I don’t watch TV. I’m known for watching nothing on the television except football, tennis, cricket, snooker, darts — actually, anything sports and the odd “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” when I have the time.

But today something odd happened. I sat in front of the television from 8pm to 10.30pm. I was watching “The Bill” for the first hour and ended up watching “Child Genius” for the last one and a half hours.

I guess now my businesses are very streamlined, I have lots of time for more play. For me that doesn’t mean the television, but today I decided to spend two and half hours watching it. However, I’m so bored of watching television already. So instead, I realised I hadn’t blogged enough in the last two days and got onto the blogging machine and here I am.

So for those who watch too much TV, I want to share with you a few tips to help you join me, and stop watching useless television. (If you say sports is useless, you’ve had it!) Before we get in to that, let me ask you this: how many hours a week on average do you watch television? One? Four? Ten? 15? Longer?

If you stop to think about it, those TV hours don’t take long to add up. In even a moderate TV-watching household, it’s simply amazing how many hours are spent in front of the box. Let’s see, an hour of news seven days a week, five sitcoms, a couple movies, a quiz show, a cartoon for grownups and a standup comedy special.

Doesn’t exactly sound like couch-potato material, right? But add it up - that’s about sixteen hours - or two full working days’ worth of time - right there. And that’s not even counting daytime TV or breakfast programs.

Here is the main thing. Watching TV is a habit. Just like bitting your nails, eating cereal at night, going for a walk at 6.30 each morning, sleeping with socks, etc.

For most people, watching TV is a habit that occurs after a draining day at work and when they’ve returned home late. They just want to couch in front of the box, have a meal and just wind down the hours. Imagine how many hours MORE you could add to your day for exciting things. I know you want to do this.

Let’s take it a step further. One of the things that creates the lack of energy and the result of just couching in front of the telly is poor diet. Think about what you’re putting into your body as you vegetate in front of the box. Are you actually nourishing your body or are you too busy watching that sitcom to even think about it? Do you routinely eat a heavy, pre-packaged, fatty meal in front of the TV?

I personally believe a change in your energy will result in you realising that watching television is boring. Yes, it may mean missing out on those dramatic soaps, but soon you’ll come to see that they too are a waste of time. I know I could be pushing a button or two of yours here, but hey, I’m telling it as it is.

Here’s my 7-day challenge to you. Take it and you’ll increase the quality of your life. Leave it and continue wasting and winding down the hours of your life.

Just for next week, try replacing that beer with a glass or two of fruit or vegetable juice. You may be surprised when the rush of vitamins and natural sugars spark you up and make you feel that you’d rather do something more interesting than watch someone you don’t even know win a new car.

Eating more healthily at the end of the day, and reducing your alcohol intake are also more likely to improve the quality of your sleep. A few days of this new routine, and you might find that you’re not quite so exhausted when you get home.

Try the challenge. Let me know the results. Please share other tips that have just drove you away from the useless television that comes on ninety percent of the time.

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