Why You’re Too Busy to Think—And How White Space Can Save Your Sanity

Have you ever looked at your calendar and wondered, 'When, exactly, am I supposed to get any real thinking done?' In Juliet Funt’s transformative book, A Minute to Think, she argues that our addiction to busyness is not just a nuisance—it’s a crisis. We fill every available moment with meetings, emails, notifications, and tasks, leaving no white space—the unscheduled, open time our minds desperately need to breathe, create, and innovate.

Funt’s research shows that this relentless pace is costing us dearly. Not only does it sap our creativity, but it also leads to costly mistakes, burnout, and a chronic sense of overwhelm. She likens our workdays to a page crammed with text, no margins in sight, making it impossible for new ideas to land. The solution? Purposeful pauses, scattered throughout your day, that act as oxygen for your mind.

Consider the story of a global consulting team that, after adopting daily 'white space' moments, saw a measurable increase in breakthrough ideas and a dramatic drop in stress. Or the executive who, after learning to insert a 'Wedge'—a brief pause between meetings—reported feeling more present, more decisive, and less reactive. These aren’t just feel-good anecdotes; companies have measured millions in lost productivity due to wasted, busywork-filled hours. Imagine reclaiming even a fraction of that time for deep thinking and true value creation.

But why is it so hard to slow down? Funt exposes the cultural forces behind our busyness: insatiability (the urge to always do more), conformity (mirroring others’ frantic pace), and the hidden costs of waste (pointless meetings, redundant emails, and more). She introduces the four 'Thieves of Time'—Drive, Excellence, Information, and Activity—qualities that start as strengths but, unchecked, become saboteurs. For example, striving for Excellence can morph into perfectionism, making us spend hours tweaking details that don’t matter. Chasing Information can turn into dashboard addiction, leaving us drowning in data and missing the big picture.

The good news? Change is possible—and surprisingly simple. Funt’s 'Simplification Questions' (“What can I let go of?” “Where is ‘good enough’ good enough?”) help us trim the fat from our schedules. The 'Yellow List' technique encourages batching non-urgent questions, reducing interruptions and preserving precious focus. And perhaps most powerful of all is the realization that not every urgent-sounding request deserves our immediate attention. By recalibrating urgency and setting boundaries, we can protect our white space and use it for what matters most.

Ultimately, A Minute to Think isn’t just about productivity—it’s about reclaiming your humanity. By building in even a few minutes of white space each day, you’ll rediscover clarity, creativity, and a sense of control. So next time you feel the urge to cram another task into your already-packed day, pause—and give yourself a minute to think.
Sources: Juliet Funt, A Minute to Think; Next Big Idea Club; JulietFunt.com Summaries