13-A Real Life Example Of Intentional Margins

My experience at the bus stop picking up my kids and how creating a 5-minute Intentional Margin® forever changed the way I am with my kids. 

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and today we’re going to talk about one way to think about  INTENTIONAL MARGINS®.   

INTENTIONAL MARGINS® is finding the buffer of space and time to create harmony between our todos and our priorities.  

INTENTIONAL MARGINS® can be a buffer of time.  It’s the 5 minutes before a big meeting. 

For me, about 2 years ago when my little guy was riding a bus to school and we were not in a global pandemic, I realized how important the moments when he stepped off the bus were to him and to me. 

Before this time, I would always be finishing one last thing as the bus rolled up.  Either a text, an email, or I would be on the phone, hushing my little kids as they gleefully bounced off the bus, waving to the bus driver as my phone was tucked between my shoulder and my ear.  

And then, I realized, I was missing the best parts of life and what kind of message was a sending my kids? It’s a gut punch. They were always so excited to see me and tell me about their day and for me to inevitably grab the backpack or art they had brought home.  

So, I decided to commit to my Intentional Margins.  I put my phone away 2 minutes before I expected the bus to roll up.  I gathered my thoughts.  I set a quick intention for how I wanted to show up for them.  And when they got the stop, I was waiting.  My phone was tucked into my pocket.  I was looking at them, their smiles, watching them bounce off the bus and more than anything, I was present for them in those initial moments.  The message it sent to my kids was that I am here, I value you and I want to be here, in this moment - with you.   

My creating this Intentional Margin®, It forever changed the way I am with my kids.  And it was less than 5 minutes of my day. 

This does not happen overnight.  We’ve built an entire community around practicing this.  

Speaking of the community, we open it a couple times a year, get on the waitlist over at www.katiejefcoat.com/community