4 Tips to Create More Space

Have you given any thought to the “spaces” in your life lately? The in-betweens, the pauses between “doing”, “busy” and “crazy schedule”? What do you call it? Down time? Breathing room? Savasana (hello, yogis!)? Napping? Meditating? Staring at your coffee cup? Walking the dog? We aren’t robots designed to push the “GO” button and never stop until we fall into bed at night. We have to have rest and space, it’s critical to our thriving.

It’s where the inspiration happens, it’s where the gifts pour in, it’s how we get creative, and how we receive. And it doesn’t stop with white space, it extends to the spaces we live in, too.

If you really want to “Make Space” here are a few ideas:

Make Mental Space. Time is speeding up. People are sleeping less and doing more. Our brains are pulled in a zillion directions: texts, email, facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest, kids, activities, news, netflix. It’s harder to focus. And stress is on the rise; as a society we are not any happier. It’s so easy to keep adding one more thing to the *doing* side of the equation. But, that energy has to come from somewhere and our lives may be taking a direct hit as a result. Try this: Take a deep breath when you get that revved-up-social-media feeling, or if your mind is about to short circuit, get outside to the closest scrap of nature you can find, take your shoes off if you can, and breathe. Just that...simple.

Make Space in Your Schedule. Even if you’re a high-powered corporate exec, put some time on your schedule, hour-long chunks in your calendar, for “NOTHING” or make up a secret code like, “marketing training” so that you know that it’s time to breathe, listen, tune in and trust. Back to back meetings and clients, schedules without white space and calendars without time to think will lead to burnout, lower productivity or any other number of “dis-eases” caused by the stress of it all. Do not over-ride your signals for rest, food, & fun! And if you have to intentionally schedule space into your calendar every week for these things then do it!

Make Space in Your Home. Our homes are a metaphor for our lives. So, if there is craziness in your schedule or you’re pushing through your day like an over-caffeinated monkey, then your home is probably reflecting how you are feeling. Are there piles of junk mail and catalogs waiting for your attention? Do you have to shove stuff into the closet when friends stop over?  Is your garage so full that your car has to chill in the driveway or on the curb? Is your basement so stuffed that the thought of moving (for the job of your dreams) makes you sweat? Attend to the things you own (statistics say on average we Americans own 300,000 items!) edit out those that do not lift your energy or make you grin from ear to ear, and leave some open space EVERYWHERE. Leave at least 10% space on the shelves, in the drawers, the closets, and storage spaces. Feng Shui wisdom says that if there is no space and the energy in your home is crowded or stagnant then new ideas, creativity, inspiration and the many gifts of life will not have room to flourish.

Make Your Space Beautiful. A gorgeous space will feed your soul and your life in ways you might not even be able to imagine right now. Placement of furniture and art, attention to energy flow and balance can invite rest, connection and ease. What if your sofa was so luscious in color, shape and texture that you HAD to sit down as soon as you got home (and couldn’t get up because you were so relaxed)? What if the art in your home flooded you with delight whenever you walked by (and put a little spring in your step)? What if the energy of your kitchen felt so good that you and your sweetie found yourselves cooking together more often (and then actually ate together, too)? Magic like this (and more) can happen from infusing beauty and bliss into your home.


What’s one small thing you could do this week to create SPACE? And what’s one thing you could do to beautify your space? Take a little action and note the difference. Those small changes? They add up.

XXOO

Love,

Jane

PHOTO CREDIT: sciencefocus.com