"The first step in any creation process is to clear a space.

"
Rev. Rick Hoyt
Issue 7 : Personal
whitespace
I'm about to go "off the grid" for about a month to take my annual summer holiday abroad.
I'm visiting one of my favorite cities in the world tockholm and will be out of
commission while traveling.
!hen I tell people I take a month for vacation every summer they look at me with envy and
tell me how "lucky" I am. "ucky# $ot so much. I've learned that taking time off to reflect%
rela& and go away is an essential part of the success of my business. ince I place high value
on my health and sanity% I design my business in a way that allows proper whitespace.
This issue is dedicated to whitespace. $ot the whitespace you would find on a printed page
or a website% but the whitespace we need in our life. 'wning a business can easily lead to
stress and burnout. (nless we consciously create whitespace in our lives% our business is
going to be as stressed as we are.
In )merica% we live in a culture that values money more than time. !e will fight more for
getting a raise in our income and less for getting more time off. The irony is that even when
we make more money% we still don't take time off and we become slaves to our business.
I've always thought that a two*week vacation in one year sounds absurd. It sometimes takes
me that much time +ust to recalibrate and get into a rela&ed vacation mode. ,y personal goal
is to live like my friends in weden and take - weeks of holiday a year. I'm slowly getting
there.
Happy reading/
Personal Whitespace
It was the beginning of the year 2000 and I was returning to work from a much needed two
week holiday break when I sat my staff down and made an announcement that shocked them
all: "Starting today I'll be taking off every Friday."
y team looked at each other with doubtful e!"ressions on their faces# turned back to me and
said# "$eah# right%"
&ntil that moment# my staff was used to seeing me at work all the time without taking much
time off. I was at the office every day# coming in early# leaving late# working weekends and
not really having a life outside the studio. 'hese were the early days of my business when I
was convinced that I needed to be there all the time for the business to run smoothly. I
worked cra(y hours# hardly took any time off for myself and constantly felt on the edge of
burn out.
)ut during that vacation in 2000 I reali(ed that this "attern wasn't healthy. *fter all# one of
the reasons I went into business for myself was to have a better +uality of life and make my
own rules. $et# I found myself working in my business as if it was a stressful ,ob under a
slave-driving boss.
.very designer knows and values the "ower of whites"ace. /hites"ace is the em"ty s"ace
between and around the elements on a "age layout. It's the s"ace with nothing in it. *lthough
whites"ace is made of nothing# it shouldn't be treated as worthless. /hites"ace increases
focus# brings more clarity and hel"s the im"ortant ideas on the "age stand out.
'aking Fridays off was my first ste" into bringing more whites"ace into my life. 0ne e!tra
day off hel"ed me feel less overwhelmed and brought more focus and clarity to the rest of my
week. *nd# I didn't sto" there. In addition to taking Fridays off for myself# I decided to close
the whole sho" on Fridays at 2"m so the rest of the team could have some e!tra time for
themselves 1you can imagine how ha""y everyone was with this news%2.
'he time away from my business gave me better "ers"ective. It hel"ed me see things from
afar and created s"ace for me to 34.*'. more. I would s"end these Fridays growing .
and in turn# my business grew right along side.
3reating whites"ace wasn't easy. I needed to get over some ma,or fears. Fear of losing
business# u"setting clients# missing deadlines. )ut the business didn't suffer. 'he agency got
better because I got healthier. 'he team became more efficient# "roductive and res"onsive
and our clients started telling us how much they admired and res"ected the way we work.
$ou are the owner of your business. $ou5re the to" decision-maker. So# sto" working like an
em"loyee. $ou have the right6and "ermission6to take more time off to rela! and grow. *
healthy business cannot e!ist and succeed with an unhealthy# tired and an!ious business
owner. It's only when you create whites"ace in your life that you'll have the s"ace to reflect#
grow and get clarity.
7eo"le don't burn out. achines burn out. It5s only when we treat ourselves as machines by
overworking# eating "oorly and not getting enough rest that we feel burn out. It5s time we
sto""ed treating ourselves and our businesses with machine-like attitude. /e are creative#
energy-driven "eo"le who need time out to restore balance into our lives.
*fter I learned the value of my Friday time off I looked for ways to create more whites"ace
in my life. I soon u"graded my vacation time to 8 weeks a year. 9ater this year I'm "lanning a
three month sabbatical where I will o"en u" even more s"ace for new things to emerge 1more
on that later2.
If you're thinking of adding more whites"ace into your life here are a few ti"s on how to get
started:
1. Make the decision. ove from wishing for time off to making a decision about it. $our
commitment to yourself is the most im"ortant "art of making this work. ost "eo"le talk
about what they want but never take action. 0nce you make a decision and stay committed to
that decision# everything around that decision will work to su""ort you.
2. Let people know. 0nce you s"eak your commitment to your em"loyees# clients and
vendors# your s"oken words will hel" you stay in that commitment. )y s"eaking your
decision to others# you hel" them su""ort you in your being away and create new boundaries
in ways to work with you.
3. Calendar it. y rule of thumb for creating anything is 6 if it is in the calendar 6 it
ha""ens. 9ife ha""ens so fast these days that unless time out is scheduled it generally never
ha""ens. It's much too easy to get sucked back into the day-to-day# fast-"aced nature of
running a business. So treat yourself as the most im"ortant "erson to have dates with and
calendar time off as an a""ointment with yourself
4. Work smarter. If it feels like you are working too hard chances are you are not working
smart. $our time in your business is the most valuable billable time. If you're s"ending time
on things that could be delegated but are afraid to let go of# ,ust think how much those tasks
are really costing you. Figure out which are the valuable activities that only you can do in
your business and focus on doing ,ust those.
5. Be unreachable. 'he best way to em"ower your team is to give them a way to become
leaders in your business. 'hat will never ha""en if you babysit their every move. /hen you
take time off# truly disconnect. 9et your team figure things out. If you have done a good ,ob
in hiring the right "eo"le you should not have much to worry about. Sure# they may screw u"
on a thing or two but that is a small "rice to "ay for your well-being.
. !i"e notice. /hen you "lan your ne!t vacation let your clients and team members know at
least one month in advance. $ou may find it sur"rising# even magical# as suddenly more
business comes in and your clients get more organi(ed in their work with you. Scarcity
creates desire and desire leads to action. $our clients who value you and who know you will
not be around will get motivated to move +uickly on their "ro,ects while you5re available.
3reating consistent whites"ace takes work and commitment. )ut if you give yourself
"ermission to rela! you will find that you can create a lot out of nothing.