Systems Work Better With Slack.
Every system is connected to the next. A chain of connected things. Assumptions, needs, environments, concerns. Each system has a capacity, and every system needs slack to perform well under normal loads and to bear surprises under strain. Money is a system. Time is a system. Thought is a system. Space is a system. Health is a system. etc… etc… etc…
I often find myself stretched thin, breaking the money or time systems. Not enough money, not enough time. In a capitalist society, the two are tightly connected. My Money system doesn’t have enough slack. I have a budget. I usually keep within spending limits. But it’s that lack of slack that breaks things. The 3 birthday’s in a row in the same month, or the unexpected bill. Living within a budget becomes harder and harder every day. Having a robust money “system” just means having more money. A buffer, a cache, a cushion.
Time is the same way, although it feels like it operates more like trains do. I have responsibilities, promises that I’ve made. Fulfilling a promise, or keeping my word takes up a certain amount of time. Work takes time. If a task or project takes a little more time than anticipated, then I have to “borrow” that time from somewhere. Sleep? Family? Fun? The next Promise? Other systems. Other commitments. All systems run on time, and running out of time is no fun. Like trains crashing. A Wreck.
My career is engineering, programming, and design. Estimates are always a little fuzzy. Oftentimes I’m asked to do things, or solve problems I’ve never faced before. To offer my perspective and expertise in delivering solutions, but towards unfamiliar concerns. The estimations always start the same, sus out what’s familiar, and what’s not. Allot time, based on past experience, provide a buffer. Later, during the act, the true requirements present themselves. Well laid plans change, time scales slip. It’s in that buffer that I find respite and rescue. A saving, bonus zone of attention and energy to overcome the unexpected.
The only way I’ve found to relieve stress, in many senses of that word, is to have more slack in my systems. Under schedule, under promise, over deliver, deliver early, spend less, budget more. I now plan 3 or 4 days of actual work. It means choosing to do far far less than I’m honestly capable, to make certain every train runs on time, and every promise is fulfilled. Putting slack back into the system of my life. My daily efforts to survive, provide, breath, and live.
Leave more time to make mistakes, and recover from them. To do nothing, think of nothing, and expect nothing. Sit with yourself a bit longer.
It’s incredibly difficult, I feel like I’m getting better at it though.
-kow