My husband is in an executive leadership training program and introduced me to the book 5 Gears: How to Be Present and Productive When There is Never Enough Time. The author is Jeremie Kubicek and the book is essentially a work/life balance book.

There are a lot of these types of work life balance and productivity books out there but I liked the way it expressed the ideas and think he (the author) offered some very easy ways to follow the mantra. Here is a summary of the gears he explains:

1) Recharge

2) Connecting Deeply

3) Social

4) On Task

5) The Zone

He discusses stress related to each level. Level 4 and 5 are higher stress areas which can lead to burnout. I liked how he divided this as he basically said you need to make sure you cover all the areas and you don’t get stuck on one gear for too long.

Starting a business in the last year, in the middle of a major house renovation, lead me to be on Gears 4 and 5 for long periods of time. I felt productive because I was getting stuff done. Crossing items off my list. The problem was that I didn’t take the time to step back which impacted everyone.

Since January, I have been making a much greater effort to step back and ensure I am covering all my bases. On days off with kids, I try to leave the phone alone and only have check-in times to move back to gear 4. I also have scheduled more exercise as part of our regular routine. This is something that has always been important to both me and my husband. We now make more of an effort to talk and plan it out so everyone is on the same schedule.

The 5 Gears concepts reiterated the importance of this balance for everyone’s health and happiness. In our family, we have even begun using the terms for example “Did you get any first gear time today?”. This is definitely a book on the must read list for all you busy entrepreneurs.

Life is hard but it is also fantastic. Make sure you are making the most of it and take care of yourself while you do it.

 

Virtual Heights Accounting is a CPA and Business Coaching firm located in Rossland, BC. We are a virtual firm focused on using cloud based technologies to reduce the administrative burden of business owners. Focusing on bookkeeping, accounting, business coaching and development with a tech focus. www.vhaccounting.ca. The above represent our own opinions any comments, please comment here or feel free to contact us.