Forward: I apologize in advance if you don't see the relevance of the title of this post after reading it. That said, I sincerely hope you get it.

Maybe it's the stage of my life I'm in. Possibly it's my penchant for figuring out ways to get the best "deal". Then again, maybe I simply have too much on my plate.

Whatever the reason, more and more I find myself thinking of ways to get maximum benefit from my time. Call it time optimization if you will. Increasingly I see time as a finite commodity, each minute to be invested for the greatest gain.

Did you know the average American watches just over 4½ hours of TV each and every day? I'm proud to report this is one area in which I'm significantly below average. That's not to say I've sworn off television, not by any means. I like my down time as much as anyone; and I make it a point to take some time to enjoy a little mental recess at the end of the day.

But the interesting thing is - and maybe this isn't so uncommon as I might think - TV watching is an active pursuit of the best available entertainment for me. The tools I use in my hunt for the best available entertainment? The DVR and the DVD player. These are two of the best time optimization devices in the world.

I make a habit of recording everything I might have some interest in watching. When it comes time at the end of the day to take that mental recess I consume whatever available recorded material I have. Most of it simply gets tossed as uninteresting, something I'm just not in the mood for. Or maybe it was something I thought might be interesting but discovered otherwise.

When I do take the time to watch something from start to finish it's almost never that. Lead-ins and lead-outs and all commercials... never see 'em. How long does it really take to watch an hour-long episode of prime time TV? About 35-40 minutes.

Figure out the value of an hour of your time and then take a third of that. Whatever amount you come up with is the real dollar value of your time invested watching commercials. Consider whether you can justify whatever brand of DVR to optimize your entertainment time.