Upon arriving at the office, my two morning meetings were already waiting. I had to reschedule my lunch, and the ripple effect continued throughout the day.
Needless to say, it was a tough one. Noticeably absent was the opportunity to think, get any real work done, and connect with my team. With no margin for error, the whole day became compromised.
[Of course this was fun to read the same week as I related my "Sorry I'm Late" mistake story.]
Remember this Ira Glass quote cited by Kathryn Schulz in her TED Talk? "A story is when you expect something to happen, and something else happens instead." Our daily runarounds are full of moments when something unexpected can happen, and as Belsky notes in his story, not taking those possibilities into account can hurt your productivity and raise your stress level.
Putting it another way: a full day's schedule with no breaks is a bit of a lie.
Belsky continues:
Capacity -- specifically, the amount of time and energy we have to expend each day -- is limited. With so much that we want to accomplish, most of us are eager to fully utilize our capacity. But should we?
I would argue, "No." Without a certain amount of capacity left idle, you lose the flexibility to adapt to the unexpected or to capitalize on circumstantial opportunities. You need to create and preserve some margin in your days to reach your full potential.
I like the idea of building buffers into your daily schedule a lot. Not only can they help absorb unexpected situations, they also have a great side benefit. Sometimes things do go as planned, and you don't need the buffer. Then you find yourself with one of the greatest gifts of all: a few free moments to think.
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