Take Back Your Time

TAKE BACK YOUR TIME is a major U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment.

October 24th Is Take Back Your Time Day

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Breaking News!!!

It's Coming... to Seattle University... August 24-25

Take Back Your Time, The Happiness Initiative and the Compassionate Action Network present:

HAPPINESS 2012

Happiness, Compassion and Sustainability
A strategic gathering
With keynote speaker Eric Weiner of NPR,
author of THE GEOGRAPHY OF BLISS

http://timeday.org/happiness2012/

Join activists and experts in a broad-ranging conversation about an old ideal, the pursuit of happiness!

In July, 2011, the United Nations urged all member nations to make "the pursuit of happiness" the goal of their governments and find ways to measure their success. We are meeting in Seattle to plan strategy for putting the UN's call into action.

Don't miss this exciting conference exploring the potential of this new movement. At this conference you'll...

Learn about the vital new worldwide movement for happiness
Find out about how you can use the Happiness Initiative to improve your community
Learn about the connection between happiness and time balance
Help plan "Pursuit of Happiness Day" (April 13) for 2013
Hear prominent authors including Eric Weiner, The Geography of Bliss; Vicki Robin, Your Money or Your Life; Cecile Andrews, Less is More; and John de Graaf, Affluenza.
Meet leaders of happiness movement in the US, including Laura Musikanski, director of the Happiness Initiative, Tom Barefoot of GNH USA, and Dr. Ryan Howell, creator of the Happiness Initiative survey.

Workshops will explore Happiness and Health, Compassion, Environment, Mental Health, Education, Arts and Culture, Finances, Government, Time Balance, Social Connection, Government and Workplace Satisfaction.

See the full conference schedule

Special training for community happiness leaders August 23-24

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Download the poster here

Where: Seattle University
Fees:
Full conference (includes reception with food and beverages): $55 general/$40 students and low-income.
Day passes (buy at the door if space available): $35/25.

PLEASE RESERVE YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS AND FOOD AT SEATTLE UNIVERSITY BY JULY 15!

For more information contact: con2012@sustainableseattle.org.

http://timeday.org/happiness2012/

TAKE THE HAPPINESS SURVEY
(AND FIND OUT HOW YOUR TIME BALANCE IS DOING)!

TAKE BACK YOUR TIME is a broad and non-partisan coalition for change. This issue can unite groups who seldom talk to each other -- family values conservatives and the women's movement, labor unions and environmentalists, clergy and doctors, advocates for social justice, enlightened business leaders and the "slow food" and "simple living" movements. This issue affects people across class, gender, race and ideological lines.

We need your help, your enthusiasm, your ideas, and even your financial support. Be the first to start a TAKE BACK YOUR TIME committee in your town, and join us now, because there's no present like the time.

For more information:

If you would like to read the TAKE BACK YOUR TIME Public Policy Agenda, click here.

If you would like to stay informed about future TAKE BACK YOUR TIME activities, click here to join our e-mail list.

If you know others who would like to know about TAKE BACK YOUR TIME, click here to send them a personal e-mail.

If your group or organization would like to be involved in sponsoring or supporting TAKE BACK YOUR TIME, please contact us.

{Click here to read more/less about TBYT...}

CHALLENGING TIME POVERTY

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE? Are you, or your friends or relatives, working more now but enjoying it less? Does your family's schedule feel like a road race? If so, you're not alone. Millions of Americans are overworked, over-scheduled and just plain stressed out.

We're putting in longer hours on the job now than we did in the 1950s, despite promises of a coming age of leisure before the year 2000.
In fact, we're working more than medieval peasants did, and more than the citizens of any other industrial country.
Mandatory overtime is at near record levels, in spite of a recession.
On average, we work nearly nine full weeks (350 hours) LONGER per year than our peers in Western Europe do.
Working Americans average a little over two weeks of vacation per year, while Europeans average five to six weeks. Many of us (including 37% of women earning less than $40,000 per year) get no paid vacation at all.

Contemporary Americans complain of unprecedented levels of busyness in everyday life. They worry about frenetic schedules, hurried children, couples with no time together, families who rarely eat meals together, and an onslaught of "hidden work" from proliferating emails, junk mail, and telemarketing calls. The Girl Scouts recently introduced a "Stress Free" merit badge for today's harried young girls.

CANADIANS FEEL THE PRESSURE TOO

While Canadians work somewhat less than Americans do, and enjoy longer vacations and paid family leave, they are also working more now than a generation ago and feeling the pressure of time stress and hurried lifestyles. Many have joined our campaign.

TIME STRESS HURTS ALL OF US IN DIFFERENT WAYS

Time stress threatens our health. It leads to fatigue, accidents and injuries. It reduces time for exercise and encourages consumption of calorie-laden fast foods. Job stress and burnout costs the U.S. economy more than $300 billion a year.
Time stress threatens our marriages, families and relationships as we find less time for each other, less time to care for our children and elders, less time to just hang out.
It weakens our communities. We have less time to know our neighbors, supervise our young people, and volunteer.
It reduces employment as fewer people are hired and then required to work longer hours, or are hired for poor part-time jobs without benefits.
It leaves many of us with little time to vote, much less be informed, active citizens.
It leaves us little time for ourselves, for self-development, or for spiritual growth.
It leads to growing neglect and abuse of pets.
It even contributes to the destruction of our environment. Studies show that lack of time encourages use of convenience and throwaway items and reduces recycling.

TAKE BACK YOUR TIME c/o de Graaf PO Box 9596, Seattle, WA 98109