Jordan Ring is one of a new breed of entrepreneurs, a “digital nomad” who has achieved what many people dream of—a work-life balance that means he and his wife earn enough from their online activities to support themselves and their dream lifestyle (at least for now. They don’t have children yet, and children do have a habit of changing priorities).
One of the myths of entrepreneurship, a myth fostered by business titles such as “The Four-Hour Work Week” is that entrepreneurs don’t work a lot. Ring points out the opposite is true: entrepreneurs just as likely to overwork, or to find it difficult to balance their work and non-work lives.
This book is Ring’s analysis of eleven areas where our lives can get out of balance:
- Preparation vs. Action
- Work vs. Play
- Yes vs. No
- Purpose vs. Passion
- Reactive vs. Proactive
- Intention vs. Perception
- Consumption vs. Production
- Instant win vs. Delayed Gratification
- Hustle vs. Health
- 80 vs. 20
- Potential vs. Contentment
Sure, a lot of his tips aren’t original. I’ve seen tips like these before:
Make a consistent time to plan each week, each month, and each year.
(You could also add “each decade”, given we’re at the beginning of 2020.)
Set aside time every day for the most important tasks for your business.
And just because these quotes aren’t original doesn’t make them any less true:
Filing to plan is planning to fail (Alan Lakein)
But there are also some useful productivity tips like clustering tasks, or setting up filters in Gmail so you’re not distracted by junk email.
If you love the work you do, you won’t work a day in your life. (John C Maxwell)
Ring then encourages readers to determine which two or three areas they’re strong on, and which two or three areas are their biggest problem, and take action on those areas. Of course, that’s the challenge with any business book, especially those discussing productivity.
Will we take action?
In this case, I think so. Ring hasn’t left us with a prescriptive list of unattainable goals. Instead, he encourages readers to recognize their biggest struggles, and start with whatever works best. I think that’s achievable.
Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.
