Creating a Life with Margins

Today's post is a reflection on an exercise contained in the book, "The Good and Beautiful God" by James Bryan Smith. The exercise is on creating "margins" in our lives, and the positive effect that can have on our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). Margins in this use, is not a financial term (the net profit) but rather that space on a written page that helps to focus our eyes on the words.

Mr. Smith suggests that our lives are so filled that they resemble a page of writing that totally fills the page - no white space at all. Think about what that would look like - how overwhelming that would be to read. If you can't imagine it, go to your word processor and set up your margins so that they are as small as possible, then type some text. It doesn't feel right or good, does it?! We move from one item on our "to-do" lists to the next without a pause. We run behind because something gets in the way of our carefully crafted schedule that doesn't allow for the vagaries of life - for that unexpected turn of events. Once that inevitable event occurs, our whole day/week/life is thrown out of balance and we feel enormous stress and frustration. Does this ever happen to anyone out there in Blog-land? You can put down your hands.

So, how do we create margins? It starts by being realistic in looking at our days. How much can we really cram into the allotted time without driving ourselves nuts? Once you have the skeleton of what has to be done (be honest about "has to" versus "could be") then build in 15 to 30 minutes of down-time in the morning and the afternoon. This might involve getting up a few minutes earlier in the morning, or turning off the T.V. a few minutes earlier at night. It might involve taking a walk outside or even just around the building between meetings or projects. Be creative, and be ruthless about protecting this time.

With some space injected into your day, I suspect that you'll at first feel guilty for "goofing off" or "playing hookey", but my guess is that you'll also find a sense of peace and calm. If I'm a betting person, your co-workers will also notice that you have a different demeanor, and might even comment on it. Feel free to share your secret - in this way you will make their lives better too, and the HW2 of your community will improve.

I'd love to hear how this works for you. Comment back to me, either positives or negatives on creating margins in your life. Oh, and if you really want to do something good for yourself, get a copy of Mr. Smith's book and work through it during those margin times.

Peace,
Dan