Do you remember learning how to write a resume in high school or college? An important rule of thumb was making sure your margins were wide enough… I believe it was 1″ on the sides and 1 1/2 ” on the top and bottom. I remember getting so frustrated because I had so much I wanted to cram into my resume that I was always looking to squeeeeeeze those margins and see what I could get away with. (Sound familiar?)
But there’s a good reason for those margins. It’s so the reader has enough “white space” to be able to read and digest the contents of your resume. If it is cluttered with too many words or too many bullet points and there’s no room to breathe, the reader is likely to get overwhelmed and even worse, simply put it aside in favor of the next cleaner resume.
Other examples of white space (contrasted with clutter) in our lives:
– A fancy restaurant with linen tablecloths, one single rosebud in a vase and sleek lighting and decor VS. Hard Rock Cafe with a monster menu and where the floor to ceiling is covered in music history memorabilia
– A high end boutique that has a select line of clothing and accessories that they carry VS. the cluttered racks at discount clothing stores
– A beautifully designed websites that have clean lines and a zen feel VS. those with lots of bold, yellow highlighter, ads and red arrows saying “buy now!”
Less really is more.
So let me say this plainly. If you don’t have enough white space to digest the contents of your life, if it is too cluttered with physical or emotional “stuff” and there is no room to breathe, you are likely to get overwhelmed and even worse, _________________ (get sick, shut down, be unhappy, go numb, be a robot… you get the idea).
If you don’t have enough white space in your life, how can you process all that is beautiful, wonderful and amazing about it?
Help! I need white space STAT! Here are some ideas to get you going….
1. Turn off the TV and stop reading the newspaper.
2. Turn off the radio when driving. (8 hour road trips in silence… awesome for clearing the head!)
3. Bathe or shower with the door locked (Because boundaries matter!)
4. Build in an hour of “planning time” each morning when you start your work day.
5. Unsubscribe to things you no longer read – magazines, catalogs, email newsletters.
6. Declutter some part of your house. (Even one drawer makes a difference!)
7. Go on retreat. (Learn about the April 1-3rd Revitalization Retreat near Houston, TX or plan your own retreat with these five ideas)
8. Write morning pages (Check out Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way if you don’t know about this awesome tool to empty your brain first thing in the morning).
9. Meditate. (In your car between meetings. On your lunch break. While your kid is napping. Before you go to sleep at night.)
Revitalizing Action: Choose one white space strategy and EXPERIMENT with it! (Experiment is my word of the year. I’ll gladly share it with you!) Implement this change for at least a week and notice how you feel both before and after making this change. I’ll bet you can tell a difference.
Here’s to more white space!
Elizabeth