The Biggest Distractors in People's Lives

Distractions. Everybody has distractions in their lives that keep them from achieving their goals, whether it be physique goals or any other goal in life. Some "distractions" really aren't distractions but obligations, such as family ("Damn it, woman! If wasn't for you and the kids, I'd be Mr. Olympia by now!") and career ("Hey, you want to join the office lotto pool? If we win, we're sooo outta here.")

But some things are just a big fat waste of time. I'm guilty of all three of these:

1) TV- I used to watch lots of TV, but now I can't stand to watch any more than 2 hours a day. It has to serve a purpose for me to watch it, which is why I watch History Channel documentaries a lot. I do watch comedy standup to decompress, and reality shows to observe human behavior. "I Survived A Japanese Game Show" is one I've been watching lately. Bottom line is not to watch TV during the day, because it will just chew up your time. Watch it in the evening when you want to relax.

2) The Internet- I think Internet addiction is a real phenomenon. Prior to our weekend trip to the OC, my wife jokingly asked if I needed to bring the laptop. Checking your email, surfing the net and blogging take up quite a bit of time, and it feels like you're getting stuff done. But in reality, the Web is just chock full of distractions. I just don't get social networking sites. Great way to find people, but boy, is that a waste of time. If you want to keep in touch with me, then just send me an email. Plus lots of people post stuff in forums. I like the Yelp forum, because it's active and shows the entire thread. Everybody has short and to the point responses. The Internet can be a great resource where you can write books, create sites and voice your opinion, but you can also waste a lot of time with frivolous stuff.

3) Books- This might surprise you, but sometimes books are big distractors for nerds. Unless you write fiction in some form (movie/TV script, graphic novel, etc.), fiction books are some of the biggest distractors for sappy nerds. Who wants to read about life? Go out and live it. Women tend to fall in this trap and form book clubs (even more distraction). I used to read a lot of sci fi as a kid, but now I read a lot of nonfiction books on topics that further my interests: health, marketing, psychology, Internet trends and of course, bodybuilding and strength training. But there is only so much reading you can do. You have to go out there and apply your research. I think people who read too much use research preparation to stall and procrastinate. What helps me is to practice a little bit of speed reading and go through books at a faster rate. Take what's useful and move on.