White Space - The Necessity Of Downtime For Leaders At All Levels

Susanne Biro I recently lamented to a colleague that I spent an entire day cleaning my home. He said he thought cleaning was a waste of time, that I should really consider hiring a cleaning person and use my time to invest in writing, research and other things pertaining to my profession. Surprised by his comments, I decided to give them some serious personal consideration. Was I wasting my time? Should I really be outsourcing the cleaning of my home? It certainly would free up a great deal of time for me to invest in my work. After careful reflection, I realized this: I really enjoy the satisfaction I receive from cleaning. The results are tangible. I start with a messy, disorganized home, and at the end of the day, it is tidy and organized. It smells like Mr. Clean and it looks staged, like no one actually lives here. Oh, the satisfaction! It is a kind of concrete result I rarely see as directly in the work that I do (which is probably one of the reasons why I find cleaning so personally rewarding). It energizes me.

When I next ran into my colleague he asked if I had hired a cleaning person. “No, but I have not tried” I replied. He rolled his eyes as if I failed to follow through on something so obviously necessary. “You have made an incorrect assumption,” I proceeded to enlighten him. “Oh ya, what is that?” he asked. “You have assumed that the more time I have to work, the more effective I will be. I do not believe this to be the case. Some of my best ideas come to me when I am cleaning, not when I am sitting at my computer, researching and the like. The downtime is a necessity for my professional advancement. The fact that I also end up with a clean, tidy house is simply a bonus.” My colleague rolled his eyes again. However, he is not alone in his belief that the more time spent working yields more results. Indeed, it would seem to be the North American way. However, we might learn something from our friends in Europe (and elsewhere) who seem better at appreciating the value and necessity of leisure and holiday time.

In order to be truly effective at any endeavor, we must have time away from it, time when our mind can be free and engaged in an entirely different way. This is when our subconscious mind can work on the issue, challenge or opportunity ahead (also called The Incubation Period). It is in moments of downtime when we are frequently most creative and resourceful. It is one of the reasons why so many will “sleep on” a difficult problem.

The further you climb up the organizational ladder, the greater the need for white space in your days. As an organization leader, you must have time to reflect upon what is happening, where you are going, and perhaps most importantly, where exactly you need to lead your people. This creative, strategic, big thinking process requires you to get out of the day-to-day. And, just as with physical exercise, you must schedule this thinking time - and then protect it with your life - otherwise, it is sure to never occur.

You will not be effective swimming in the river day in and day out. At various points, you must get out of the water, stand on the ledge and look at where the water is taking you. Personally, my preferred method of white space is to clean my home or to go for a run. What is the most effective white space activity for you? And, are you doing it with sufficient frequency? Please consider sharing your responses below.

“Time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted time.” – unknown.

Susanne Biro is a Senior Leadership Coach and co-author of Unleashed! Expecting Greatness and Other Secrets of Coaching for Exceptional Performance. She can be reached by email.

8 Comments »

Reading this was like pulling a sliver out of my foot – ahh! The relief! Susanne summed up what I’ve known but been unaware of.

Thank you for freeing me to rejoice in the vacuum cleaner lines in my carpet so that I might have the space inside me to conquer work with gusto. I think I’ll keep a small jar of Mr. Clean in my office for aromatherapy.

Comment by T. Cepeda — July 15, 2010 @ 7:45 am

I lead a team of trainers and instructional designers and I find that I do not have as many opportunities to develop content or deliver training directly. As a consequence, I don’t get as readily the personal and tangible satisfaction of a job well done, be that in feedback from individuals or in seeing my own work. I must get my satisfaction from seeing a project come together and seeing others working well together. Although this is very satisfying too, the two are not the same. When I work around my boat, be it cleaning, maintenance or an improvement, I get that feeling of having completed something myself and that is personally rewarding, even if no one else notices. Although, I don’t come up with many work related ideas while working on my boat, I believe the change in pace and approach gives me the rest and motivation to continue the work I do and to maintain my current level of satisfaction and enthusiasm for my work and my team.

Comment by Dan O'Connell — July 15, 2010 @ 8:28 am

I can’t remember where I heard it said - I know it sounds too obvious to be a quote but bear with me - “You have to exhale before you can take another breath.” Maybe it was in a Fulghum book (he has a way of putting things in very simple and stright forward terms) or maybe it was my wife’s nurse during the birth of our first child. I watch colleagues and my students going 90 to nothing 24/7, texting, emailing, on the phone…and I wonder when they ever get a chance to breathe???

Susanne - while it is house cleaning for you… for me it’s doing yard work while listening to music. My weekly chore usually takes about 3 hours and when I am done I feel refreshed, alive and inspired. It’s not my only “recharge” session. I also use my time in the gym and my peaceful drive to work to disengage. I can’t even begin to start the next cycle until I’ve let the last breath out. You’ve given another wonderful lesson thanks!

Comment by Jeff Giraud, MS, EFO — July 15, 2010 @ 12:59 pm

In 2006 I was recalled to active duty and deployed to Iraq. As a Marine LtCol, I was assigned to run a large base and to mentor an Iraqi Army Colonel and his staff. We were off the beaten path and our office spaces got dirty easily as we tracked in dust or mud, depending on the weather. I would, with some regularity, sweep the floors in our work space. One day, a Major who worked for me asked my why I was sweeping saying “LtCol’s don’t usually sweep the floor”. My response was that I got immediate positive feedback from sweeping. I sweep, the floor gets clean. Everything else I did involved sending an email, or calling someone, or having a meeting which would involve some activity that i may or may not ever see the conclusion of. It wasn’t much white space, but it was 15-20 minutes of a mental health break that helped keep me sane. I learned to take the small victories where I could get them.

Comment by David Inmon — July 19, 2010 @ 8:41 pm

I completely agree with the insights in your article - though I’d caution against using Europe as an example. In general, the U.S. has a stronger reputation for productivity and innovation.

When I have a particularly complex project, I will often spend a little time digesting it and then go do something else. The project bounces around in the back of my brain and often I’ll get a sudden light-bulb-moment that moves me ahead much faster than if I’d stayed staring at the project. That white space is absolutely critical for my creative process.

Comment by Laurel Henkel — July 21, 2010 @ 3:57 pm