Leaving Space for Life
I was sitting in church while a leader mentioned being available to help others. I realized that, too often, I’ve overscheduled myself to the point that if someone needed my help, it wouldn’t matter how much I wanted to help them. I wouldn’t have the time.
I didn’t like how that felt.
While sitting in the pew, I remembered a home organization show I watched years ago. They were helping a family reorganize their pantry. They said the first thing to do was to cut down the crap, take inventory of what you want to keep, and then organize it in a system you can maintain.
But there was a caveat…
You could not fill your shelves more than 80% full.
Instead of filling all the shelves with the stuff you kept, you leave space for the opportunities. The things that grab your attention at the store. The unexpected things that join you after you’ve created your organized system.
When there’s still 20% left, the shelves stay tidier for longer. The system stays available for longer, and it’s easier to maintain.
So, I’m trying an experiment.
Too often, I block out all the time in my day. I have a very specific plan that I try to stick to, and I can be really stubborn about adhering to that plan.
My mom saw this in me a lot when I was younger, so she would purposely make me be spontaneous. Because I learned to anticipate her, I naturally started leaving space in my day. Maybe my mom was teaching me this 80% rule. Without her here, though, I’ve been overfilling my space again.
So, I’m trying to leave space for the opportunities.
Instead of creating a huge to-do list and then trying to shove all those tasks into time blocks in my day, I’m purposefully keeping some time open for opportunities.
Sometimes those opportunities turn into self-care. Other times, they become time to work on things I’ve been putting off. On the best days, that time is spent with others, where I think I’m there to help and the connection ends up lifting me even more in return.
I’m realizing that leaving 20% of my time open doesn’t mean I’m doing 20% less with my life. It means I’m leaving room for the things I couldn’t have planned for, the things that might end up mattering more than whatever was on my to-do list.
I still have goals. I still have things I want to accomplish. But I don’t want to be so busy doing the things I’ve planned that I miss the things I never could have planned for.
So, I’m trying to leave a little space on the shelves.
What about you? Is your schedule so full that there’s no room for the unexpected? What might happen if you left a little space?
Thanks for reading with me today! If you want to buid your skills so you can make more space for life, I’m running a free webinar on how to renegotiate your load without losing face on Nov 18 at 11 am MST.
You can register for your seat here: https://luma.com/iputxb5c
