopping for wedding dresses, wannabe singers and dancers mostly making fools of themselves, Football stars trying to dance, the phenomena of "hoarders", people who's homes are full of useless stuff they are obsessed with having, several remodeling shows for homes and gardens, average Joe's traveling the country gorging themselves under the label 'Man vs. Food', and a myriad of other programs that turn losers into celebrities. Yes, I'm talking about strippers, porn stars, criminals and gangsters who all seem to have their own reality shows where they bare all and TV stations sell ads. Even the "News" programs are garbage - since when did news anchors give their opinion on whats right or wrong? Give me the facts please, hold your 2 cents.
America is glued to its television.
Television shows that kill brain cells.
I felt millions of my brain cells die a horrific death on Sunday afternoon as we decided to stay in and relax. After 3 hours of scanning the channels and watching a few of these popular shows I can honestly say I am dumbfounded (and dumber). How can people watch this crap? I googled the stats and it turns out these channels have tens of millions of viewers who tune in each day and night to watch useless material. Maybe its an escape from reality, but then there is the stat that says the average TV viewer spends 14 hours a week watching cable shows. Thats an average of 14 hours, which means some watch upwards of 20 hours a week - almost an entire day.
Something is terribly wrong.
I lost three hours of my life on Sunday that I'll never have back, but I quickly went back to doing more productive things with my time. I had dinner with a new friend of mine last night, Louis. Louis is an American who spent over a decade in Japan, studying Japanese and working for a financial services firm before starting his own innovation company 5 years ago with the backing of a Japanese VC. He returned to Pittsburgh where he grew up to set up an office, hire local talent from CMU and build the US presence of his promising company. Louis had spent the entire weekend working. He doesn't even have cable.
The past month Louis and I have spent quite a few evenings smoking a good cigar and discussing the many culture shocks we have both had moving back to the States. Louis observed that its very difficult to have a social connection to the average person here if you are not up on all these reality shows, entertainment gossip, sports and sitcoms. Just look at the joke that is Charlie Sheen and Two and a Half Men. I have never watched an entire episode of that show, not because its trashy like the reality shows, but because I never get anything out of watching it. It has absolutely no value to me. Yet its been prime news for the past two months, watched by millions here and around the world, followed on Twitter, Facebook and all news sources. Individuals have spent hours on this one topic and they have nothing to show for it.
It is what it is, we are not going to change the pop-culture or whatever you call it. But I do believe individuals have a choice and should think about what they are doing with their time. I recently attended a Board meeting for a non-profit I serve on where a few of the Board members attending had not been to a meeting in over a year. At the break I approached them one by one to get a feel for why they didn't have 2 hours a quarter to meet their responsibilities.
These are not people who watch television instead of meeting their duties, they are working professionals, family men and women with kids, and active in the community. They just struggle juggling everything and need to make better choices about what to commit to (or not). But it made me think that these are the minority. Most people complain they don't have time to do what is needed, yet they spend an average of 14 hours on the couch thinking its "relaxation" time. BS.
I have another acquaintance who I run into at a local coffee house I go to when I'm not traveling. He works 5 jobs to make ends meet, including working at the coffee house on Sundays and holidays like this past Monday. While he isn't a sitcom or reality TV addict, this guy does spend a lot of time watching sports. He knows all there is to know about the professional teams in the city. Interestingly his strength is that he is a people person, so it helps to talk sports. Yet he would love to be earning more money and doing something more with his life. There is a disconnect.
You have to choose whether you want to be a producer in life, and that means understanding what value you get from the various activities you choose to follow. One could easily suggest that spending time on a golf course or in the gym is the equivalent of another man's TV time, but I don't buy that comparison. Golf is a recreational activity and most people don't do it alone. Those who decide to dedicate the 4+ hours a round it takes to golf do so understanding the value they get out of it. And spending time in the gym, well, just look in the mirror and ask yourself whether you need to spend some of those 14 hours a week there instead of on the couch.
Years ago a mentor taught me the importance of time management. I always perceived it as a 'work' thing. He taught me that time management is first and foremost about your life goals. He drew me a simple plan carving up my life into 5 components he called buckets: Personal, Business, Financial, Relational and Spiritual. "Its the same for everyone" he said. Under each bucket you write down your goals and objectives, which you can change when and as you see fit. But write them down, and write them down as an action, not an outcome i.e. don't write "lose weight", instead write "Go to the gym 4 times a week, start a diet, take Yoga class" etc. Actions are the goals.
Once you have completed this exercise (which could take a few days if done properly), you then want to identify, on a daily basis, the highest value activities (HVAs) that you accomplished that day to achieve your goals. Its an eye-opening exercise. The first week I did this I struggled to come up with even one thing that was truly an HVA to my goals. Yet I was 'busy' and tired from the 12 hours I put in that day. Many of us are time wasters, we just don't want to admit it. Successful people aren't. And I define successful by their own measures, no one else's.
My personal opinion: shut off the cable, save the money and get a Netflix subscription. Go to a friends place to watch the game. Use the resources on the internet to stay up on the news that really matters. Avoid anything that dumbs you down, avoid anyone that speaks in absolutes (yes, you the right and the left) and beware the man with only one book. Its time to take back control of your life.
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So true...
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