10 Indicators You Have no Margin in your Life

In Richard Swenson’s seminal book, Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, he defines margin this way. Margin is the space between our load and our limits.

He says it is related to our reserves and resilience. He calls it a buffer, a place where we can recharge our batteries, and a space where we can focus on what matters most. I highly recommend the book. Unfortunately, those in ministry often lack margin. Here are 10 signs that may indicate you lack margin and 5 steps to gain more of it.

  1. I’m always mentally and physically exhausted.
  2. Small things more easily get under my skin. I can’t turn my anxious thoughts off.
  3. I don’t seem to have the joy for ministry I once did.
  4. I count down the days until my day off. Yet even on my day off I’m still anxiously thinking about ministry stuff.
  5. Those who love me most tell me to slow down yet I always have a comeback excuse.
  6. I often worry about what others think of my performance.
  7. I too easily take things personally.
  8. I find that I can’t focus as well as I once did.
  9. I get easily distracted and try to multi-task more often.
  10. My devotional times with God are mostly dry.

If a few of these are consistently true of you, you may need more margin in your life.

If that’s so, what should you do?

When I’ve found myself with little margin, it hasn’t been easy to change things, but these steps have helped.

  1. Admit that you life is too full and that it’s not good, pleasing to God, or healthy for you.
  2. Learn the art of mindfulness, being aware of and in the present moment without being harsh on yourself or worrying about what happened yesterday or fretting about what might happen tomorrow. Meditate on the words of Jesus in Matthew 6.
  3. Take a day off, really. Turn off your phone and don’t check email. Do something that refreshes your soul.
  4. Turn your mind off earlier in the day than you do now. Perhaps you need to decrease night meetings. Maybe you need to establish hard stops for those evening meetings.
  5. Remind your self that if you don’t take care of you, you can’t take care of others.

    After all, Jesus did say something about loving yourself.

What has helped you gain better margin?

Related posts:

12 thoughts on “10 Indicators You Have no Margin in your Life”

  1. I love the book Margins, however, it is one of those books that everyone likes to quote or refer to, but few have really read it. and if they have read it, haven’t put it’s principles into practice. Pastors stuff way too much into way to short of time slot. kind of like an hour program in a 15 minute spot.

    Another suggestion, schedule your priorities, one of which is little spaces of unscheduled time and then go about your work.

    pastors to often prioritize their schedule instead of putting the priorities in first.

    charley

  2. Pingback: Two new blog posts to read on being a Healthy pastor | Genesee Home

  3. Pingback: Productive Pastor 24: Project Management 101 | Chad BrooksProductive Pastor 24: Project Management 101

  4. Pingback: The Top 10 Leadership Posts I Read The Week Of October 6th | Brian Dodd on Leadership

  5. Pingback: Charles Stone > 10 Indicators You Have No Margin in Your Life | Innovate For Jesus | Grow the Church

  6. Pingback: Links to Equip Church Leaders - 14/09/18 | www.equippinghispeople.com

  7. Pingback: The Top 10 Leadership Posts I Read The Week Of September 10th | Brian Dodd on Leadership

  8. Pingback: The Top 10 Leadership Posts I Read The Week Of March 4th | Brian Dodd on Leadership

  9. Pingback: 10 Indicators You Have No Margin in Your Life

  10. Pingback: The Top 10 Posts I Read The Week Of February 5th | Brian Dodd on Leadership

  11. Pingback: The Top 10 Leadership Posts I Read The Week Of March 4th | Brian Dodd on Leadership

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *