Inspired by the electoral race in the U.S., I decided to take a year off.  A year off from media, that is.  No television.  No radio.  No online news.

As Tim Ferris puts it, I am on an “information diet”.

I made this decision in November.  By November, most Americans are just voting for it to be over.

I am slightly regretting this decision.  I am overhearing conversations around town.  It sounds like President Trump is pounding the establishment politicians.  That sounds really good to me.  I detest the establishment politicians.  I would enjoy watching them get spanked.

Still, I am sticking to my plan.  No television (that’s easy since I don’t have one), no radio, no online news.

Ultimately, what I am doing is simple.  I am jettisoning the negative influences in my life.  As you know, the evening news begins with “Good evening!”  Then, the talking heads begin listing all of the reasons that it is really not a good evening.

“Good evening, everyone!  And now, let’s talk about everything that is wrong with the world.  What a horrible planet we’ve got here”

No thanks.  Sure, the world has its problems.  Lots of them.  But, do we really need to be reminded of this every day?

Many studies have shown that Americans spend too many hours a day watching mindless shows, playing video games, or sitting in traffic listening to mindless music.

What if we channeled that time into productive time?

That is what I am trying to do this year.  I have channeled all of that time in two directions, Italian and Greek.

I am experimenting on myself.  Will I be able to speak Italian and Greek by 2018?  I don’t know.  But, I am going to find out.

Will there still be trouble in the world in 2018?  Yep.  Will the media still be yammering non-stop about the trouble?  Yep.  I can catch up later if I want to.

I am not telling you what to do.  I have a pretty simple philosophy.  You live your life, and I will live mine.  But, I am willing to make a suggestion.  Stop watching Lost.  Start learning something new.  You

Stop watching Lost.  Start learning something new.  You may possess a new skill in 2018.

And, Lost will still be there in 2018.  You can catch up then if you like.  Until then, unplug.