The Bay Area Puts Its Own Spin on Take Back Your Time Day: “Free Time” handed out on Union Street in San Francisco.

Leisure Team Productions gives passers-by the gift of "free time" in honor of the second annual Take Back Your Time Day. Simple ways that anybody can create more free time each day range from having a place for things and cleaning up as you go, to being more efficient online (log on for a specific purpose, stick to one subject per email), to finding free entertainment, such as the Hunters Point Shipyard Artists Open Studios (Sat-Sun 10/23-10/24, 11am-6pm, Hunters Point Shipyard).

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 23, 2004

The second annual Take Back Your Time Day (http://www.timeday.org) falls on a Sunday this year. What better day to relax and reflect on the need for more leisure? And if your Sunday routine takes you past the intersection of Union & Laguna Streets between 11am-1pm, you’ll receive “free time” as a gift from the Leisure Team.

“Groups from Beverly Hills to Boston are celebrating Time Day by calling attention to the need for a better work-life balance,” says Dean LaTourrette, co-founder of Leisure Team Productions, a small press and media production company dedicated to portraying leisure in a positive light (http://www.leisureteam.com). “Humans need leisure. Working fewer hours is one way to get it. Maximizing the free time that you already have is another.” LaTourrette, along with co-author Kristine Enea, recently released a regional book on the importance of taking breaks from work, called Time Off! The Unemployed Guide to San Francisco.

Leisure Team will offer passers-by ideas on simple ways that anybody can create more free time each day. Tips range from having a place for things and cleaning up as you go, to being more efficient online (log on for a specific purpose, stick to one subject per email), to finding free entertainment, such as the Hunters Point Shipyard Artists Open Studios (Sat-Sun 10/23-10/24, 11am-6pm, Hunters Point Shipyard).

“The sooner you take care of your personal ‘chores,’ the more time you’ll have for pure fun,” says LaTourrette. “Having fun makes you happy. Happy people are more productive at work. Productive workers have more control over their schedule, which leads to more free time… Loving leisure creates a very positive cycle.”

Two other Time Day events in the Bay Area focus on political and systemic solutions to the problem of overwork. Human Agenda’s “A Vision for America: Time Over Money” takes place on Friday October 22 in San Jose. For further information, contact Milina Jovanovic at 408-204-1842. In Berkeley, Ofer Sharone and Jenya Cassidy will lead a discussion on work hours, corporate practices that encourage overwork, and our rights under the new California Paid Family leave Act. The event will be held at 1pm on Sunday October 24 at the Institute for Industrial Relations, 2521 Channing Way in Berkeley. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Ofer Sharone, osharone@berkeley.edu.

For more information on the origins of Take Back Your Time Day, contact Gretchen Burger, 206-293-3772, http://www.timeday.org.

Contact: Kristine Enea, 415-609-5322

Free your Time!

Time saving tips brought to you by Leisure Team Productions (http://www.leisureteam.com)

1. Take regular breaks

2. Tackle the hard stuff first

3. Drive off-peak hours

4. Use a headset to talk o n the phone while typing

5. Use a speed dialer

6. Keep an overnight bag packed

7. Screen calls

8. Get off phone lists at DoNotCall.org

9. Get off junk mail lists at Junkbusters.com

10. Stay focused

11. Make a list

12. Set goals

13. Turn your commute into exercise

14. Be selective

15. Schedule downtime

16. Prioritize

17. Get rid of things you don’t use

18. Log on for a specific purpose

19. Focus on one subject per email

20. Plan your route

21. Clean up as you go

22. Break a challenging task into small pieces

23. Use express checkouts

24. You gotta love clogs!

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