Yeah, I know. Belts are tight. Budgets are tighter. Everyone is working to "do more with less." Maybe that means taking on the workload of colleagues who have been laid off--without getting an increase in pay. Maybe that means furlough days when you aren't supposed to work and you aren't getting paid to work, but if you don't work, you'll never get unburied from that growing pile on your desk.

Time is money and both are in limited supply. Travel money is gone and professional development feels more like a luxury than a necessary part of one's career.