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The Importance of Blank Space on Your Calendar
It is very easy these days to find ourselves overcommitted and overwhelmed as we try to “fit it all in.”
There are many demands for our time and attention, pulling us in a thousand different directions, and countless distractions to derail us from what really matters.
It is all too common to find ourselves busy nonstop throughout the day without any space for real thinking. After all, when our lives are so hectic, isn’t it an unrealistic luxury to set dedicated time aside for thinking and reflecting?
That is the default mindset for many, but author Greg McKeown provides an alternative viewpoint in his New York Times best-selling book, Essentialism (a fantastic book about doing less, but better, in all areas of our lives).
He says,“The faster and busier things get, the more we need to build thinking time into our schedule. And the noisier things get, the more we need to build quiet reflection spaces in which we can truly focus.”
McKeown cites Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, who schedules up to two hours of uninterrupted time on his calendar every day.
Weiner started this practice when back-to-back meetings began consuming his schedule. Initially, blocking out blank space felt like an indulgence, but now he credits it with being his…
