There was a time when I proudly called myself a cinephile (film-lover), and binge-watching TV series was my favorite pastime. But today, I no longer consider watching movies and TV a worthwhile pastime. In fact, I’d argue that consuming any form of pure entertainment—be it movies, music, or even novels—is a complete waste of time.
Anything that you consume as pure entertainment is a waste of time.
A few years back, I held the opinion that consumption of entertainment should only be as a reward for doing something productive in your day. If you worked on something or spent time learning something, you could indulge in some entertainment to reward yourself. But I’ve since revised that view.
Unless you’re already living the life you truly want, consuming entertainment is just a distraction. If you’ve reached a point of deep contentment with your life, then sure, go ahead and indulge.
Productive vs. Unproductive Hobbies
There are two types of hobbies and activities. Those where you consume, and those where you produce (or build yourself to produce in the future).
Watching movies, TV, listening to music, reading books for entertainment—all of this is consumption. You are just consuming entertainment. When you are consuming, someone else is getting rich through it. That someone is who produced what you’re consuming. Nothing wrong with that, except if getting rich is your priority, you should be the one producing.
Unproductive hobbies are all about consumption. Productive hobbies, on the other hand, involve creation or production.
Can reading books be productive? Absolutely—if you’re learning something, improving yourself, or acquiring knowledge that will help you create or produce in the future. If you only read, read, and read and never utilize the gains from it—directly or indirectly—to make money, you’ve just wasted your time.
How about movies? Sure, watching foreign films to learn a new language, for example, isn’t mere entertainment—it’s self-improvement.
It’s not that productivity and entertainment are necessarily mutually exclusive, but consumption purely for entertainment is a loser’s pursuit.
A productive hobby is anything whereby you’re either producing something and making money from it or building on skills that will enable you to produce something—tangible or intangible—at some point in the future that can be exchanged for money.
My Focus
Right now, my focus is solely on self-improvement. I’m constantly working on expanding my talent stack and thoroughly enjoying the process.
When I’m on YouTube, it’s mostly for travel vlogs—to gather inspiration and learn techniques that I can apply to my own production. I also use it to stay informed or pick up new skills that can help me level up.
If I’m not on YouTube, I’m listening to podcasts—ones that are packed with content that enriches my mind, never just for entertainment. Outside of that, I’m either practicing the guitar or ukulele, brushing up my Spanish, or searching the web for information that adds value to my life. Sometimes, I’m working out or meditating, expressing gratitude for the incredible journey that life is.
The Boredom Paradox
There is not a single moment of boredom in my life. I don’t experience boredom—ever. I couldn’t say that when my favorite pastime was the consumption of pure entertainment. That’s the paradox of boredom.
When you’re focused on self-improvement, building toward the future you envision for yourself, and seeing tangible progress, even if it’s slow, that process becomes incredibly rewarding. I can say I’m too busy being productive, so I have no time to be bored.