The Margin

By Jesse Atwell

The margin is the open space between the things you have to do and the things you want to do.

The margin provides a playground — spare time and energy to dedicate to new ideas and creative thinking.

And living without a margin is dangerous.

If you’re always running in the red, there’s no wiggle room.

There’s no margin.

And you’re stuck.

Or worse, operating at a deficit.

On the other hand, too much margin provides too much open space. There’s no direction. There’s nothing that provides contrast against your actions; it’s difficult to determine what’s valuable and what’s not.

Too much open space is a motivational blank check where nothing actually counts because there’s always room for the next thing.

And, once again, you’re stuck.

The good news is this: when reviewing the list of things you have to do and the list of things you want to do, you get to pick and choose from both columns.

No one else gets to decide.

Choose to operate with a margin.

But just enough to make it count.