I once had a boss who used to look at her appointment book and say, “I need some white space!” What she meant was she needed some free time. For the past 2 weeks I have felt like I needed some white space.
I do like my job and my profession. It is both rewarding and sometimes frustrating. The past 2 weeks have seen both of those. It has involved putting in longer hours, more paperwork, more phone calls and of course more patients. All those things make busy days, late lunches and increased stress. On the positive side it has allowed me to meet some very special people with stories to tell. The second part of this equation is then I come home and try to get parts of the the do list done, exercise and run errands. I know we all do this every day. I truly think it is a matter of perspective in how we handle the stress and pressure.
Previously I would have continued on the path of stress, trying to do it all and never asking for help. Never would an ounce of white space creep into my days. All this would lead to poor eating and sleeping. There would be many a nights I would awaken in the middle of the night with the fear of what I had forgotten to do. (Sound familiar?)
That was then this is now. Now I look ahead and know it is going to be busy and I still have my to do list. I wish I could say that I have learned to control the stress but that is still a work in progress. What has changed is that I come home and exercise. I sometimes only do one thing on my to do list instead of four. I cook ahead for both lunch and dinner. No cooking at 9 p.m. just reheating or putting together the salad. The white space is there too-I called and made an appointment for massage this weekend. This is my reward to me!
How do you get those white spaces?
Blooming Burgh Boomer 
I haven’t had any “white space” for the past few weeks either…but when I do, I like to go hiking, biking, the movies, take long walks, or just sit and read a good book. Enjoy your well earned massage. I love those too, and when you come out for a visit perhaps we will do that too… 🙂 Great post reminding us all to “take time to smell the roses.”
Here is hoping we both get some more of the “white space”. Thanks for your support and comment
I schedule my white space! Put a block in your calendar for a two hour lunch or for a evening with a book. I literally write it down or send a meeting invite to myself. It helps!
I do that with my exercise but that is a great idea for clearing some me time. I definitely am going to try it. Thanks for sharing.
I think the best way to achieve white space for me is to delegate. It took a very long time for me to admit that I can’t do it all and it turns out I don’t have to. Everything may not get done the way I’d do it, but it’s done and all it took was a little letting go and letting others in.
Delegation is difficult for me and I am trying to work on it. I agree letting go and letting in is important. Thanks for your comments.
My white space is my ‘write’ space!
One of the reasons I started blogging is because it forced me to take some me time. Great quote! Thanks for your comment
If I don’t have white space I get very dark.
That is such an important point. I think that is one of the most important reasons we need to make sure we have white space. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comment