Saturday, July 07, 2007

Day 2 of National Downshifting Week: Reclaim Your Time

Sunday - Day 2 of NDW UK ~ What Have You Been Up To?

Reclaimed an Hour of Time This Week: Time for a balance of work and play!

Encouraging everyone else to downshift takes a lot of time as I answer emails, try to garner up some publicity for the first ever US National Downshifting Week, and still try to keep a firm handle on the work/life balance. I am technically on vacation, visiting my mother at the beach, and find myself going to the coffeeshop for several hours each day to promote NDW. Luckily, the rest of the day includes long walks on the beach, jumping the waves, and building sandcastles.

I downshifted a few years ago out of full-time work. I was a teacher, and wanted to cobble out a living that would enable me to stay home with my young children during the day. I tutored, watched other kids in my home, and became a yoga teacher, which enabled me to be with my children during the day and earn more money per month than I would have after teaching and paying for full-time day care for two kids.

In the words of Tracey Smith, "it's easy for us to keep our nose to the grindstone, especially when we love what we do, but there's a bigger picture to consider, our mental health and well-being and making time to enjoy our children and partners."

It's Day 3 tomorrow ~ what are you going to do, to 'slow down and green up'? Click here for a copy of our Downshifting Manifesto.

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