Why you need more margin in your life

Sometimes airplanes get delayed. When they do, the pilot says something peculiar. She gets on the intercom, and says “I apologize for the late start, but we’ll make up time in the air and arrive on-schedule.” 

Now, if pilots can decide to fly their planes faster, why wouldn’t they fly as fast as possible all the time? Why are we choosing to fly at a slower speed than we can? 

Because margin is important. 

Large airports have planes landing every 90 seconds. If one plane is late, it shifts the schedule of a lot of other planes. So pilots leave a little bit of speed on the table, so they can use it when they need it. 

As creators, we’re often tempted to push ourselves as fast and far as we can go. We want to create and deliver as much as we can. We want to say “yes.” Because we love the work! But maybe it pays to leave a little bit of hustle on the table. Maybe it pays to build in some margin. 

In the digital sphere, consistency is what grows audiences. If an audience can count on a creator’s content every week, or every day, they’re more engaged. And if they’re engaged, it also means they’re expecting that content to arrive. So if your publishing schedule pushes you to your absolute limit, and then an inconvenience arises, you no longer have any margin to deliver for your audience. 

Leave a little gas in the tank. Leave some resources on the table. Build in a little margin. Because at some point, you’re gonna need it.