White space. This word is cropping up all over the place as I begin to submerge myself in writing, creating marketing pieces and filing my day-timer pages!
White space is what designers and editors refer to as the unused, blank space between sections of a document or areas of a graphic design. It creates a visual open space for the eye to rest and allows elements of the creative to stand out.
How does this apply to my day-timer?
Well, when my own mentor coach asked about the “white space” in my days, I was a bit bewildered. It took a little deeper conversation to clarify that she was asking where the open spaces were: where was I making space for rest or creativity?
Nowhere.
Full stop. My journal pages were full – every line. Ink and scribbles were all over the pages of my daily diary; it was a full slate. And, not surprisingly, my head and body were rebelling. In my efforts to move my business off to a roaring start the only thing roaring was a full-blown headache and pending exhaustion.
Time to make some white space. Literally: clean, empty, white boxes on my calendar. (Although, those of you who know me well will understand that as a maverick I couldn’t stand it very long and I figured I could at least colour in the boxes!)
And I let only 2 words ever grace the boxes: BE or DO. To BE, for me, means just letting whatever comes, come in the moment. And for me, DO is an activity that pulls me into wonder and creativity- anything where I lose track of time and emerge refreshed. (It could be sleep, but just as likely is yoga, spinning, knitting…) None of these activities are planned. This exercise is not an extension of an agenda – it is open space where the only intention is to be inspired and restored.
Where have you created white space and what would you do with more of it?