Margin

Building margin into one’s life is critical as a leader; but I have found myself struggling with this imperative. During this past week, the tyranny of the urgent has dominated my schedule. All of the activities that have filled my calendar have been good, beneficial, positive events, but the accumulation of all the tasks, appointments, commitments, responsibilities, and demands has eliminated any real time to relax, to think, to enjoy my home, to communicate with my wife, or even to reflect on the significance of the busyness. So many hats were required this week – the fireman’s helmet was needed to address several burning emergences; the counselor’s fedora was required in dealing with several sensitive issues; the speaker’s beret was worn when leading staff devotions; the hat of the musician was donned for evening rehearsals; and the cap of discussion was firmly in place for a series of meetings that seemed like a revolving door from whistle to whistle. Meals were rushed, sleep was less than normal, and fatigue was a close friend.

I wish I could say that this kind of week was a rarity due to my careful discipline not to overextend my commitments. However, like a boy looking at a box of doughnuts, my involvement eyes are so much bigger than my calendar stomach. My inability to say “no” is only eclipsed by my lack of common sense. George the Pig (one of my favorite books from childhood) ate so many doughnut that he exploded (rather violent – but I laughed and laughed at that book as a little boy). Sadly, I have grown up to be that pig, sometimes. My commitments can tend to crush me – no matter how good the doughnuts might taste.

One of the important roles in my professional position is to fly above the trees in an attempt to view the mission from the 30,000 foot level. Thinking ahead and spending time in long-range planning is critical for the health of the organization. This week, I failed to get much above the bottom branches. Sometimes I was crashing into the tree trunks and doing hand-to-hand combat with the squirrels. I felt a little like Charlie Brown in the musical, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” who tried but couldn’t get his kite in the air. During a recent jog around the neighborhood, I saw three little siblings trying to get their kite to catch the breeze. In my short run past their house, they had managed to get the kite up about ten feet only to have it crash into the tree in the front yard. As I continued to jog, I contemplated my failed attempts to rise above branches.

Margin…. Breathing room…. Space to stretch…. Time to think…. A moment for meditation…. Intentional gaps built into the day that allow for reflection, reading, and refueling; imagination, ideation, and “iPad”ing; projecting, planning, and playing… without these respites the calendar becomes a curse, the schedule becomes the slave-master, and the details of life destroy the dreams of the leader.

I really enjoy my study Bible that has wide margins. As I read the Scripture and a good insight floods my mind, I jot down that thought in the margin. Being able to write down my idea right beside the passage helps me to remember that insight the next time I visit that page of truth. This needs to be the picture of my day-to-day experience - having enough margin to write down insights instead of zooming from one meeting to the next without enough time to process the first one. By the end of a series of appointments, the day seems more like a blur than several significant points of accomplishment.

The week is over. May I take some time to learn. May I take some time to guard against kind of crush in the future. May I take some time to ensure margin. Oooop’s…. I forgot…. got to go, catch you soon!