See this post on zenhabits about adding a bit of white space in your life. Slow food comes to mind. Just chilling on a weekend with a great book in a big overstuff chair. A quiet walk along the ocean. Just driving with the radio – and cell phone – off. That kind of thing.
Way back when I was a busy executive with a seemingly endless stream of meetings being dropped on my calendar by others, I finally made a change that worked well for me in adding back in a bit of white space during a busy work day.
I asked my assistant to only schedule meetings on my calendar that lasted at least 90 minutes. Of course the default meeting is an hour – but often it’s not quite long enough. If you are booked back to back, you’ll be in a catchup frenzy all day.
By switching to the 90 minute meeting minimum, I often had some white space remaining at the end of my meetings – to just do some thinking or, heaven forbid, return phone calls!
Which reminds me, this blog’s design could sure use some white space! It’s on my list – one of these days a redesign will pop!