Time Poverty

Last year I made a commitment to be a human BEing, not a human DOing, which I have spent most of my life as. I have always been one of those people that didn’t know how to just sit on the coach and BE. I had to be embarking on something new, managing something old, or just filling my moments with miscellaneous activities.

I am proud to say that has changed. At least a little bit. I am still working on it. Now, I take moments for leisure and reflecting time. I don’t feel compelled to be filling every moment with some sort of productive activity.

Productivity in the last 25 years has increased by 70%. If you aren’t saying WOW – you should be. Think about your parents and how they used to fill a typical day. This might help get you in the mind frame to slow down a little bit.

Why slow down? Because it is good for the mind, body and spirit. Living life in the fast lane could lead to a full on collision and wreck your life. It is no wonder heart disease, obesity and cancer are the rise. People are cramming every moment of time with fast food, fast driving and fast communications. Our immune system can't handle being in constant state of fight or flight.

Take a deep breath, look at your life and start planning your vacation for this year. 25 percent of Americans will not take any vacation, so if you take one you are already ahead on the leisure game.

Save 40% on your Vacation with LastMinuteTravel.com

You might be thinking you won’t be getting ahead in the work game if you are lounging by the pool. You couldn’t be more wrong. It isn’t how much time you spend at work, it is the quality of time. Make your time more efficient and you can work less and live more. Your body needs a chance to refresh, so some time away will give you the fuel you need for success.

Read my article at MsMoney.com: Can You Really Double Your Income and Your Time Off? I give examples on how I achieved this myself early in my career.

Here are 2 other experts that will help you address the Time Poverty syndrome in their books.

Dr. Quain, known as “The Time Doctor,” says he is the first person to really solve the time problem. His book,
Overcoming Time Poverty: How to Achieve More by Working Less, doesn’t cost much or take much time to read. But it explains a system for gaining not only more free time but also more wealth, with less work.

Conventional wisdom says that unless you’re rich you should work full-time to age 65. But millions of Americans are surprisingly close to something even better than retirement—early semi-retirement. Using the secrets in Work Less, Live More: The New Way to Retire Early, they can stop working full-time now—and start living more.

A growing tribe of audacious early semi-retirees have stepped off the treadmill of full-time work. Instead, they uncover meaningful second careers and avocations, working part-time or volunteering, while restoring a healthy balance between work and life. As a result, they tend to enjoy improved health, relationships and personal growth.

Work Less, Live More shows how you can join the tribe. Author Bob Clyatt draws on his own experience and that of hundreds of others, distilling their collective wisdom into four main strategies: