Ever notice how back-to-back meetings leave you wiped out?

As a new manager, I made the mistake of putting one meeting after the next. I thought this would help me create focus time blocks at other times in the week—I still wanted my coding time. Just imagine the quality of my one-on-one's after the fourth or fifth meeting in the last 3 hours.

I simply couldn't sustain my energy levels and emotional availability.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Just like in web design, we need proper spacing to let things breathe. Your brain needs white space too.

And it can be as simple as leaving a 15-minute gap between each meeting.

That's it.

It doesn't mean you will suddenly get free hours to meditate every day—though some breathing exercise can still be a good idea.

You might need to get some water, have a toilet break or just open the window to let in some fresh air.

Or your Slack is on fire and you need to check.

At the very least, you now have some time to jot down those action items you promised.

Or you might just do nothing. That works too.

These gaps are never a waste of time. They are the difference between complete exhaustion at the end of the day or still having some energy left in the tank to enjoy life after work. When it spans multiple days, draining weeks spill over weekends for recovery.

Nowhere in your contract does it say you have to burn yourself out (or maybe it's time to switch jobs!)

That trick won't always be available when others take control of your calendar. But you're a manager now—use that power to protect your time. Start with 15-minute gaps.