Lunch & Learn: Leveraging White Space

During a recent staff meeting, the Fulling team gathered for a Lunch & Learn session to watch “Leveraging White Space” by Juliet Funt — a powerful look at reclaiming time for creativity and thoughtful work.

Core Concepts We Explored:

• Busyness is expensive. We often lose our creativity and clear thinking in the name of urgency.

• Juliet Funt introduced “hallucinated urgency” — the false sense that everything requires immediate attention.

• We discussed the importance of protecting our time and creating white space during the day.

Key Takeaways & Team Reflections:

• We need healthy boundaries to make room for reflection, not just reaction.

• Many of us struggle with balancing client availability and avoiding constant interruption.

• We talked about using the “wedge” between impulse and response — e.g., saying, “I have some initial thoughts, but I’d like to think about it more.”

• Juliet’s 5 habits of healthy teams stood out:

  • Use an Idea Repository – park ideas to revisit later.

  • Use Deadlines as Support – harness momentum, not pressure.

  • Use the Yellow List – track non-urgent items for better communication.

Discussion Insights:

• Some team members naturally work ahead of deadlines, others thrive closer to them.

• We considered how white space, yellow lists, and impulse wedges can reduce last-minute panic and improve our output.

Reflection Questions We Considered:

• Do you have enough white space in your schedule?

• How has hallucinated urgency affected you recently?

• How can we better use tools and habits to stay focused without burnout?

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