To Be More Effective, "Waste" Some Time

To Be More Effective, "Waste" Some Time

Have you ever felt guilty for slowing down? Are you comfortable doing nothing, or do you quickly get agitated because it feels inefficient?

Benjamin Franklin is often held up as a model of productivity. His inventions are remarkable: the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, and of course the stove that bears his name.

Franklin was quotable and one of the lines he is remembered for is "lost time is never found again." He did guard his hours fiercely, but his aim wasn't to cram every waking moment with work productivity. It was to live on purpose, with rhythms that included rest, recreation, and enjoyment.Franklin's own daily schedule made room for reflection, conversation, recreation and study.

Call it margin. Margin and play aren't luxuries. They are performance enhancers.

Think about what happens when you push and push. Your whole body lets you know it's not sustainable. You grow physically tired, your thinking becomes foggy, and your patience wears thin. Your effectiveness suffers precisely because you are trying so hard to maintain it.

In his book, Two Awesome Hours, Josh Davis holds up Franklin to shine a light on our resistance to "wasting" time in the pursuit of efficiency. "Wasting" time doesn't mean mindlessly scrolling through a social feed. For Franklin it was to learn outside his field, enjoy the arts, socialize and make space to be creative.

Have you ever wondered why some of our best thoughts come while we're relaxing on holiday? When we stop forcing the problem, the mind keeps working in the background and connects what we couldn't see while straining.

Margin is not the enemy of effectiveness; it's the fuel for it. More importantly, margin creates space for something efficiency alone cannot provide: meaning. It gives us room to reflect on our why, consider whether we're still moving in the right direction, and think about how we lead ourselves and others toward what matters most.

To get there, you'll have to push past some resistance: the guilt, and the fear of looking irresponsible to yourself, your business, your family, or your team. When you're accustomed to measuring your value by what you accomplish, slowing down can feel wrong, even when it's exactly what you need.That’s what keeps so many of us on the productivity treadmill.

So start small and try this. This week, put one block of margin on your calendar with no agenda and no required output, and protect it the way you'd protect a client meeting. Give yourself permission for margin and notice what it does for your thinking, your energy, and your patience.

And if you'd like to build healthier rhythms into your life and leadership, let's talk.

To be more effective AND live a more meaningful life… "waste" some time.