PAUSE is my monthly newsletter that can be read in three minutes or less. Each issue explores a topic that could help you with whatever awesome goals you're working on.
When I quit my job and jumped into full-time entrepreneurship in 2014, I was so excited to be in charge of my calendar.
But at first, I was really, really bad at it.
I think filling up my calendar felt productive — so I stacked it all in. Networking events, 1:1 coffees, endless webinars on topics like “How to start a business blog.” (It was 2014. We were all doing it!)
I treated a blank hour like an error — and “fixed it” by adding something. Over and over, until my calendar was so full it made me anxious to look at it.
I kept going this way for years — and I'll spare you the inevitable crash-and-burnout story that followed. But I will share my favorite lesson from that time — something I (eventually) learned and wish I'd learned wayyyyyy earlier:
Blank space isn't empty. It's margin.
When I think of a margin, I think of the margins on a page — that white space around the text that keeps everything from falling off the edge. The words need it — without it, the text would be unreadable. Well, our calendars work the same way. Margin isn't where nothing happens. It's the important space that keeps everything else from spilling over.
Three reasons I only survive if I have margins:
I have young kids — which means that on any given week, someone is about to get sick, forget their school lunch at home, or need an emergency trip to the craft store for posterboard. If my calendar has no margin, then one surprise brings everything crashing down.
The margin also helps with creative work — writing, research, social media, session design... because creative work is notoriously hard to time-box. Some days, an idea flows in an hour, and I'm good to go... other days, it takes me hours to write a paragraph (and said paragraph isn't even that great). The ebb-and-flow is hard to predict. If I've given every hour away, I have nothing left to help me absorb the difference.
I'm an introvert. I love a good 1:1 coffee. I genuinely do. But it costs me something. So just because I have a free hour on my calendar doesn't mean I have the energy to fill it with another person. Free space on my calendar isn't always available space! Instead of just looking to see if my time is free, I have to look at my overall day and week to determine how I'm already spending my energy.
So over the years, I've learned to literally add margins — either by protecting blank spaces or adding blocks so that “blank” space is protected.
I'm proud to say that I've been a fierce defender of my calendar for a few years now, and I promise — my business hasn't suffered. In fact, it's better than ever. Prioritizing margins has helped me be a better teacher, writer, speaker, partner… and definitely a more resilient parent.
And the best part? Looking at my calendar doesn't make me anxious anymore! My calendar feels like a tool I use — not the other way around.
Dr. Sarah Glova, Co-Editor of Pause, Avid Margin Fan
Later this month, I'll be diving into the deeper, research-backed side of this idea — in my new Substack, The Science of Getting There.
Maybe all those improv classes have rubbed off on me, because my first reaction to any request to work on a new project or a speaking event is “Yes, and…!”
Even though those yeses have given me some truly incredible experiences, it also means it is easy for my calendar to be straining at the seams.
I hate to admit that I certainly have a tendency to cram in one more thing to an already full day. I really am working on not being so free with my yeses and to take a beat before I agree to add something else to my calendar.
Scheduling time between meetings, protecting a realistic travel buffer between events, and setting aside specific time for reading and big-picture planning have been really important strategies. And I continue to find ways to establish boundaries, to protect work priorities, and to create time to recharge and just exist. Because there is always another project, more work, something to refine or finish up… but, it is up to me to carve out time for my priorities of creativity, connection with others, and fun.
Each week, my time in the pottery studio meets all three of those priorities, so I guard that time like the precious resource that it is!
Dr. Sarah Egan Warren, Co-Editor of Pause, Boundary Protector
