One of the concepts that really struck a chord with me during the 100+ interviews for the Mompowerment book was about the idea of “breathing space”. A part-time doctor of internal medicine in Austin, Texas shared how “breathing space” in her life was one of the benefits of working part-time.
What is “breathing space?” For me, it’s a pause that I take in my day. I might use it to assess the moment and figure out next steps. I take “breathing space” to get rid of the overwhelming feeling when my to do list seems to be as long as my arm and only getting longer. That pause can really help me think through challenges. It can also help me understand what I really need in that moment, on any given day, or even during the week in general.
We’re all busy. Our lives pull us in all different directions every day. Some days we have it together and some days we barely hold it together. We go from one thing to another to keep all the plates spinning at the same time.
Moms in the interviews I conducted describe taking calls in the car in the pick up line when they’re waiting, in efforts to use every hour of the day. When we do that, though, we don’t get a moment of transition and we lose the “breathing space” we might need. We go from professional to mom and no buffer between the two. Even though my husband’s commute is 15-20 minutes, that still allows him to have a transition time from professional to dad and husband.
Do we, as busy moms, take enough time to simply pause for a moment and assess what’s going on or how we’re feeling? Wouldn’t intentionally have more “breathing space” help us have more have it together moments?
In my case, without “breathing space,” the effort behind that Mompowerment book probably wouldn’t exist. If I simply kept going in my consulting business and didn’t look around to think about the lack of stories about professional part-time working moms, I wouldn’t have realized the stories aren’t really out there. I wouldn’t have thought about actually making the stories come together in a book and creating a community. It’s something I do and need.
Do you integrate “breathing space” into your day? Why or why not? What would you do if you had more “breathing space” in your life? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
