As if you're not watching enough television, what are the chances that you're turning on the radio, cluttering up your mind from that source as well? Consider a friend of mine who liked to listen to a West Coast shock-jock in the morning. Year after year, my friend Bill was titillated on his way to work by the shock-talk.

In essence, he settled for an electronic fix that briefly took him out of his own life and into some form of contemptuous humor that got him through the next 10 minutes (or however long) on his way to work. After all the years of listening, my friend is not empowered, energized, or any better able to face his day. Bill isn't alone; this particular shock-jock has become a multimillion-dollar media franchise and has had strong ratings for more than a decade. If you listen closely to the shock-jocks of the world, you can sometimes detect that they are angry people. They vent their anger through a form of broadcast that has (for whatever reason) become a socially tolerated route to riches.

Instead of listening to the radio on his drive to work, Bill could contemplate what he'd like to achieve for that day. If he has meetings, he could consider some of the points he would like to make. He might visualize having a pleasant lunch with a coworker. He might put on some classical music to ease his mind as he makes his way through the otherwise-unforgiving rush-hour traffic.

If he consciously chooses to play the radio, maybe he'll switch to a provocative news magazine-type show where issues are covered with some depth and perspective. Perhaps he'll tune into something that truly stimulates his intellect.

Of course, he has the option of playing CDs or cassettes. He can listen to famous speeches, motivational programs, or entire books on cassette. He can play cassettes of famous old-time radio programs or listen to the Bible on cassette. By applying a modicum of creativity, he can turn his commuting time into something special. He can turn his use of the television into something special.

Bill has many different pockets of time available. He also has many options to determine how he spends them.

So do you.