Last week, Apple announced, among other things, an updated Apple TV. It’s a pretty slick box – HDMI out, wireless connectivity, built in Netflix, streaming from computers on the same network, etc.
The one big change from the previous version is that there is no longer local storage. If someone is using the AppleTV on it’s own – not streaming media from another computer – the TV shows and movies can only be rented for play, not purchased. Most TV shows will cost 99 cents.
That struck me as a lot – but it also got me to thinking.
How much TV would I watch if it cost me 99 cents an episode?
How many hours of “entertainment” would I be willing to pay for every night? Every week? Every month?
Answer – hardly any.
Then I got to thinking about that realization from the other side.
If I’m not willing to pay even one dollar to watch these shows, why am I willing to waste 20-30 minutes doing the same thing?
Do I put such a small value on my time that I’m willing to spend it watching stuff I don’t really care about?
Furthermore, how much time have I wasted that I could have spent really focusing on my wife and kids?
How many days or weeks could I have spent working on any number of business ideas that I say “I just don’t have enough time to work on that?”
Once we start assigning value to our time, it will absolutely change the way we spend (or invest) it.
Now, I’m not one of those life change/productivity guys that promotes working every waking minute of every day. I believe there is a time and place to completely zone out in front of the TV and just relax.
The problem occurs when we’re not mindful of that time, and a half-hour show turns into 3 or 4 hours of channel surfing.
Here’s a couple of other activities I’m trying to attach the 99 cent question to:
- Games on my iPhone (how many times would I try to beat that Angry Birds level if it cost me 99 cents a game?)
- Checking Facebook updates (would I open Facebook in consecutive tabs if it cost 99 cents to check it?)
- Checking Fantasy Football news
- Refreshing news websites
- Checking email!
The list goes on and on.
Personally, I think just being more mindful about wasting time will help me reach my goals. However, if it doesn’t help in a week or two, I’m considering putting a jar next to the TV or computer and literally paying to watch TV or kill time online.
How about you? What are some activities you could attach the 99 cent cost to? Let me know in the comments!
