where the currency is time and everyone's time is equal
Timebanks operate within a capitalist democracy, so we all need to keep our day job. If you earn a living as a space planner don’t timebank that expertise. If you fix bicycles for a living, don’t timebank that skill. As a timebanker, you should joyfully share your skills, and that may be harder to do when not being paid for your commercial skills. Instead, share a skill that you developed through a hobby or volunteering.
Crises bring stress and impact your well-being–health, financial, emotional, social, spiritual–and can extend to impact your immediate and global communities. There are many ways to use your Timebank to cope when you are in a crisis. First, update your profile with your skills and needs, and reduce your “area†list to just one neighborhood if you’ve received too much email over the past year. Second, post requests and offers. Timebankers who have had their hours or their job(s) cut may be seeking help updating and proofreading their resumes. Some may be seeking help from online researchers to access needed resources. Some Timebankers may need help developing a business plan for their new online business. Some may need advice on building remote working skills. Some may just need someone to listen to their concerns. Some may be students (or have kids) who are “in schoolâ€, but they are being homeschooled and learning online. There are a number of Timebankers who have extraordinary experience homeschooling and learning online, as I recently reached out to three of them. Your Timebank is a huge resource for you to use!
