by Linda Joyce

Created on: October 23, 2009   Last Updated: November 01, 2009

Most families would be horrified if their TV was taken away, even for one day; but there are many benefits gained as a result of living without it.

For anyone who works a forty hour week (or more), has a family to care for, and any outside activities, such as school, living without TV can be a blessing in disguise. It may take time to wean yourself away from it, but once you do, you will find you have much more time to devote to other more worthwhile activities.

That's not to say there aren't some good shows worth watching; but if you are a viewer who spends four to six hours a day with your eyes glued to the screen, you need to reevaluate your life and think about how you are using your time.

Are you watching so much TV to escape from something? If you're bored or lonely, you can go out at any time, join a club, go to a church meeting, or meet some new people with other interests. If you're just a lazy couch potato, get up from that couch and go for a walk around the block!

One of the many benefits of living without TV is reintroducing yourself to books. I don't mean online books, but the old-fashioned kind you find in a library or bookstore. When was the last time you read a book? Be honest. Was it this year? If not, you should be ashamed of yourself.

A great benefit of not watching TV is also the fact that if you're not watching, you don't have to have cable or a satellite dish, which translates into some nice savings each month.

If you are a creative type, you must admit that TV is an inviting nuisance. You may want to work on that article or novel, but when you walk through the family room to get to the kitchen for a glass of water, it's tempting to just stop off and watch American Idol, isn't it?

Don't let TV rob you of time you can use creatively. Once you get comfortable on that couch, one show will lead to another and another after that. Before you know it, the entire night is gone; and what have you accomplished?

Perhaps you may be viewed as weird or eccentric when people find out that you don't spend hours in front of the TV screen every day, but do you really care? The benefits you will reap will be many; and once you stop being a slave to that big screen, you will realize there's a whole new life out there for you.

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