Time Bankrupt

Due to the economics times we are faced with the whole idea of bankruptcy is everywhere, of course most of the time we are referring to financial bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a devastating process and not just financially. The ramifications can be comparable to death and divorce. So what does bankruptcy mean? And do people start out with the intent to go bankrupt?
Last week I ran into a friend by the name of Karen. She used a new word that referred to bankruptcy that intrigued me. She said she was no longer going to let herself be time bankrupt. She is in her mid 50’s and has always used the excuse of not having enough time to pursue what she is truly passionate about. She told me that it was her intention in 2009 to not stand on the fact that she is time bankrupt to delay any longer what she is driven to do.
You have to hear the whole story of Karen. Karen has shown me the power of intention first hand. Over the holidays we were at a holiday event and the room was full (at least 100 people) and 6 ladies at our table. The event was an auction using paper money that we each had accumulated through various ways throughout the year. In addition to using this money at the auction they were also giving away cash prizes through drawings. Karen approached the table and declared that she was about to win some cash from the drawings. We giggled and in unison said “ya so are we”. Karen went on to say that she knew of a woman that professional entered giveaways for a living and was making 6 figures doing so and that she had every intention to be as successful as this women. I was taken aback slightly at her confidence and when she proceeded to win cash 2 times out of a dozen drawings (remember over 100 people in the room all with similar chances), I took a strong interest in her level of intention.
So when I ran in to her this past week I was very excited to check in with her results. She went on again about the power of intention so when she brought up the idea of being time bankrupt I was ready to listen. I also know the feeling of being time bankrupt. I know many women who have had this feeling.
In financial bankruptcy you spend more then you earn and if you do not decrease your expense and/or increase your income over time the situation caves in and it is inevitable to claim bankruptcy. Time bankruptcy is different in that we all have the same income we call “time”. It is 24 hours per day. You can’t get more and you can’t spend more. There is no such thing as getting a loan to cover the deficit. We all spend the same amount; 24 hours every day. So can we actually go time bankrupt? And what does Karen mean? Karen and I did discuss this and we agreed that we feel bankrupt when we spend most of our time on things that do not drive us. As women we all do it. We spend time on everyone else but ourselves. And at the end of the day we have spent all of our time. Nothing left for us individually and no time left to cultivate and sustain relationships with each other. Can we give up some of our time expenditures like obsessing on a clean house, keeping up with laundry, making healthy dinners every day? And lastly not asking for help on any of these things because others do not do it the way we want it to be done. At the end of the day we lose our relationships with our girlfriends and we lose ourselves.
What is your intention for 2009? Is there 1 hour a day that you can give back to yourself? Is there 1 hour a month that you can give to a close friendship that needs attention? I challenge you to join Karen and me in having the intend to avoid going time bankrupt.