In these difficult economic times the mantra is increasingly familiar: We have to learn to make do with less.

Such is the case with the recent furloughs and resulting cutbacks in state services. With most state offices closed two Fridays each month beginning today through June 2011, it's no longer business as usual on several fronts.

Taxpayers in the private sector know all too well the impact of cutbacks — many have already felt the sting of cutbacks in employment — from furloughs to wage cuts to layoffs. It's not pretty.

But so far, the state's plan for office closures in some cases and cutbacks in others, offers a sensible approach, one that makes the best of a bad situation.

Closing state offices on Fridays — and the dates so far are in sync with public school furlough Fridays — would help ease the child-care concerns for thousands of state workers. And while the outcome of a pair of lawsuits filed over the education furloughs remains unclear, having the state furlough days mesh with planned education furloughs is clearly the best way to go. Thankfully, some private-sector employers are already stepping up, offering flex-time and even on-site childcare options for their employees. It's a smart show of support, one that should elicit gratitude from both employees and consumers alike.

For those state departments that have 24-hour demands or have strict deadline operations, the state's plan to stagger furlough days among employees to allow these offices to remain open also makes sense. State prisons, the state mental hospital, the state Department of Defense and the Department of Transportation's highways, airports and harbors need to provide vital services. And while the Judiciary says it will remain open for the next two furlough Fridays, finding a way to keep this department open for the full work week to meet the demands of the courts would be the best way to go.

For its part, the state said it took into consideration input from each department, public demand for services and state education furlough days in charting its course. Let's hope that tack creates less disruption.

Of course, the changes will be hard on workers and their families, who have to endure lost wages. And it will impact consumers, who will see cutbacks in some services and business hours.

To help ease that pain, we should do what we in Hawaii do best when things get difficult: pull together. So have patience — we're all trying to make do with less. And plan ahead when you need to use state services. Together, we can make this work.