We all have one life to live. Conscious consumers of time evaluate what really matters to them in life.

Time

Americans now work an average of 52 hours per week, with metropolitan professional level jobs demanding 60 hours or more. Average wages are not keeping up with the increased time demands for most people; employees are asked to increase productivity without compensation. While email, the Internet, cell phones, and Blackberrys have done wonders to increase our ability to communicate, the downside is little discussed. Our jobs are never "done," as there is always one more call to make, one more email to answer, one more document to read. We live with permanent stress that increasingly creeps into our down time, and mentally letting go is difficult.

Paradoxically, an industry has crept up around filling our leisure time. Along with the standard clubs of a generation ago like the The Rotary Club and the Junior League, we now have Thai cooking classes, children's book illustration, and cardio salsa to add excitement to our down time. While these classes, workshops, groups, and meetings are entertaining and add flair to our lives, often there is little time left over after work and scheduled leisure for connecting with family, friends, and community.

We all have one life to live.

Conscious consumers of time evaluate what really matters to them in life. Often the answers we come up with (family, friends, community, the environment) need more of our time. But you can't squeeze blood from a stone. In order to make more time for civic engagement, volunteerism, and down time with those you love, conscious consumers find that they have to step off the "work-and-spend treadmill".

Many conscious consumers learn to say no—to work, to scheduled leisure, and to the Great American Usurper of Time, the TV. A commitment to down time might leave time for a few of those hobbies you love that you no longer have time for, or you might find time to investigate ways of becoming mentally quiet, such as meditation, yoga, or tai chi.

One parallel of working less is spending less.

Most people who downsize their own jobs (by working part-time or taking a job with less responsibility) end up making less money, and as a result spend less money, which is the gist of voluntary simplicity. Luckily, many people find that the more they examine their relationship to the stuff they buy, the more they realize their stuff is owning them and not vice versa (buying, cleaning, repairing, replacing, organizing, and storing stuff uses up our most precious commodity, TIME). People who love the life they have and have time to do the things they love are not as apt to look for happiness by buying the next best thing. Conscious consumers work to find happiness within, by living in line with their values.