Mar 27Liked by Tiffany Stubbs, Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes
This mom-to-a-cancer-kid season has forced me to have lots of margin! No volunteering, no responsibilities to anything outside of work and family — I actually have weekends with nothing I *have* to do. But the old me feels this chapter SO MUCH as I’ve been an achievement addict for a long time, proud of how much capacity I have and how much I could get done, and some forms of self care got shoved off the margins into nonexistence or felt like an unachievable burden. Through these reflections, I’m starting to see this season as an opportunity to intentionally build self care routines into my life.
Mar 27Liked by Tiffany Stubbs, Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes
Given the season I am currently going through, I have been able to rediscover having lots of margin. When the schedule gets too crowded, my body lets me know that I am starting to be on overdrive, with headache and sleep disruption. It is like I am driving a stick shift car on the wrong gear. Once I shift my "margin" to the right gear, I can sit with self-care practices much easier. Doing the Lenten study in community has been very helpful. It has been like having an "accountability village" to accompany along the way and keep me focused.
Mar 27Liked by Tiffany Stubbs, Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes
Today’s lesson feels really impactful and helpful, especially what Dr. Chanequa said about committing “to significantly less than we think we are capable of doing.” I need to sit with that one for a looong time. I struggle so much with building, and even more with maintaining, margin in our family’s schedule. We are feeling the impact of that right now and are setting aside some time next week to figure out what changes to make. To build margin today I decided to not go to a meeting for school that might be helpful down the road but is not necessary right now. It feels like relief to decide that space can be freed up.
Mar 28Liked by Tiffany Stubbs, Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes
This practice showed me that I have very little margin during my work day. Yesterday, while I was doing my documentation in the morning, I tried the suggestion to alternate 25 minutes of work with 5 minutes of movement/break. I liked it … I felt focused during my 25 minutes, and I enjoyed the 5 minutes to walk down the hall.
The 25/5 rule will be easy to implement when doing documentation. However, I’m not sure of how to create more margin in my day because my workplace tracks productivity & billing.
I would like to experiment with scheduling. Right now, my workplace books 50-minute appointments with clients every hour, on the hour. I would like to try booking one client at 2:10 PM (end at 3 PM) then book my next client at 3:15 PM, so that I would have a 15 minute break in the middle of the afternoon. Even five extra minutes would be a nice change of pace.
Mar 28Liked by Tiffany Stubbs, Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes
This was the reading for me yesterday which I didn’t do because I was so ‘busy’. I didn’t maintain many margins all day as I left for work at 7am and ended up going to my afternoon class late so I could quickly eat half my lunch. I was in a contentious meeting and was not mindful of my words. When I got home I continued working in the evening. This morning I reflected on how that busyness is destructive in so many ways. I will try and practice a mindful margin, especially on the days I feel I don’t have time for it.
This mom-to-a-cancer-kid season has forced me to have lots of margin! No volunteering, no responsibilities to anything outside of work and family — I actually have weekends with nothing I *have* to do. But the old me feels this chapter SO MUCH as I’ve been an achievement addict for a long time, proud of how much capacity I have and how much I could get done, and some forms of self care got shoved off the margins into nonexistence or felt like an unachievable burden. Through these reflections, I’m starting to see this season as an opportunity to intentionally build self care routines into my life.
Given the season I am currently going through, I have been able to rediscover having lots of margin. When the schedule gets too crowded, my body lets me know that I am starting to be on overdrive, with headache and sleep disruption. It is like I am driving a stick shift car on the wrong gear. Once I shift my "margin" to the right gear, I can sit with self-care practices much easier. Doing the Lenten study in community has been very helpful. It has been like having an "accountability village" to accompany along the way and keep me focused.
Today’s lesson feels really impactful and helpful, especially what Dr. Chanequa said about committing “to significantly less than we think we are capable of doing.” I need to sit with that one for a looong time. I struggle so much with building, and even more with maintaining, margin in our family’s schedule. We are feeling the impact of that right now and are setting aside some time next week to figure out what changes to make. To build margin today I decided to not go to a meeting for school that might be helpful down the road but is not necessary right now. It feels like relief to decide that space can be freed up.
Katie, Dr. Chanequa’s challenge to commit to “significantly less than we think we are capable of“ also resonated with me.
This practice showed me that I have very little margin during my work day. Yesterday, while I was doing my documentation in the morning, I tried the suggestion to alternate 25 minutes of work with 5 minutes of movement/break. I liked it … I felt focused during my 25 minutes, and I enjoyed the 5 minutes to walk down the hall.
The 25/5 rule will be easy to implement when doing documentation. However, I’m not sure of how to create more margin in my day because my workplace tracks productivity & billing.
I would like to experiment with scheduling. Right now, my workplace books 50-minute appointments with clients every hour, on the hour. I would like to try booking one client at 2:10 PM (end at 3 PM) then book my next client at 3:15 PM, so that I would have a 15 minute break in the middle of the afternoon. Even five extra minutes would be a nice change of pace.
This was the reading for me yesterday which I didn’t do because I was so ‘busy’. I didn’t maintain many margins all day as I left for work at 7am and ended up going to my afternoon class late so I could quickly eat half my lunch. I was in a contentious meeting and was not mindful of my words. When I got home I continued working in the evening. This morning I reflected on how that busyness is destructive in so many ways. I will try and practice a mindful margin, especially on the days I feel I don’t have time for it.