Peachy Moment: Redefining Progress - The Genuine Progress Indicator

At my son's preschool, teachers stuff the latest glue and glitter creations along with school newsletters in cubby holes for each student. Last week, when I picked TJ up from his morning class, I noticed that his was packed full. Shoot! Because TJ's afternoon nap time is my break time, I tend to be in a rush, getting TJ in the car and whisked back home in time for lunch and down to catch a few zzz's.

I hate missing the occasional notes-to-parents or school newsletter. There have been too many times I sported the deer-in-the-headlights look when Mrs. Preschool Teacher asked for the whatever-you-call-it form.

So, as I'm stopped at a red light, I quickly scan the newsletter for any action items, when a line from the preschool director's letter catches my eye.

"You (parents) are in a season that requires you to do less of what you loved in order to be more for the ones who love you. I know it's difficult..."

The notion that being more for my family may require doing less of what I love in life really caught my attention. Is that really true? Do I have to choose one over the other?

It seems like it, just from a pure numbers perspective. There are only so many hours in a day. And taking care of TJ during this preschool season of life leaves me only slivers of time to do what I love. My days are taken up making sure practical requirements are met like foraging for food at grocery stores, coming up with meals to cook and staying on top of laundry and clutter before it overtakes our house. And so on and so on..

I know that my time will free up more when TJ starts kindergarten. But, that is many years away! Now, don't get me wrong, I love being mom to TJ and there are a gazillion magic moments I can't stop being thankful for. I wouldn't trade them for any amount of free time or corporate ladder climbing experience.

But, still. How am I to keep my personal happiness level at decent readings?

I don't have the answer, but in thinking through this question, I recall a PBS documentary about Silicon Valley I watched years ago, called "Time Frenzy". It's premise is provocative, that the fast lanes of Silicon Valley life causes a frantic pace of our daily life. Documentary maker, San Jose State University Professor Bob Gliner says that "consumed by a '24-seven lifestyle', we have become a culture who has embraced a constant franticness, where every moment is scheduled."

I think I may have fallen victim to this culture now, especially as a mom. I find myself using every minute of the day to either get something done or making sure something will get done. I have so little of my own time, that I when find myself with any "free" time, I feel like I have to make it count, so I spend it being productive.

This feeling of discontentment usually creeps up on me during the time of the month when my estrogen levels are high. I know a lot of it's hormonal, but I can feel the effects of being too productive. I feel I'm lacking contentment, without the ability to do things I love.

In the same vein, Jonathan Rowe, author of Redefining Progress, says that "Silicon Valley may be the time-deprivation capital of the United States, if not the world--which is a great irony, because all this technology was supposed to save time, and we've been saving time so rapidly that we have none left."

Great. I'm living in Silicon Valley, the apparently most toxic place for new moms like me who are already dealing with the many rites of passage into motherhood, like lack of sleep, potty training, terrible twos, and other trials and tribulations.

So, what am I to do? I googled Rowe and found a paper he wrote on "The Genuine Progress Indicator" (GPI). Instead of measuring the performance of the economy through the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which keeps track of how much money we spend on products, Rowe proposes that we measure our progress by our GPI, which keeps track of how well families, communities and the natural environment are doing.

Although the study was done a while back, it was staggering to find that although our purchasing power (GDP) had been climbing, our ability to enjoy life -- relationships and nature's resources (GPI) had been falling. One thing that really got my attention was learning that loss of leisure time drove down GPI.

Aha, maybe this is a direction that I can move towards as a mom. Rather than measuring my days by the CBI (Checked Boxes Indicator), I can choose to measure my GPI by the leisure time I spend with my son, my husband and community of friends.

In an effort to nudge myself further along this path, I hit Borders and got myself copies of "The Not So Big Life" by Sarah Susanka, "Night" by Elie Wiesel, and "Slow Is Beautiful" by Cecile Andrews for inspiration.

Now, all I need to do is find the time to read them. In the mean time, they won't get lost. They're still sitting stacked up, next to the stairs.

Cross-posted at Silicon Valley Moms Blog where Bonnie is a contributing writer.