Reading Time: < 1 minuteSurf Books Instead of Channels This Week
Simple Instructions:
- Each day this week, you’ll replace habitual television, movie, and digital media time with reading.
- Instead of flipping on the TV, your laptop, or your phone in the evening, grab a book, find a comfortable chair, and read for at least a half hour.
- Be sure not to turn on your devices afterward — we’re looking for uninterrupted calm before bedtime.
Why Is this Practice Important?
On average, we spend dozens of hours watching television each week. While this can help with relaxation and ritual, it also has potential negative effects — exposure to sleep-robbing blue light chief among them.
By replacing television with reading, you’ll likely fall asleep more quickly and you’ll get the added benefit of engaging in active (rather than passive) entertainment. If this habit is new for you, you’ll also reap the cognitive benefits of regular reading.
Best of all, you’ll end your days calm and relaxed, unstimulated by action, drama, or the noise that comes with digital media. It’s a combination of benefits that will leave you better rested, smarter, and feeling great.
Jon Gilson is a coach and writer, and the former CEO of the Whole Life Challenge.
Previously, he founded Again Faster Equipment, a functional fitness equipment company created to serve the CrossFit community. Established in 2006, Jon took the Company global in 2012, twice landing on the Inc. 500/5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies.
From 2007 to 2013, he served as a Senior Lecturer for CrossFit, Inc., training aspiring CrossFit trainers at over 100 seminars, including engagements in Iceland, Afghanistan, Moscow, Holland, the United States, and Canada. Jon also served on the CrossFit L1 Advisory Board, helping establish policy for the organization’s training efforts from 2011 to 2013.
He’s also done stints in state government, gym management, and consulting — and currently teaches classes at CrossFit City Line.
Jon graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2003, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in Psychology. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Finance and Control from the Harvard Extension School, 2006, and has completed coursework in data analytics.
Previously, he founded Again Faster Equipment, a functional fitness equipment company created to serve the CrossFit community. Established in 2006, Jon took the Company global in 2012, twice landing on the Inc. 500/5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies.
From 2007 to 2013, he served as a Senior Lecturer for CrossFit, Inc., training aspiring CrossFit trainers at over 100 seminars, including engagements in Iceland, Afghanistan, Moscow, Holland, the United States, and Canada. Jon also served on the CrossFit L1 Advisory Board, helping establish policy for the organization’s training efforts from 2011 to 2013.
He’s also done stints in state government, gym management, and consulting — and currently teaches classes at CrossFit City Line.
Jon graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2003, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in Psychology. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Finance and Control from the Harvard Extension School, 2006, and has completed coursework in data analytics.
