The margin principle!

I am not one to preach at people what I learnt in church. Again I repeat; I am not one to …... I think you get the point. But yesterday’s service was different. Maybe it was just me and the day was just going so well, that the sermon just sounded sooooo relevant to me! I think I may have shouted it to a pal as I dropped her off at her digs. And when I say shouted, I do not exaggerate. Her right ear might still be ringing from all the words I was throwing at her at 80 words a minute. So since it was a good day, I am going to share my good day tidings from yesterday. Not all of them; some have slipped my mind (after being told in church to always carry a pen and a notebook, I switched to carrying this small wallet that can barely hold the pen, let alone the notebook-in short, no notes were written)


Back to yesterday. We have been doing a series on –if I’m allowed to paraphrase- The rat race and your work-life balance. Yes, that balance that none of us seem to have anymore. So yesterday was the last of that series. Living Marginless Lives. According to research, most probably by some people who wear slippers in California, human beings have the tendency to overestimate their schedule by at least 20%. They also have a tendency to underestimate the time taken to do any number of tasks by 30 %. What does this mean? You may wonder. It means: An average human beings, thinks he has superpowers and as such not only has more tasks than he can handle on any given day, he also assumes that all tasks shall run smoothly and in the shortest time possible and of course seamlessly fit into the next task. Thus you end up working overtime, running late and generally becoming overworked and stretched beyond your normal limit. So here are some of the margins we were asked to put in your life:


1. Scheduling Margin:

If you work in any business whatsoever, schedules are as important as the air we breathe. Schedules make sure that things run on time and people are met at the appointed times. The little wisdom I picked up yesterday taught me that, it is important to have schedules that allow you breathing room. Say 30 minutes between meetings just so that you can prepare, unwind, jot down minutes from the last one or even fight through traffic. We are even supposed to schedule work and deadlines in the same way. Try not to give in to unrealistic deadlines. Give yourself lee way of a few hours or even a day if you can….you know for just in case the comp crushes or if you are in a profession like mine…time for the client to change his mind for the 58th time. Of course in an ideal situation that he presented to us, we are supposed to have schedules on only 4 days a week. On the 5th day, you handle your overflows i.e. unscheduled meetings, unfinished deadlines, report writing, meeting with the taxman…such things (In my mind I wondered, what of us who work Saturdays? What happens to us?)


2. Financial Margin:

This one was rough for someone like me. I have absolutely no margins financially. Do I save? Yes, so that I can buy stuff that is not even important…like shoes. Do I have a fall back plan incase, life slaps me with uncertain unknowns…I am sure I can push for a few days maybe a week even but after that, I’m a sitting duck. As much as our lives seem to demand the world of us, we are not meant live beyond our means, which translates to something like 60% of our monthly income. Talk to any financial advisor. He may not walk the talk but it is the mantra he shall preach. The other 40% of the income should go into tithe(eternal retirement fund), savings, retirement package and emergency fund in equal measure. It is a good principle I think. It is not necessary to have an expensive car or live in an expensive apartment if after all the payments are done, you end up with barely enough to eat.

Plan for 8 days a week instead of the 7. That way if something happens, you have an extra day of funding- Pastor Oscar.Ecc 11:2)


3. Emotional Margin:

This one was hard for me to understand. But I shall write it anyway. No one knows what will happen tomorrow to cause you trauma. A death, nervous breakdown, a disease. Things happen and occasionally, life throws you a curve ball or just beats you in the face with a bat. That is where your emotional margins come in. The relationships you have been building over the years. With your employers, your employees, your friends, your community. You may not realize it but they are your support system .If you have been placing your emotional investment in the right people, you create an emotional margin; A gap that those around you can fill in case of disaster.

4. Physical Margin:

This is an all important margin for everyone. We tend to push our bodies to the edge of the cliff. We eat badly because we have no time to cook. We have no time to exercise or we just don't want to. We don't give our bodies time to recuperate from disease before we push it back to heavy work. In case of disease, our bodies find it hard to recover from the stresses applied. We need to put up margins for our bodies to relax, margins to exercise your muscles. Maybe some days, you detox from the heavy drinking, eating and merry making. Just so that kukiumana and your body decides to crush, you can have reserve to fight!


There was another margin that just slipped my mind. Maybe a sign that next time, I should carry a pen and notebook to church. Written evidence to show my boss when he schedules a meeting for me at lunch time or drags me into a meeting at 7.00 in the morning. (Psyche!) But it did make me think….Maybe the reason I seem to have insomnia is because my brain and my body just don’t know how to shut down.