Margin

Mark Batterson post:  When You Lose Margin

One of the hardest things for me to do right now is to maintain a margin. It's hard to keep up with email. I can't meet with everybody I'd like to meet with. It's tough to juggle pastoring and writing. And my kids need their dad more than ever. But for all of those reasons, maintaining margin is the key to maintaining everything else. Starting with sanity!

When you lose margin, you lose perspective.
When you lose margin, you lose creativity.
When you lose margin, you lose gratitude.
When you lose margin, you lose peace of mind.
When you lose margin, you lose sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
When you lose margin, you lose emotional reserves.

So how do you maintain margin? I think it comes down to time management. If you don't control your calendar, your calendar will control you. You've got to schedule time with God. And it probably needs to be a consistent time slot. You've got to schedule time for yourself. That includes days off, days without meetings, off site meetings, etc. If you need to, schedule reading time! Or just put a book in the bathroom! For me, Tuesdays and Thursdays are meeting days. Wednesday and Fridays are margin days.