Adding Margins in My Schedule
Giving myself ample margins each day helps me to slow down in life.
I used to like seeing that I had a packed schedule every day on my calendar. Back-to-back meetings. Events. Phone calls. I liked always being "on the go." It made me feel important and productive. But it also stressed me out. I would have so many things going on that it could be hard to keep track of them at times. And because of the busyness, I may not be able to give my very best to everything. More importantly, I didn't have much space for the things I actually wanted to do in life.
These days, I loathe having a packed schedule. Perhaps I'm just getting older and wiser. I now prefer to give myself a lot of margin each day—breathing room throughout the day. And this extra room is used for things that I actually want to do in life: communing with Christ, writing, being with people I care about, reading, exercising, and personal development. These things give me life and I want to enjoy them more. I'm now less inclined to pack my schedule with meetings and administrative tasks (such as responding to emails).
Here are some ways that I try to give myself more margin in my daily schedule:
I attempt to have only one meeting or event scheduled per day. I like having large chunks of time open for things I really want to do like writing or communing with Christ.
I try to have my evenings as free as possible since it's prime time to be with my family. I will try to get everything else done during the day.
I wake up as early as possible so that I can get a head start in accomplishing things. Doing this allows me to have ample breathing room for the rest of the day.
I make sure that I have a pool of blog entries and social media posts to utilize so I can skip writing days when needed. Things happen in life. There will be days when I can't write or post on social media. Or perhaps I just want to take the day off. I prepare for this by making sure I have a substantial pool of entries and posts that I can draw from.
Giving myself ample margins each day helps me to slow down in life. It also helps me combat stress that arises from having too much to do in so little time. But more importantly, it gives me space to do the things that I really want to do in life.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
