Consider this:
We work less hours than our predecessors, have all the mod cons at our disposal, yet, we always cry we are ‘time poor’, but why?

Imagine getting out of bed, cooking breakfast and the usual stuff, then, loading the cloths into the ‘twin tub’ or worse still, washing them with the ‘wash board’, hanging them out to dry, starching the collars etc.

Then we start making lunch, slicing the bread by hand, that’s if we didn’t have to make it first, then, trying to spread it with rock hard butter.

Then we have to start diner. Peeling and cutting the beans, de-podding the peas, make the stuffing for the chicken, bake something for desert. The list goes on.

Today we have pre prepared vegies, microwaves that can cook in minutes, auto washing machines, dishwashers, non-crease cloths.

We have computers that make writing letters a breeze, even email which saves going to the post office.

We have mobiles that allow us to do business while travelling to and from work, so, why is it that we seem to have less ‘free time’ than our previous generations.

We have day care and after school care at our disposal to look after the kids.

Why is it that we are always ‘time poor’.

How can this be?

Who’s time-poor? Not any of us on OLO! We wouldn’t be blabbering away on this silly forum if we were time-poor…………..would we??

I mean, aren’t there a thousand better things to do than present your views online…. and be knocked around the head for your efforts?

Having said that, I’m awf to the beach for the day! (:>)

Greed!
Our forefathers never had the massive consumption ability we have today. All the wizzbang toys and gadgets, obesity, travel, mortgages etc etc. All deemed as "necessary" in todays society but not even imagined by our ancestors. And the overwork to pay for them. Consumerism drives us ever faster and ever further but at what cost?

The car!
Once people could only live within walking distance of their workplace. In Sydney this led to the inner city becoming a slum. The electric rail and tram network changed this but still restricted people to walking distance plus the time on the train/tram. Once cars come along and the urban sprawl that followed closely behind we have developed the ridiculous situation where people spend up to 4 hours a day travelling to work and back. 20 hours a week wasted in traffic or on trains.

Feminism.
Women used to do a lot of what the OP mentioned. And they did it unpaid as virtual servants to their husbands. Removing women from this bondage and giving them careers has led to the need for child care and outsourcing cooking, cleaning etc. Not suprisingly it is more expensive to have to actually pay for these services rather than them being provided free by housewives and people are having to work harder to be able to afford them.

Knowledge
We are all a lot smarter than our forefathers. We have better schools, new discoveries, the internet, the media etc etc. Keeping abreast of this takes time and I bet we now spend way way more time than our ancestors did reading and learning.

Entertainment is also a lot more prevalent and diverse. How much time do we spend "entertaining" ourselves compared to previous generations? Television, movies, music, drinking, sex, holidays, partying take up much more of our lives than those of our grandparents.

Hi rehctub, interesting post. The first time I came across this expression was in 1985 during a consulting contract for the supermarket chain in the USA called “Vons”. They were trying to profile their customer base for individual stores. For instance, those stores near the Mexican border stocked a broader range of Taco ingredients whilst those in Alaska stocked more vacuum sealed Whale meat (only kidding but you get he drift).
The expression “baby boomers” also has its origins in retail and service delivery profiling.

In order to identify those more likely to buy pre-packed meals (TV dinners), they defined “time rich, cash poor or cash rich, time poor”.

Since then I’ve seen this expression become a political football, a point of derision, a social stigma and a trigger for sectarian vilification. This is sad really because it was only ever intended to increase customer service levels, right product, right place, and right price.

I’m not convinced that the expression has much social validity today because we mostly have more choice and can set our own priorities for how and on what we spend our time. So when you ask the question, “why is it that we are time poor”? It might be more to do with how we set our priorities and our values, and less to do with actually having enough time.

spindoc makes a good point about freedom of choice. If we choose a McMansion, sports car and designer clothes we are more likely to be chained to working long hours or to jobs we don't like.

We do have it in us to slow down, smell the roses if you don't aspire to material wants.

It is not mandatory to join the rat race.

I sometimes wonder just how time poor we really are compared to earlier generations. People tend to watch a lot of TV and sport – you can’t do that without ample free time. If you walk around town, day or night, you see hundreds of people dining in restaurants. On weekends, you see parks full of people. Cinemas and gyms are always busy. Pubs are well-frequented, as is the Internet.

Maybe the nature of leisure has changed. Most relaxation nowadays has become inextricably linked with busy-ness, crowds and spending money. If we have a few spare hours on a Sunday, we’ll probably choose to go to the movies rather spend a quiet afternoon at home. So we don’t get as much opportunity for those many humble, peaceful, free-of-charge, stay-at-home experiences that our ancestors did.

mikk

Your comments on feminism remind me of that old saying: ‘Men work from dawn to setting sun, but a woman’s work is never done.'