No Margins
Building sufficient space into your schedule is important
This weekend I read an interesting New York Times article about the death of the fashion industry. The author presents evidence that long before the 2020 pandemic, the fashion industry was essentially cannibalizing itself. As with so many things this year, the pandemic accelerated significant and necessary changes that were already in process. For fashion, that meant ending the break-neck speed of fashion cycles.
In fact, the pace of fashion had accelerated to such an extent that an industry renowned for artistic expression and creativity was instead producing burned out designers who were designing clothing they didn’t really like and vendors couldn’t sell.
This echoes what I often hear from busy professional during our coaching sessions. Their pace of work has gotten to the point where they’re simply going through the motions, barely getting by, have lost all creativity, and want to get off of the hamster wheel they feel chained to. They have no margins. No margins for error, for learning, for stopping for a breath, for anything other than just getting sh*t done. These are telltale signs of classic burnout and symptoms of a system that desperately needs change.
As a society, we have to learn how to build healthy margins into our lives and work. The pandemic has forced many to realize this fact, but some still haven’t figured this out or they’re resisting it. Or perhaps they know they need healthy margins, but their workplace doesn’t empower them to do so. Perhaps they or their employers are blinded by ambition. They focus all their attention on material success and in doing so miss the chance to help build a world where everyone can flourish and thrive.
Ambition and success are important. They motivate us to constantly improve ourselves and see change in our respective industries and in the broader world. But the question we must always ask ourselves is, “At what cost?” If success comes at the cost of personally health and happiness, then it is a narrow, essentially hollow, definition of success.
True success means finding happiness and fulfillment in a balanced life. Building your “success” on a system that only rewards workaholics or those who win at all costs is damaging to yourself and perpetuates an unhealthy system.
Consider what kinds of margins you personally need in order to not just prevent burnout, but thrive. I personally like to have sufficient time during the week to read interesting articles (like the NYT one mentioned above), watch educational videos, do some writing, do yoga, and meditate. I’ve discovered these things recharge me, so I make sure to do them. But when there aren’t enough margins built in to my schedule, and I can’t do these recharging activities, I feel stress and anxiety. I lose inspiration and creativity.
As a conscious leader, how can you start building in healthy margins for your team? How can you transform your industry by doing things differently? You have the power to create a workplace that leads the way in showing how to create an environment where employees have sufficient margins. You can nurture the holistic growth of each employee. You can help them BE the change the world needs. Start with one person (you), then help your team, and the change will energetically flow to the rest of the world.
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
Meredith’s coaching helps conscious leaders step courageously into the future of work. Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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