Creating space as a productivity tool

I’ve historically been someone who tries to cram as much into vacation time as possible – whether it’s the number of countries on the itinerary, friends visited, books read, etc. My obsession with productivity and achievement in the workplace tended to spill over into my personal time off. And this meant usually coming back from vacations with a false sense of having maximized my time away from the business and being ready to throw myself back into work, when in fact I often felt more depleted than before I left.

This year, I’ve adopted a different approach to my personal time off, striving to create as much space in my days as possible. These unscheduled days have helped me to get much more in tune with my body and what it needs – and have opened up incredible opportunities for spontaneity, creativity and clarity. During my week’s holiday in August, I spent hours some days sitting, walking or running outside in nature – and was amazed to find how productive this time ended up being. I felt like I was bursting with creativity the entire week – writing was more effortless, ideas poured out of me, problems I’d been struggling with suddenly had solutions, and situations that were confusing or muddy seemed far clearer. And it’s incredible how rested I felt and ready to tackle the challenges that awaited me when I returned to work the next week.

I noticed other people posting about similar experiences – which suggests this may be part of a larger post-pandemic shift. And yet, old habits can die hard – and the arrival of Labour Day can bring with it a healthy dose of ambition and a desire to supercharge our productivity. Suddenly, our calendars are filled with back-to-back meetings again – and we move to thinking and doing vs. pausing, reflecting and feeling.

Creating space shouldn’t be a semi-annual process – and it isn’t just about rest and relaxation – in fact, it may be one of our best and most under-utilized productivity tool.

Creating space in your work week for silence and reflection could look like…
✅ Blocking 1 or more 2 to 3-hour meeting-free blocks in your calendar
✅Waking up 30 minutes earlier for some device-free reflection time
✅Booking a daily walk into your calendar
✅Moving to 45-minute (vs. hour) meetings as the default
✅Implementing meeting-free Fridays

How are you creating that much-needed space for yourself or your teams? What has worked or not worked for you?