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There is no question about it - Americans are running out of time. Family dinners are a thing of the past. We run from appointment to appointment
take work home
and cram leisure time into short bursts of stress filled moments. The question is
how did we did get into this predicament? It certainly isn’t because we are inefficient. In the past 25 years
economists estimate that productivity has increased by 70% or more. We have overnight delivery
cell phones
fast food
and instant messaging. Shouldn’t our ability to get more work done give us more time? Where does all this “extra” time go?

According to Dr. Bill Quain
we are spending too much time at work
and not enough time on the things we really want to do. Americans in the 21st century work more hours than peasants did in the Middle Ages
and spend less time at home with their families because of it. We are busy staying busy
but all that work doesn't always translate to a better lifestyle. Our debt is up
and our leisure time is down. In fact
we don’t even take the leisure time we’ve earned. More than 25 percent of Americans will take no vacation days at all next year.

Dr. Bill Quain
an experienced author
businessman
university professor and speaker prescribes a cure for the whole treadmill syndrome. 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.

While many popular authors and business experts recommend taking more time off from work to improve your quality of life
Dr. Quain says that can be a prescription for disaster. “Most people trade their time for money
” says Quain. “If you work less
you make less! Then
your quality of life suffers.” In his book
he describes a simple
five-step process to create more leisure time
with the money to enjoy it.

According to Quain
the process of overcoming time poverty is different than for overcoming financial poverty. Financially poor people don’t have money
but time poor people do have time. “We all get the same – 24 hours per day. It isn’t a lack of time
it is the way we use that time that matters
” says Quain.

How should we use our time? “Don’t just trade your time
hour by hour
for a paycheck
” he says. “Use some of your time to create equity
and then let the equity make money for you.” In his book
Quain shows readers how to develop five kinds of wealth-and-time generating equity. Instead of working more hours
people can now increase the value of each and every hour – giving them more choices as to how they spend their time.

Quain says that most of us are just playing the wrong game. We work hard to make money
and then work more hours when we want more money. Soon
we have money
but no time.

It is time to play a new game -- make more money in less time. Take a job you like
but get off the "fast track" at work. Then
leverage your time equity outside work to combine the income of a CEO with the leisure time of a retiree.

And that sounds like a perfect prescription for coping with the time challenges of the 21st century.