I used to have cable TV and a Tivo. Both were great, especially the Tivo, as I finally freed myself from the shackles of commercials and the programming schedule. But when the Tivo broke, I wasn’t willing to go back to unfiltered TV. Eventually I pulled the plug, literally, and canceled my cable service. When I went to the cable office to return my box, the woman behind the desk said “you’ll be back.” It’s been nearly 2 years now and I don’t miss it at all. Renting TV shows on DVD from Netflix is all I need, with the occasional treat whenever I’m in a hotel room.

Needless to say, the extra time it frees up leads to more productive activities like reading and writing and having friends.