Are You Suffering from Time Poverty?
By Laurine Brown

Many Americans are feeling impoverished today, but perhaps for reasons that are less obvious than our current economic worries. Time poverty. We're overworked, overscheduled and overwhelmed as we face an unprecedented busyness in pursuit of the “goods” life. We feel more like human-doings than human beings, having lost our soul and sense of purpose somewhere behind the ticking clock, proliferating emails, clutter, and bills.

Americans have less free time than anyone else in the industrialized world and studies show we are paying for this in many different ways. Time poverty:

o Harms our health. It leads to fatigue, road rage, accidents, repetitive stress injuries, high blood pressure and more. We eat poorly. We can't find time to exercise. Interestingly, a recent study suggests the poorest Brits (who lag behind most Europeans in health) enjoy better health than the wealthiest Americans, despite the fact they smoke, drink and eat more poorly. Key reason? Time. To socialize (best thing you can do for health) and exercise.

o Fractures families and friendships with less time for each other, including children, elders, pets, and for our own self development or spiritual growth, or to just hang out.

o Weakens communities with less time to know neighbors, supervise our young people, volunteer, and vote, much less be informed, active citizens.

o Creates less jobs and harms the economy, as fewer people are hired and then required to work longer hours and more years, or in part-time jobs without benefits. Job stress and burnout costs the US economy more than $300 billion a year.

o Harms the environment. When time-stressed we over-consume, grabbing throwaway things like over-packaged convenience foods, bottled water, plastic bags. We recycle less. Use more pesticides. Pitch rather than fix things, then buy more. It addicts us to polluting cars instead of biking, walking, or even public transport.

How did we get here? Amazingly, in the 1960s, experts feared we'd have too much leisure time, predicting mere 20 hour work weeks by 2000. But ironically the “labor-saving” devices of the Technological Revolution (computers, internet, wireless) became the impetus for massive increases in work. Yes, we produced more. But Americans celebrated with an orgy of consumer upscaling. Today we work 350 hours more than Europeans yearly to support our super-materialistic lifestyle. But we're less happy than the 1960s. Caught in the “work-spend trap” renowned author John deGraaf asks Americans “What's the economy for anyway?” European cultures value “leisure time” more, and workplace policies protect this (e.g., paid leaves, limited overtime.) deGraaf's nationwide initiative “Take Back Your Time” - celebrated October 24 - supports workplace policies that balance productivity with wellbeing, and asks people to get a grip on meaningful priorities (www.timeday.org). The date is symbolic of the nine weeks remaining in the year that we work more than Europeans. Simple ideas to take back your time today:

* Lighten Up - In your physical and emotional life, what comes off the plate and out of the closet? Rethink priorities and scale back to activities that bring most value. Give up obsessive multitasking that robs focus and frazzles you. Think of things people are doing while driving - putting on makeup, eating cereal, and of course cell phone chatting. Say “enough” to the time-consuming pursuit of a “goods” life. Downsize and commit to buying only what you can afford today. The voluntary simplicity movement offers lots of ideas (www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com, www.newdream.org.) When you lighten up, you'll find more laughter in the free moments, a great medicine for a truly “good” life.

* Practice Time-Shifting - Time management skills teach us to manage tasks as “efficiently”, i.e. in a short period of time. The problem is then we take on even more. We cram each moment so full of events, our emotions can't keep up. We blink and miss our children growing up, or a friendship or marriage slips away. Time-shifting teaches us to better balance our productive and emotional selves by “showing up.” It will change your life. Several times a day, take a 3 minute “un-cigarette break” where you become fully aware (with all senses) of the moment, focusing on something simple like your breath, a bird, a cloud. Forget thinking you're inefficient, lazy, boring - your emotions need it! Several times a week, set aside longer “boundary times” - even pencil it into your daytimer - for something slow and meditative, like a walk in nature. Once a week, be spontaneous and do something you love; this focus brings you into the present better than anything.

* Take a Break. Got vacation? Take it! One reason why companies don't rollover vacation time is that they want employees to take it! Forty percent of Americans take less than one week vacation. Studies show that men who took annual vacations cut their risk of heart attack by 30%, and women's risk of death from heart disease was cut in half. Vacation time is becoming an endangered species in America, so advocate for workplace policies protecting it.

* Reclaim DinnerTime - Sharing a meal together is part of what makes us human, setting us apart from other animals who “feed”. Interestingly, the more meals kids eat with their families, the better their grades, and for teens, the less likely they are to smoke, drink, do drugs or have depression. Commit to at least 2-3 meals a week with family. Gather with friends and neighbors several times a month. Forget fuss about fancy meals. What matters is quality of time. See www.ReclaimDinnertime.com for ideas.
Resources:

o deGraaf, John (ed). “Take Back Your Time: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America.” Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003.

o deGraaf, John. “What's the Economy For Anyway?” Presentation at Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington IL, 17 Oct 2008.

o Take Back Your Time. Accessed 11 Sept 2008. <http:www.timeday.org>.