We’ve all got our habits – ways of doing things that have become a part of our lifestyles – sometimes its just because its convenient, sometimes we are just following social norms.

Take-away dinners, driving to the local shops to pick up a last-minute ingredient, buying out-of-season fruit and veggies because they’re ‘there’, ignoring your neighbours because it’s too awkward to start a conversation, and so on …

“But I have no time!” we cry. We’ve filled up all our non-working hours with 'other stuff' – stuff that really is our choice in how we spend our time. And ultimately this is what defines us – what we do with our lives. So if its drinking at the pub or watching videos or surfing the web – these are the choices we make and the ones that collectively shape our communities.

So why not translate some of this stuff into things that will benefit our community, ourselves and our environment?

I’ve done a few experiments and I’ve found that if I don’t nurture them they start to falter (see my experiment #35 Laundry Noticeboard – I wasn't around enough to nurture the noticeboard in its early phase and I think that's why it eventualy ran foul of some unfriendly folks in my building).

But it's also about the initial time it takes to learn new approaches; it won't always take more time, but it does initially – or until society catches up with the live local futurists!

Rebecca Varidel discovered this in her live local challenge (where she pledged to consume food from as close to her home as possible, avoid using fossil fuels and try other non-typical things to live a more sustainable lifestyle).

"The hardest part of the challenge was taking public transport instead of cabs and driving. I had to cut down my commitments, got drenched going to appointments, and going to buy the regional food was limited."

Rebecca found that a she was juggling a 'time vs. very busy lifestyle' conundrum, which was compounded by not having a bicycle (having never ridden one) and "a lack of Sydney public transport infrastructure … it was really tough."

The problem we all have might lie in not knowing where to start. If this is the case, join an existing group, ask an expert, or get together with a friend for some mutual support to get your idea off the ground.

When Rebecca used her online networks to publicise what she was attempting in her challenge, the community (mostly people unknown to her) were surprisingly supportive and forthcoming with suggestions and offers of help:

"I received offers of assistance to provide backyard produce and acreage produce in Sydney, as well as suppliers and markets where I could buy the food from within the region limitations."

We all have 24 hours in our day, but we choose to use it for many things our busy lifestyle offers. If you lack the time to nurture a live local experiment, then make yourself prioritise it – I propose we pledge to spend two hours a week on living local instead of doing something else.

Try planning for it. Put two hours of your weekend aside for live local stuff. I'll kick it off shortly and start this week and see how it goes. Just two hours for now – I might grow it to four later.

(Oh and it doesn't including sitting at your computer on the live local website – as great a use of time as that is! – this means two hours making your live local experiments grow.)

Good luck!