I didn’t realize until recently, that when I line up appointments and obligations with no room between them, it’s not much different from setting up dominoes. I placed each calendar item close enough to the next that if anything went wrong, each one would end up colliding with the next in a chain-reaction that would leave me stressed and tired.

Which of course, happened.

It was just a minor problem with my car battery, but I had a twelve-year old with me. And it was raining- buckets of water were dumping out of the sky, or at least that’s what it felt like. The problem carried over into the next day, when I had to pick up a client for an interview. I ended up getting to my second job late because of the car, and spent time that weekend replacing the battery and getting caught up on some other maintenance that needed to be done.

If I gave myself a little more margin, some time between responsibilities, then one problem wouldn’t have been so significant. It’s true with time and no different with money. If our monthly budgets are planned all the way down to the last cent we earn, one unanticipated bill will have the power to ruin everything. It’s terrifying.

I’m going to try to give myself more margin in my life. I’m making it a point to not dedicate every waking moment I have to work, writing or some social event and I’ll try to keep it that way. Do you need to give yourself a little space to breathe?