Something I’ve tried to do over the years, with marginal success, is to schedule more white space on my calendar. It seems somewhat counter-intuitive (isn’t “white space” the opposite of “scheduling”?), but it’s often the only way to make it happen.
In recently reading Juliet Funt’s book “A Minute to Think“, she had a great comparison to throwing a jacket over a seat to save it. She shares:
“If your calendar is out of control as a result of this ill-conceived protocol, and you have insufficient white space to do your best work, try throwing a jacket on it. Like when you go to the movies alone and wouldn’t mind a little room around you. One often throws a jacket on the next seat. It’s a purposeful-accidental way of staking the territory. If someone asks, “Is this seat available?” of course you move the jacket. But until then, the jacket serves you, increasing your likelihood of comfort in a crowded world.”
The follow-up question that came to mind, and Funt has clearly seen before, is explained here:
“The question in the business world is “What’s the jacket?” If everyone knew and respected the term “white space” already, white space would be the jacket, confidently blocked in bare squares and slices across your happy, relaxed calendar. But until then, you’ll have to find more subtle ways of throwing down a jacket. You can put “strategy time,” “planning time,” “thinking time,” or “creative time”—all of which signal value and boundaries concurrently.”
My calendar is getting more and more “full” with these kinds of things, and it’s quite helpful. As she shared in the first quote, the time can still be used for other purposes if needed, but you’ve given control back to yourself. If someone tries to schedule on my Calendly link, those times will be blocked for me. However, if my team needs me or something more urgent comes up, I can certainly remove the jacket and try to reclaim the white space next time.
Do put any jackets on your calendar? What do you call them?
