The importance of space
You know what it's like. The to-do list is looming and long. It's a busy day. You've got so much to get done. No time to stop. So you dive straight into busyness, into doing. You don't pause for a break, or you skip your morning walk. Work through lunch. Tackle a bit of work at the weekend too. It's so tempting, right? It seems like the obvious thing. "I'll just get all of this done and then I'll stop/rest/take a break/have some time off..."
I get it. In a busy world, there never seems like enough time to do all the things we need to do, let alone all the things we want to do! AND, I'm a firm believer - from repeated experience - that it's when we are most busy or heading for our highest levels of output that we most need to make space for ourselves. Not just as an element of self-care, although that's of course important too. But space as part of the work itself. Space for creativity. Space for ideas to bubble up. Space for problem solving. Space to breathe, to dream, to vision, to plan.
This morning I was doing my morning pages (a powerful journaling practice I've had for many years and one I teach my coaching clients) and I could feel the resistance. "I have such a lot to get done today, maybe I'll just do half a page and then get going. I don't have much to say anyway...it's a waste of time...I could be doing something else more productive"... And then, at that fork in the road decision point, I decided to continue with the practice. To keep writing, even though it didn't seem to be the most productive use of my time. And you know what...as I kept writing, suddenly the ideas started to flow and with them, my energy. In the next 15 minutes, I had fresh ideas for my workshop next week, for a big keynote I'm delivering in a month's time, for my book, for some social media content. Decisions I'd been putting off making suddenly became clear and easy. I got excited about doing some research for my book and had ideas of where to look for it. Two seemingly unrelated pieces I needed to speak about suddenly emerged and resolved themselves as one obvious thing. But most importantly, my energy and enthusiasm and motivation was suddenly sky-high. I went out for a walk, did a Facebook live, blitzed my to do list and enjoyed writing this blog post.
All from 20-30 minutes of journaling that I wasn't sure I had time for! Imagine then what's possible in a whole day?! Or even a morning or afternoon, or just an hour in the middle of your day. Switched off from distractions. Away from your phone and social media and screens. Away from thinking and planning and doing. Simply being. Being with yourself, perhaps with a notebook and some journaling, perhaps out in nature with the birdsong and the breeze and the fresh air and vibrant greens.
Because the thing is, this type of space isn’t just a luxury. It's in this downtime that the magic happens. We rarely solve problems or come up with ideas by actively thinking about them. Ever find your brain racing at night as you try to get to sleep? Or waking up in the middle of the night with a great idea? That's because that's often the only time we give our unconscious minds (which are way more powerful than our conscious minds, by the way!) time to process and form connections and create and solve. What if you gave yourself that time in the day? What if that time - that space - was part of the work?
Admittedly it's not always easy in practice to switch off and to try not to think, even when we make that space for ourselves. We have to let go of an outcome, and just allow the space to be what it needs to be. Sometimes it's "productive", sometimes it's not (at least not obviously). But it's a practice we develop. It is a "muscle" we can build and, over time, we learn to trust the importance and value of space. Sometimes we need some guidance (as with any new skill we try to learn), and sometimes we need to take ourselves into a different physical space to get away from distractions. For example when women come out on retreat in the woods with me, it's often such a different environment than they are used to, whilst also being safe and supported and a naturally-switched-off setting, that they invariably leave feeling not only physically refreshed and rested, but also replenished at a soul level...whilst simultaneously having solved problems and made decisions and let go of troubles and come up with ideas for their business....all unconsciously whilst they were there having a good time! Magic, huh?!
So where can you make some space this week? Whether it's 30 minutes to do some journaling or to go for a walk without distractions (no headphone, no phones, no dogs, no friends!), or whether you can take yourself off for a morning or afternoon and do something completely different to the norm. Or (not-so-sneaky plug), if you want a real deep dive into space, come and join me in the woods for a one day Taste of the Wild retreat and give yourself the gift of a whole day of switched-off spaciousness. Whatever you do, remember space doesn’t happen by itself and it’s rarely a good time. We have to make space. Put it in your diary, ringfence it and keep that space sacrosanct! It might not be easy but your soul - and quite possibly your business, work and relationships - will thank you for it!