From the Desk of Janet Barclay

I read a great article this month by Vince Thompson, author of Ignited: Managers! Light Up Your Company and Career for More Power More Purpose and More Success, entitled Make the Most of Your White Space. In this article, Thompson defines "white space" as "those gaps in your calendar in between meetings and other planned activities." He then goes on to suggest effective strategies for maximizing your use of that time, and I suggest that you read his article to learn what strategies he recommends.

One thing he doesn’t mention in his article is the importance of creating white space in your schedule. You (hopefully) know that you should leave enough white space on websites and printed documents to make them readable, but do you consciously leave white space on your calendar, or do you schedule back-to-back meetings and other activities, barely leaving time to wrap things up and safely get from one location to another?

In today’s fast-paced lifestyle, this problem is not isolated to the workplace. Many families live in a constant whirlwind of hurrying home from work and school, then grabbing a quick bite to eat before rushing off to various activities. This type of existence makes it very difficult to enjoy time together or even the activities themselves.

Now that summer is here, many of those regular activities will not be taking place. Why not take advantage of this "white space" to figure out what you really want to achieve in your personal and professional lives, and to determine what you can eliminate from your schedule to make it possible?