Ten Ways to Create More Whitespace in Your Day

A PRACTICE YOU’LL WANT TO KEEP PRACTICING

Photo by Susan Wilkinson on Unsplash

"Whitespace is to be regarded as an active element, not a passive background."
~ Jan Tschichold"

One of my all time favourite articles is this one I wrote on whitespace. It talks about the two kinds of whitespace that we all need. 

What I thought to write about today, is the micro kind of whitespace, and in particular to give you some ideas on how to include it in your own life.

Pick one that feels interesting to you, and please send on over any of your own ways of building in whitespace.

Here are a collection of my fave ways of creating WHITESPACE

1) 50 minute hour

Back to back to back to back meetings. 

Who does this? 

Apparently me. for most of my corporate life. and still sometimes now.

For most of my working life I've given myself zero moments to transition to the next session.

So I've decided that an hour is now 50 minutes - 55 max. And also half an hour = 25 minutes.

2) a walk around the block

If you work from home, make this a start your day and/or an end your day routine. 

Or do this at lunchtime

Or any time you need a break. e.g. before supper or after supper.

A few moments outside the house (or office) creates a wee bit of margin and sanity!

3) sip water

My fave way of creating space inside an emotionally thick convo is to sip water and it   s l o w s   me down. 

This practice offers my heart and my brain an interesting amount of space. I can pause, re-group and go from there.

4) "I need to go to the ladies room"

Washroom, bathroom, restroom, ladies room, loo.... whatever you call it - no one needs to know WHAT you're doing there. 

Just go. Admittedly the washroom is sometimes my mid-day sanctuary.

A place to step out of frustration or a place to just breathe.

I also have a fan timer inside my washroom, sometimes I'll go in, lock the door, put the timer on for 5 minutes (or 10 or 15) and WHO KNOWS WHAT I"M REALLY DOING IN THERE - but I'm never asked.

Voila - whitespace.

5) phone free moment

Even your phone needs a time out. My phone is often naughty gobbling up too much time doing absolutely nothing meaningfu or helpful.

I know you KNOW those moments (or hours). You look up wondering what the heck have you been doing for the last x minutes hours.....

Yup, time has been lost into the social media chasm. 

Give your phone a time out. put it in the corner. it will be fine with out you.

6) take something off the calendar

I have moments where I plan my life out excessively and then not even 24 hours later I'm like "who planned my life?" 

Apparently STILL me.

If you've put it on the calendar, you can also take it off. 

You're a discerning and smart and wise women, so trust yourself to remove something (or a someone).

7) take a nap

I learned the art of naps from my father who would '"rest his eyes" while lying on the sofa.

The real trick to his napping? He held a set of car keys in his hand, and the moment he fell asleep, they fell out of his hands onto the floor.

They would fall, and in that moment, he awoke rested.

"But naps don't work for me"?

Okay, but have you REALLY tried? 

And no, you can't just sleep as long as you want because YES, you will wake up feeling like a dog's breakfast and NO, you won't fall asleep at night and OF COURSE you'll say naps don't work.

But seriously, TRY. the art of the nap is a game changer.

8) hand on your heart

Your kid or hubby or someone, or something triggers you. All the feels unlock and unleash. If this happens, go straight to #4 above.

And if you're practiced, and can find space in a moment, put that sweet hand of yours on your heart and touch into a tiny moment of spaciousness.

9) stretch 

I find space in my body when I stretch - try it, it's kind of cool to imagine space being created in that tense neck. Or try stretching from side to side and feel space in your waist. 

Inhale and create space inside your lungs. 

10) look AT your life

No word of a lie, I sometimes imagine myself sitting atop a tall tree looking AT my life.

This is a very portable experience that helps you create space (and perspective) by not actually feeling yourself IN it.

There you go - 10 ways to find space in your day. 

I'd love to know which one you try.  Because practicing any one of these repeatedly can create the room you need to breathe.