White space is the visual breaks in a document that make it easier for the reader to read and understand what is trying to be communicated. It creates natural breaks between ideas and allows our minds to categorize and conquer learning. It also allows our brains to “rest” between thoughts. If there was no white space in a document, the brain would become overwhelmed and shut down.
Did you notice the space? That is there for your mind to take a break and look for the next thought. So the next thought is what if we give ourselves white space at work? Instead of jumping into every task with urgency and without a breath, we take a moment to rest between decisions or tasks. White space in the workforce would give more of a balance to our daily routines. It would make tasks easier to understand. It would prioritize clarity over chaos.
Juliet Funt from Fast Company* gives a description of “hallucinated urgency” that defines so many workplaces. Everything is important! Everything has to be done now! There is no time to think, we need to do! This would look like a paper that had words with no break, up to the margins and no area to give a brain break. It is an overload that brings burn out, shut down and poor decisions. So create a culture that intentionally adds white space. Give time to evaluate, process and think before doing. Give space to calm the mind and create a thoughtful plan. A culture of urgency only makes truly urgent items lost in the jumble of all the “hallucinated urgencies”.
Mark 1:35
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
