Margin Matters

Margin Matters

Friends can help with
margin.

Margin matters...in all walks of life.  We talk about this in our first responder world and in our family world.  The more "margin" we have, no matter the lane or commodity, the better.  For example, most all of us want "more" time, resources, money, memories, and such in our lives.  By using our schedule, budget, and other skills/systems/tools, we can build a longer runway that helps us safely take off or land the proverbial plane in each lane of our lives.  The good news is that as we get good at building systems that create and infuse margin into our lives...those skillsets can translate into other parts of our lives.  Generally, if you're a good prioritizer/scheduler at work...chances are...you'll do good a that at home and vice versa.  

Models can help 
identify margin.

Injecting margin, proactively and intentionally, certainly has the potential to lead to a less dramatic or "exciting" life, but comes with the upside of massively reducing our chance of ending up in a fireball at the end of the runway.  The margin that comes through processes, systems, and checklists helps us to free up resources of time, energy, and money to invest back into things that bring us joy.  At first it may seem like the discipline necessary to make margin sucks the fun out of life...in reality, you'd have spent that same 24 hours no matter what...might as well spend it on things that you value.  

Lifejackets
bring margin.

Like everything else in life, we're likely more successful if we utilize tools and/or systems to help us build margin.  Perhaps the biggest tool in that particular toolbox is the ability to say "no."  Most often in our lives, we're overcome or stressed not by what we said "no" to, but rather what we said "yes" to.  This can apply to our work lives, home lives, church lives, volunteer lives...or whatever other lives you live.  Chances are that agreeing to one more "too good thing" we end up with one more too many.  Sometimes, inadvertently, we can, with good intentions, sink our proverbial ship by overburdening it with too much of a load.  

So do seatbelts.

As we look at other tools, perhaps the next biggest one is getting good at calendars.  The "too much of a good thing is still too much" principle applies perhaps more to time since it is such a finite, precious resource compared to other areas of life.  Strategically, being selective with our calendar helps us ensure that we have the right things on our plate (think Stephen Covey's ladder leaning on the right building).  Tactically, we can make our calendars more efficient by planning in more pre/post-times around activities.  For example, blocking out "packing" time before Sunday church and perhaps downtime after helps ensure that we show up on time, can enjoy it fully, and can reflect on it afterwards.  

"Measuring" 
before you leap.

In the lifestyle part of life, we can inject margin into our lives through things like shopping ahead, making lunches the night (or weekend) before, doing bulk freezer meals, or similar activities.  These margin-making decisions allow the rest of the day/week/month to go more smoothly.  Similarly, when it comes to finances, having a budget in place, creating (and maintaining) an emergency fund, adequate insurance, and saving up for bigger purchases with sinking funds are key items.  The idea of using margin is a practiced art that we get better at over time.  

Harnesses give
margin.

When it comes to marriage and kids, margin matters maybe more than in most areas of life.  There will be seasons of life where you end up sprinting in one area to the detriment of other areas.  By "stocking up" and investing in the "love tanks" of your family, you build up margin that you may need to draw on when you have to miss the ball game or dance recital.  This doesn't work forever...you've got to have balance but during the sprint seasons, the margin you built up can be drawn upon.  Think of this similar to a traditional farming harvest when you have seasons for planting and seasons of harvesting...surplus in the fall that you bank up and use throughout the rest of the year.  

A dog probably
helps too.

A couple of other thoughts on margin include the old Fight Club "what you own ends up owning you," is true.  With most things you purchase in lif,e there is not only the opportunity cost but also the ongoing maintenance cost.  Take the vacation cabin for example, a certain number of weekends are spent just keeping it up, reducing the margin that you'd otherwise have to invest some time into the recreational activities your family enjoys...likely the reason you bought the cabin in the first place.  Be careful as you buy stuff that you don't end up accidentally sucking all the margin out of life by missing the forest for the trees.  

Learning is part
of margin.

As we wrap up, we'll talk about one more angle of margin before we go.  There is a saying in the first responder disciplines, "time is life," and it's aimed at buying time in emergency situations.  In our family life, the margin that comes with leaving early when you're travelling.  The lack of having to "speed" may be the difference between life and death in car crashes.  On the macro level, the lack of margin over the years may be more likely to result in heart attacks, strokes, and other ugly diseases.  

As always, hopefully, this post helps get your creative juices flowing and conversations moving you to action in your homes and lives.  Best of luck...build margin...and maintain it.  

With you in the arena, from ours to yours...Happy Trails!

Call to Action: 

• Pick out a couple of pieces of life where you feel swamped...now map out three things you can do this week to build more margin.  
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) in terms of activities that will help you get...and keep margin in life.  

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

- Joe Sangl - Oxen book

- Jocko Willink - Discipline Equals Freedom