What is in Your Margin?
“Don’t let your desire to serve others lead you to burnout like I did.”
– An OB-GYN who worked in Asia
“I was so busy working for the Lord that I forgot the Lord of the work.”
– A nurse who served in Africa
“Their crisis doesn’t have to be your crisis. You need to maintain a healthy distance to support them effectively.”
– A crisis manager who worked in the Middle East
These are just a few of the countless, well-meaning admonitions I received before I moved overseas. Similar warnings were given at every conference I attended, whether it was a missions-oriented conference, a medical conference, or a hybrid of the two. Burnout continues to be a hot topic for both medical careers and those in full-time ministry. According to member care organizations, up to eighty percent of missionaries burnout and do not finish their term.[1] The CDC reported that forty-six percent of healthcare workers feel burned out.[2] As I prepared to go overseas, the book Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Dr. Richard Swenson, MD, was recommended. The author gives suggested “prescriptions” for finding margin in different areas of life. This began my quest to find and maintain margin and holistic health and wellness. Last week, I celebrated my twelve-year RIMiversary in the Sahara. God used the wise warnings of others as to the challenges of finding margin to help me learn to thriving here. My quest to find margin has helped shape and form who I have become as a healthcare provider and someone in full-time ministry.
While reading Illuminaire, I was particularly struck by Dr. Karise Hutchinson’s reflections on margin. Her article included practical leadership knowledge on margin, a topic I am passionate about and a subject I plan to apply to my prototyping this semester. Dr. Hutchinson also leans heavily into the book Margin, a well-worn volume on my bookshelf. Using both Illuminaire and Margin, I will delve into the definition of margin, why margin is important, and implementing margin.
Margin= Power – Load[3]
Definition of Margin. In Illuminaire, Dr. Hutchinson presents the definition of margin from the book Margin.[4]Margin is the difference between power and load. Power is defined as energy, skills, time, training, emotional and physical strength, faith, finances, and social support.[5] Load includes work, problems, obligations and commitments, internal and external expectations, debt, deadlines, and interpersonal conflicts. We find margin when our power surpasses the weight of our load. No margin or negative margin occurs when our load gets above our power level.[6] I once heard the concept of margin in our lives explained through the margins in books. In books, the margin is the white space surrounding the words of the story. The more blank space one has, the greater the opportunity for personal notes and creativity.
Importance of Margin. When we have white space in our schedules or even in our minds, it allows for the unexpected. Without this white space, the unexpected can lead to devastating consequences in our lives. These repercussions of lacking margin impact our overall health and well-being. The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”[7] In the article “Healthy Leadership through Integrating the Mind, Body, and Heart,” Dr. Hutchinson emphasizes the necessity of holistic leadership.[8] Balancing leadership through the mind, body (gut), and heart provides a holistic approach to leadership. When a leader is healthy, their positivity extends to those they lead and the wider community around them.[9] Health and wellness is holistic and multifaceted. Each area affects the other. Leaders often care for the health of others while ignoring their own.[10] Margin enables both to happen.
Implementing Margin. Dr. Hutchinson reminds us, “The only way to have margin is to reduce load or increase power.”[11] The recommended balance suggests that people schedule only 80% of their time, allowing the other 20% to be filled for unexpected things such as emergencies or divine appointments.[12] What is your margin percentage in life? Where do you need to lessen your load or boost your power? Perhaps Dr. Swenson’s contrasts between a marginless life and one with margin will help identify areas that need adjustment:
Marginless is fatigue; margin is energy.
Marginless is red ink; margin is black ink.
Marginless is hurry; margin is calm.
Marginless is anxiety; margin is security.
Marginless is culture; margin is counterculture.
Marginless is the disease of the new millennium; margin is the cure.[13]
Conclusion. Which of these resonates with you? What made you feel uncomfortable? Who or what is impacted by your marginlessness? Where is God inviting you to expand the margins in your life? What part of your burden do you need to lighten? Where do you need to increase power? What is He asking you to say “no” to so that you can say “yes” to His unexpected? These are questions I actively reflect on as I continue to make room for margin in my life. This week, margin allowed me to do an urgent medical exam on a two-year-old with croup. Today, margin gave me the opportunity to have lunch with a friend. Tomorrow, margin will create space for me to accept God’s unexpected gifts. Here is a final motivational quote from Dr. Hutchinson: “The responsibility of the decision [to increase margin] rests with you. I cannot promise it will be easy, but it is truly worth it.”[14]
[1] “Missionary Care Member,” Free Rain International, 2024, https://www.freerainint.org/missionary-care-member.
[2] “Health Worker Mental Health Crisis,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October 24, 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/health-worker-mental-health/index.html.
[3] Dr. Richard A. Swenson, Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, Rev. ed (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2004), 70.
[4] Karise Hutchinson, “Finding and Keeping Margin,” Illuminaire 1 (2024): 78.
[5] Swenson, 70.
[6] Ibid.
[7] “Constitution of the World Health Organization,” World Health Organization, 2020, https://www.who.int/about/governance/constitution.
[8] Hutchinson, “Healthy Leadership through Integrating the Mind, Body, and Heart,” Illuminaire 1 (2024): 51–59.
[9] Ibid., 52.
[10] Hutchinson, “Finding and Keeping Margin,” 78.
[11] Ibid, 78.
[12] Swenson, 70.
[13] Swenson, 13.
[14] Hutchinson, “Finding and Keeping Margin,” 78.
About the Author
Kari
Kari is a passionate follower of Jesus. Her journey with Him currently has her living in the Sahara in North Africa. With over a decade of experience as a family nurse practitioner and living cross-culturally, she enjoys being a champion for others. She combines her cross-cultural experience, her health care profession, and her skills in coaching to encourage holistic health and growth. She desires to see each person she encounters walk in fullness of joy, fulfilling their God-designed purpose. “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12 ESV19 responses to “What is in Your Margin?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Kari,
I love the analogy of the book margin, the more margin, the more room to personalize and take notes. It reminds me of when I was in a used bookstore looking for two books that my daughter needed for English class in order to annotate. I was examining how big the margins were and commented to the sales clerk why I was looking. The clerk was offended that I was buying a book so that my daughter could take notes in it.
I think there is a parallel here. How many people get upset at us when we leave unplanned room in our lives? I am wondering if there is a cultural difference between the US and North Africa. Do the people you work with and live around leave room in the margin or do they have 100% of their day scheduled?
Hi Jeff, I like how you expanded that analogy. You are right about how people are offended when we try to have a margin. I had to think a bit about your question. The margin here looks totally different. Schedules are not planned. Last-minute activities are best for everyone–even at the government level or for weddings, day-of events are not uncommon. People generally have more margin than plans in their schedule. However, there are cultural expectations with family, social responsibilities, and money that fill in where scheduling does. In my assessment, when said and done, people do not have adequate margins in their lives, but it looks different from ours. That said, I love the freedom of last minute scheduling!
Hi Kari, The most poignant piece of your post that stood out was that expanding margin in our lives leaves room for God to fill the space with an unexpected gift. As I was reading your post I also thought of Ryan’s NPO focus on Sabbath and how that is one way to increase margin in several areas. Maybe from different perspectives but I think you are both onto a similar result. You mentioned that creating margin may not be easy. Have you recognized what makes it hard in your context?
Hi Diane, Thank you for your comment. Ryan and I have had some great conversations on our shared passions for Sabbath and Margin. A big challenge for me in creating margin in Africa is the last-minute nature of life. My scheduling margin starts out large, but it fills up quickly! In the US, my challenge is that people do not value margin and boundaries, so the challenge is fighting through the feelings of isolation and not having that shared value.
Hi Kari! I really appreciated the quotes you shared to start your blog. The margins are a real work in progress. As you think about your own, I’ll ask you how do see God moving more recently for you in this area?
Thank you for your kind question, Daren! Recently, God has revealed to me the need and ability he has given me to fill some of my margin with people. I definitely need downtime, but I also realize that there are some great life-giving opportunities that can and should fill in my marginal space.
Hi Kari, Thanks for a great post. This week I said ‘no’ to something and the asker complimented me on “stewarding my yeses”. That was a new phrase for me and I feel proud of myself while reading your post. Here is the phrase that really challenged me: “Marginless is anxiety; margin is security.”
I think it is because I still fear failure and being near overload increases the risk. I’m learning.
Hi Julie, I just want to jump into this comment and say I will record this phrase “stewarding my yeses.” I really like that.
I love this, too! Thank you, Julie.
Hi Kari,
What strategies can be implemented to balance power and load, and how can this balance positively impact overall health and well-being for leaders and their teams?
Shela, For myself personally, learning to say “no” (or as Julie commented above, stewarding my ‘yeses’) and taking an intentional weekly Sabbath have been the best tactics to find that balance. These related things are missing in the lives of many people who do not have a margin. The result will be a margin that produces energized, calm (not reactive), secure, connected leaders and teams (taken from Dr. Swenson’s list above between marginless and margin).
Hi Kari, I know margin is a priority in your life, and I appreciate this about you. However, I realize I have never asked you what made you understand the importance of margin in your life. Was it an observation of others or something in your life that guided you to this point?
Thanks for your question, Elysse. I think my journey with “margin” started with the warnings I quoted above. I watched others’ lives to see who had margin and who did not and what that looked like. It is shocking the difference! Honestly, the fruits of the spirit are much more evident in those with margin. Perhaps it is because in the margin, we have time to allow God to develop those fruits for our lives.
Kari, I just added that book by Swenson to my list for my project. I’m hoping to help ministry leaders heal and prevent overwhelm, stress, and burnout.
As you think about margin in your life, what are the greatest obstacles to making sure you have enough margin? I presume they are mostly internal obstacles. 😉
Debbie, “Margin” is a great practical application book. It will be a good resource for you and your clients.
See my comment above to Diane for my answer to her about challenges. But you are right, the biggest obstacle is my own pride and desires! Margin starts with saying “no” to very good things because they are not the “best” for me now. Practice has helped make this easier, but it is still a struggle.
Well said Kari! I needed to hear this. I’m running on empty and haven’t had the discipline to leave margin in my life. But it is so true – the more we can say no to things, we can also say yes to His unexpected.
This reminds me of Brene Brown, who says that the most generous people in the world are the ones that have good boundaries because they have the ability to stick it out for the long haul. How do you prioritize boundaries and margin when you are faced with pressing needs around you?
Christy, Thanks for the Brené Brown concept. That gives me great encouragement to continue this journey!
My answer to your question feels a bit cliché, but it really is how I prioritize and set boundaries– I start by saying, “Let me get back to you,” and pray. This has become my automatic response to so many needs. I will also invite wise counsel to many situations–Elysse, locals, teammates, friends, etc. I continue to be amazed at how the Holy Spirit will give me the same answer I get from others. Or it is just an undeniable peace about what my answer should be.
As a side note, maintaining a Sabbath helps with this tremendously! My muscles have become more assertive in saying “no” by saying “no” so I can keep a Sabbath. It also gives me weekly space to pray about my schedule and commitments.
Thank you, Kari, I really appreciate your post. I enjoyed reading it, very meaningful and informative. I was experiencing negative margin these past few days and I am praying this week be better.
Thanks for your encouragement, Noel. May God give you the courage to say “no” to the right things so that you can have a positive margin this week.