I love typography and layout design. I'm not a complete type nerd, but I do know that there is a difference between a typeface and a font, and what that difference is. I was the editor and creator of a state-level church magazine for over a decade, so I also have practical experience to back up my theory. There are many important principles to understand when laying out a document, newsletter or magazine. These principles can be treated as the "rules" of design. They can be followed or broken by the designer, but unless the designer does so with a full understanding of the balance between all of the principles, the end result is likely to look messy and unprofessional. (This is why you pay the big bucks for a good designer, otherwise it looks like you're cheap.)

I don't think it's too controversial to say that the design principle, or "rule", that should be "broken" the least often is the generous application of whitespace. Whitespace is literally the space that you leave around the design elements on your page. Most paper backgrounds used in serious design are white (or really close to white), to ensure optimum contrast with the type, so the name and concept are easy to understand. What is not easy is to get designers to apply the concept. There is a horrific tendency in the design world to cram everything in. Leaving ample space around text and other design elements is seen as wasteful. It's as if the customer has said "I've paid for the whole page, so fill it up!" Yet, too little whitespace will leave a page looking cramped and make it hard to take everything in. Just like cooking with spices, design always benefits from the less is more approach. The space on the page allows the text to be read more easily, the message to be more clearly conveyed to the reader. It allows the eye to be able to concentrate on the flow of your page without being distracted by other overly close elements. Good use of whitespace in your design makes understanding your material easier for your reader.

Our lives are very much like a page upon which we wish to layout a design. There is such a strong urge to fill your life with many cool and awesome things, but then you face the same problem that the designers I spoke of have. The designer after they have handed off their design to the customer, and got paid, has the advantage here, they no longer have to live with the design. If it's cramped and difficult to read because of a lack of whitespace, they are unaffected, only the customer has to deal with it. In our own lives we are generally our own designers, so if we create a life that is messy and has too little whitespace in it, we have to live with it. A life with whitespace in its design will be more comfortable to live in.

There are a number of ways to add whitespace into the design of your life. Reducing clutter is always a good start. There's a good chance that you really don't need all of the stuff you surround yourself with, so let some of it go. Live simply. A simple life is every bit as satisfying as a good, yet simple design. Finally, the ultimate tool for adding whitespace into your life is good time management. Not so that you can get more done in a given amount of time, but so that you can do less unimportant things and concentrate on only the truly important ones. Some people create a prioritized to do list at the end of each day, so they can hit the next day running and by working on the most important task first, they know that even if they get nothing else done, that they were working on the most important thing they needed to do. Depending upon the kind of person you are and your personality type, you may find that you need to build explicit downtime into your schedule.

While we are to work and be productive, the scriptures call for us to rest periodically. The Jews had a specific day of the week, the Sabbath, upon which they were expressly commanded to rest (Exodus 20:10-11). The modern church is no longer under the Sabbath requirement, because Jesus is our Sabbath (Hebrews 4:9-10), but we still follow the principle and most Christians have Sunday as a day for attending church and then resting. Build times of relaxing and decompression into your life. Spend time contemplating God and his universe (Psalm 46:10). Read his word. Work diligently on your "not to do" list once a week. Distance yourself from things that distract and be alone for a while.