Margin

I am writing about margin as an alcoholic would write about vodka.

That is to say, I know a bit about the topic but I used and abused it most of my life.

Years ago, I wrote, “Margin is the white space next to the important stuff on a page. And it turns out it is important too.”

I don’t remember the moment I wrote it, but I was probably late for a meeting or something.

Early on in my career I probably would have qualified as a workaholic. Sometimes that is required of entrepreneurs when they’re starting a new business. You have to outwork the competition, and a start-up requires extra hours and energy and focus. It leaves little time for margin.

That’s not really a big problem, if it is for a season.

The problem is when it becomes a lifestyle.

And for many people it does.

We define being busy as being productive, and being productive as being important or needed or something.

The problem is, of course, that a singular focus on your job necessarily means you aren’t focusing on other aspects of your life. That usually means the marriage, the kids, the friendships, etc. suffer.

Again, sustainable for a short period of time with an end in sight and the blessing of your loved ones.

Not sustainable forever.

Like vodka, busyness is addictive. I don’t know dopamine from adrenaline but I do know something happens in our brains and we get a weird sense of pride when we work a 12 hour day and get 200 emails and 100 text messages.

I’m all about having a good work ethic. I always looked for employees who were productive and efficient and didn’t mind going the extra mile - even a night or weekend here and there - to get the job done right.

That’s not what this is about.

This is about racing through life from one crisis to the next, from one project to the next, from one spinning plate to the next plate about to fall from the stick. And thriving on it.

Margin, for me, is about blocking out one day a week for no meetings or appointments. It’s about leaving ten minutes early for an appointment instead of squeezing in just one more phone call, which inevitably will make me late. It’s about actually scheduling time on my calendar for date nights with Julie and breakfast with friends and walking at least a few mornings a week with David. It’s taking a novel to the Doctor’s waiting room instead of reading the latest P&L or checking email.

Even in retirement I fight this tendency to not have enough margin in my life. I schedule stuff on top of other stuff and I say yes to stuff I should be saying no to.

In graphic design, white space, often in the form of margins, is not really nothing. It’s something. It’s an important component of the overall image that draws your attention to the real message. It prevents clutter. It keeps things clean and clear.

You can tell an amateur design by how cluttered it is. By how many messages they are trying to convey in that limited space.

You can tell an amateur musician by how they overplay. Great musicians know that pauses and chords make the fills and leads so much better.

Play less notes.

Stop cramming everything into the white space.

Learn how to say no.

Be still now and then.

Let a plate crash before you do.

“We hurt people by being too busy. Too busy to notice their needs. Too busy to drop that note of comfort or encouragement or assurance of love. Too busy to listen when someone needs to talk. Too busy to care”. — Billy Graham