Making More Work Out of Free Time

This strikes me as absolutely insane:

...TimeBanks USA, a nonprofit group that treats time as money, to put the brakes on people's high-velocity lifestyles. TimeBanks members barter blocks of time known as "time dollars." One member may, for example, buy groceries for a stranger in exchange for someone else walking their dog.

So they're trading their time - in the form of doing work for someone else - to have other jobs done for them. Why not just get a second job and hire a personal assistant or dog walker? How is it any different?

After all, isn't employed work just a formalized way of trading your time (and expertise) for money?

How, by any stretch of the imagination, is this "slowing down?"

Five Ways to Be More Productive in Less Time

1. Know what you're working on. Don't let your work time feel aimless. Know what you're doing, and if you find yourself wandering, take a break, or decide what's important that you should be doing. Always have a task and a goal.
   
2. Make short to-do lists. Ideally, choose no more than three big things to accomplish today. Make them the most important things you can do, that will have the most impact on your goals. You may want to capture all the other things that you may want to do someday on a separate list. I maintain three lists: All the things I could do today, Three things I will do today, and a "Maybe" list for ideas and things I'm not sure I want to do at all, but haven't decided about yet.
   
3. Take breaks. You'll be much more focused and productive if you stay fresh and energized.
   
4. Be organized. Don't waste time having to search for things you need to do your job.
5. Reduce or eliminate interruptions. As much as possible, turn off IMs and email during your work time. Checking email twice a day - mid morning and mid afternoon - is sufficient for most people.