Spaciousness

Our culture pushes us to do as much as possible in a day. A lot of people see free time as time to be filled. We cram our schedules back to back, and fit as much as possible in before the day is done.

I do things differently. I make sure there is spaciousness and ease in my schedule. It’s something I really enjoy about running my own business. I don’t do hustle culture. I don’t even drink coffee.

When I have a morning of appointments, I leave the afternoon open. I’ll actually block my calendar.

What that means is that I often have time for things that show up spontaneously, and I’m more able to respond to the unexpected. It also means that I tend to show up to appointments prepared and ready to give my full attention.

Think about the difference between a 10 minute break versus a 1 hour break. When you only have 10 minutes, you rush to the bathroom, respond to an urgent text, and then you jump back in.

When you have an hour, you have space to digest what you just did, and prepare for what you’re going to do next. You have time to make yourself a snack, get some quick tasks accomplished, or even go for a walk. (I sometimes even <gasp> take a nap.)

It’s true, I don’t have kids. I don’t mean to lord my spaciousness over you, I think I’m just wanting to speak to a possibility, another way.

I know not everyone has the privilege of free time. But I also think that a lot of people could have more free time than they think. By making spaciousness a priority, we actually end up being more productive, because we show up for what we need to do relaxed, prepared, undistracted, and ready to make the most of the time. More relaxed means more happy.

What would it look like to give yourself a little more buffer time in your days?