Prioritizing ‘White Space’ Is the Key to a Productive Week
Take a break from what’s in front of you and finally see what’s around you
I’m a big believer that the enemy of productivity is always working. At the beginning of the pandemic, however, this belief was put to the test. Like many others, I saw my work contracts get cut in half, and I felt pressured to put in overtime to replace them. But fortunately, I didn’t have to. During this time, something surprising happened: New clients began reaching out, and I started feeling more creative and inspired than I had in years.
A big reason for this is because I continued to follow the lead of business coach Dan Sullivan and prioritized white space on my calendar. On his podcast, Inside Strategic Coach, Sullivan said, “Free time isn’t just a reward for hard work; it’s a necessary prerequisite for doing good work.” The key, Sullivan explained, is to proactively build breaks into your calendar before thinking about any work responsibilities.
At the end of each week, before I get bombarded with requests from other people, I break out my calendar and proactively put “white space” on it — time to simply be. Sullivan leaves 30% of his day unscheduled, explaining:
When you’re completely tightly scheduled, you…
