The Importance of Zero Space: Breathing Room For Your Brain and Soul
Monday, September 2, 2019
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Creating Zero Space
“I’m so busy I cannot cram another thing onto my calendar.”
“I don’t think I have the bandwidth for one more meeting or conversation.”
Busyness and a full calendar seem to be a badge of honor for our success driven culture. Who can be the busiest? Who can multi-task (a myth that’s for another day)? Who can juggle the most projects? Who’s got the fullest calendar? Who’s the most worn out and tired from putting in long hours?
If you’re a working parent, an entrepreneur, or business owner then you don’t have a lot of margin in your day. You don’t have the luxury of “me time.”
For many, your reality is running between back-to-back meetings, while simultaneously juggling calendars, phone calls from colleagues, your kid’s teacher or coach, and a cold cup of Starbucks. With this much going on in your life is it any surprise that you may be feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and less creative and productive than you want to be?
How do you overcome this frenetic myth of busyness and regain your ability to be truly productive and creative and fully present in your own life? How do you find breathing space for your brain and soul?
Every human on this planet gets the same 24-hour day within which to work, play, and relax. No one gets one minute more or less than another. What you do with those hours is often the key to how productive, focused and creative you get to be.
The first step is to proactively design “Zero-Space” into your routine and on your calendar on a regular basis.
You most often see this referred to as white or negative space, the place between text and graphics on a page. It balances the design of what is on the page and throws it into relief. It focuses and draws our visual attention where the artist wants it to go. For advertisers and designers the power is in the “negative space.” Your eyes are more likely to be drawn to the pages and ads that have less text and more space around the words. When an ad has just a few words and lots of space around those words, we are more likely to read it and it will have more of an impact on us.
As an adult with ADHD I prefer the term Zero-Space when thinking about my calendar and how I spend my time. I think it suits our ADHD brain needs better.
As an intransitive verb Merriam-Webster defines zero as: to close in on or focus attention on an objective—usually used with in
Researchers are zeroing in on a cure
Journalists are zeroing in on reliable sources
Binoculars helped her to zero in on the beauty of an eagle’s wings in flight
By this definition Zero-Space helps us to focus our attention where we want it focused rather than being distracted and preoccupied.
Zer0- Space is dedicated time, preferably scheduled into your calendar in advance, intended to allow you to zoom in, reflect, come up for air, relax, and refuel.
Zero-Space by what it isn’t time to add to your to-do list, sit at your computer, return phone calls, or answer emails and texts.. IZero-Space is time on your calendar dedicated to deeper reflection. A time where we create space (both literal and figurative) so that your brain can organically just be. There’s a reason why your best ideas pop into your brain while in the shower , on your morning run, or weeding your garden. It’s because you’re not actively trying to have your best idea ever. It’s not forced. Instead you’ve simply created the “space” for the idea to present itself so that your brain can zero in on the idea.
Take a moment to look again at the graphic above. It draws your eyes and attention to the invitation to “just breath.” Nothing else, no other distractions, just a simple and eloquent, even tender, invitation to focus on your life-giving, energy sourcing, beautiful breath.
Take a moment, notice how you are feeling in your body as you accept the invitation. Place your hand over your heart, breath in an out. Notice your heart beat slow down. Notice your shoulders relax. Notice your jaw un-clenching or your gut relaxing.
Like the graphic above, Zero Space on your calendar helps you to focus your attention where you want it focused and it gives you breathing space for your brain and soul. Zero Space is an invitation to your body to slow down and relax, re-focus, re-set, and re-align with who you are and what’s important to you.
This is not a post about how to schedule what, or how to decide what’s important or critical.
It’s about self-care and, in some manner, another way to approach time-management for your ADHD brain.
“Zero-Space is an invitation to let all of the “things” crowding your curious and innovative brain to blow a way for a moment in time. To intentionally provide breathing room for your brain and soul so that you can tap into your creativity and focus on what’s important and critical. ”
The Importance of Zero-Space
RELAXING
There’s a reason why many of our best ideas or solutions to knotty problems happen in the shower, on a walk, or weeding the garden. It’s because you’re not actively trying to have your best idea yet. It’s not forced. You’re relaxed. You’ve simply created a Zero-Space where the idea or solution could bubble to the surface and into your awareness.
When you create Zero-Space in your life you remove the distractions that get in the way of who you are and what you want to do. It’s tough to move towards a goal if you have a cluttered calendar weighing you down, causing you to be anxious and tense.
RE-ACTIVE NO MORE
Zero-Space allows your brain to calm down and block out all of the other things screaming for your attention, This in tern allows you to be proactive rather than reactive to your calendar and the needs/demands of others.
A proactive approach focuses on eliminating problems before they have a chance to appear and a reactive approach is based on responding to events after they have happened.
The word “reactive” implies that you don’t have control of your day. You let the events set the agenda. You’re tossed and turned, so to speak, by the tides of life.
In contrast, the image often associated with being proactive is “grace under pressure or stress.” In the tides of life It’s not just that you anticipate the waves, you’re in tune with them. You’re not desperately trying to escape them; you’re dancing with them.
Zero-Space provides the blank canvas you need to anticipate the waves and to prepare for the eventual turbulent schedule. Being proactive means being able to anticipate what the future will be, and to react accordingly before it actually happens. This kind of problem solving is an often overlooked and undervalued ADHD super-power.
RE-BOOT
If you have too many applications and programs running an open at once the entire system slows down. Too many files open means less efficiency. When this happens you often need to close your apps and programs, shut down your operating system, and re-boot. This then frees up a great deal of bandwidth and increases your speed.
When your brain is holding on to too many things requiring it to use a lot of mental and physical bandwidth to maintain those files it slows down your creativity, efficiency, and effectiveness (i.e. thoughts and to-do lists).
Basically, your brain is constantly giving you the spinning dial you get on your computer when it needs time to execute an action.
Zero-Space is like a brain re-boot and refresh. It allows your brain to close down unused “files” and frees up space so that you can be more creative and productive.
REFLECT
Zero-Space is a time to reflect and ponder and honestly, this is often where the magic happens. This is when you can reflect upon your priorities, values and what matters to you. It’s a time to reflect upon who you are and what you want in your professional and personal life.
According to author Jocelyn K. Glei, “Time scarcity is like kryptonite for creativity. If we want to create an environment that nourishes innovation and imagination, we need to build quiet counterpoints into our daily rhythm. These small moments of “white space” (what I would call Zero-Space)— where we have time to pause and reflect, or go for a walk, or just breathe deeply for a few moments — are what give balance and flow and comprehension to our lives as a larger whole.”
BREAK UP THE TRAFFIC JAM THAT IS YOUR CALENDAR
AND CREATE SOME LIFE GIVING ZERO-SPACE
AUDIT YOUR CURRENT CALENDAR
How do you spend your time? Take stock of everything on your calendar. Once you have an idea of everything taking up time, space, energy, and focus on your calendar do a Marie Kondo and purge! Discard every meeting that doesn’t add value or meaning to your life. Discard every meeting, car-pool, or organization that you are not required to be at. (i.e. Is it important that you drop off/pick up your child from ball practice or is it important that they get to and from ball practice?
I love the “Do, Delay, Delegate” method of discarding things on my calendar. What can only I do? What can I delay doing with integrity? What can I delegate?
Once you’ve audited and purged your calendar you can now dedicate those open blocks of to your Zero-Space time.
KNOW YOUR ENERGY/CREATIVITY/INTEREST EBB AND FLOW
There are many factors that contribute to your energy and interest levels but what’s important is knowing what yours is. One person may feel energized and in the flow all morning, until after lunchtime when their energy and interest ebbs. On the other hand, someone else may have a totally different pattern. They might wake up when the morning’s almost over, bum around the house until two in the afternoon when their energy is ebbing, and then work straight through until midnight when they get into the flow.
Dedicate Zero-Space time during both your ebb, or low energy, time AND your flow, or high-energy time. Both will provide the opportunity to zero in on whatever it is you need in your life at that time and to be more present to your both your professional and personal life.
Flow Zero-Time: according to this Psychology Today article flow is defined as :an optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best. It’s also a strange state of consciousness. In flow, concentration becomes so laser-focused that everything else falls away. Action and awareness merge.” Scheduling Zero-Space when we are in our optimal energy, creativity, and interest time allows you to achieve that laser focus.
Ebb Zero-Time: even when your energy is low and you have no seeming inspiration or interest in anything, things are still happening under the surface. Scheduling Zero-Space during your low energy, or ebb time of day is like sitting in a forest on a sunny winter day. The trees are devoid of leaves, the flowers have long since died off, but under the snow and dead leaves, roots are replenishing and growing, preparing for spring. In the same way, your mind may be devoid of ideas or creativity, but in the calm, quiet of Zero-Space your brain is replenishing and preparing for new and creative ideas to present themselves to you.
WHERE CAN YOU DEDICATE ZERO-SPACE ON YOUR CALENDAR?
Now that you’ve purged and you know when you ebb and flow, what blocks of time are available to you?
WHEN WILL YOU PUT THIS ON YOUR CALENDAR?
Do it now. Put those blocks of Zero-Time on your calendar. You won’t regret it.
ZERO TIMES MEANS ZERO DISTRACTIONS
Put that time on your calendar and then shut off your phone, tablet, and computer. Shut your door. Put on noise blocking headphones. Set your timer. close your eyes and just be.
It’s Labor Day today, I hope you found some time to do nothing and reboot your life!
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What Else Do You Need To Know?
Coach Pam