White Space
Currently reading
I enjoy reading Dorie Clark—be it her articles or books—and her podcasts and interviews are awesome too. A few days ago I started reading her latest book, The Long Game.
Part one of the book stood out to me: white space, which is essentially about carving out time for opportunity. Can we carve out 20% of our time working on what we think will benefit us most? The 20% concept was taken from Google where their employees are empowered to be more creative and innovative. Dorie says:
There’s something compelling about the idea of cordoning off time to experiment and see where your passions take you. […] there’s a wide gulf between being intrigued by a topic and actually making it a core part of your life and career. That’s where 20% time comes in, because it gives you permission to explore your interest and see what works while the stakes are relatively low.
Creating white space to build one’s life portfolio is a prudent strategy. But it’s not as easy as it seems, especially if one holds a day job, has commitments (such as bills to pay, kids, mortgage, etc.), and frankly, haven’t got a clue. Also, not every experiment is going to pay off and we don’t know in advance which ones will. However, I can say with conviction that my experimentation, and yes, “playing the long game” (I didn’t know I was already doing this many years ago), have yielded the desired super positive results for me. I agree with Dorie:
Every single activity was a learning experience and a good story to tell later on, whether it was amazing or not.
Some activities will resonate and stick, some won’t.
Even if you have no idea what your ultimate goal is professionally, embracing 20% time is still a good idea.
So, clear your calendar to create more white space.
Note that busyness is not the mark of success (or a status symbol or a mark of self-importance). It is, in fact, something to be avoided at all costs. In my case, I love filling up my calendar with activities I deem meaningful to me but I soon start to feel overwhelmed. I already made a conscious effort with my day job, so the issue isn’t with my job but with the habit of enrolling myself into courses and programs.
Those two words—white space—has become really important to me. They led me to ‘kill’ a few of my current personal projects. The notable one is the data strategy program I recently enrolled with BerkeleyHaas Executive Education (I managed to get a refund). That frees up time and headspace for what’s more important to me, which is mastering Swedish and focusing on attending my SFI program. I still have other ongoing learning projects with Coursera, BerkeleyHaas, LinkedIn Learning, Harvard MentorManage, and PMI. And of course, this blog to write.
I want to create more “white space” to fulfill my dreams. And I will do it with “strategic patience.” Onward!
Extras: I really enjoyed the following podcast by Blake Morgan. She features Dorie Clark and talks about the 3 steps to practice long-term thinking. Have a listen!
