Waking Up in 4th Gear

Task-mindedness can become a habit or, rather, a way of life. People can become so married to their to-do lists that the daily tasks begin to control our lives—like a tail wagging a dog. I spoke with a general manager of a development company who stated that she doesn't know what life would look like without 4th gear. When she wakes up, she has a laundry list of emails awaiting her with tasks from others for the day ahead. The interesting thing is that she has done the same thing to others by trying to get one more email written before she goes to bed at night. These lists create drama, stress, and unceasing activity. She admitted that she was dominated by the tasks at hand that are often more urgent than important.

Sound familiar?

I'm going to ask you a question. But before I do, I want you to be completely honest with yourself. Do you normally check your email when you first wake up? Do you catch yourself just needing to “catch up on the day” really fast before getting in the shower or getting dressed? Do you know what you are doing to yourself? I ask only because this is a habit I suffer from at times as well.

From the moment our eyes open we have a choice. We can either wake up out of our sleeping recharge and warm up through a series of recharge exercises that could include reading or exercise or relational connection or we can look at email and let it set the tone of our day. If you start with email or your to-do list then you are letting tasks drive your priorities for the day. Some of you have extremely important jobs and a check-in is necessary to make sure the organization is fine after a night of sleep. I understand. However, when it becomes a pattern it truly can derail your true influence and mindset for the day.

4th gear is not a bad gear to be in. In fact, it's a great one to know how to use well, but there is a caveat: Just like the dangers of staying in 5th gear too long, we need to be careful how to use 4th, as well. Jumping directly to 4th gear is like trying to pull out of your garage in your car and shifting from reverse directly to 4th—it is virtually impossible.

Have you ever noticed how a sports team gets ready for a big game? Have you paid attention to what they do and do not do? Once they are dressed, they normally come out and stretch or practice shooting and do some warm-up drills. They do not rush from the locker room to the field and begin playing. Players need to warm up so they don't injure themselves, and so they can get their bodies and minds synchronized before the competition begins. And just like players need a warm-up, so do the rest of us—employees, leaders, families, students, humans in general. We need to start our days in the right gear and 4th gear is simply not it.

What 4th Gear Does to Our Brains and Our Work

If you have ever left work feeling tired and wired at the same time, it may not be the coffee or the late afternoon chocolate making you jittery. Instead, it may be the overconsumption of 4th gear. When we train our minds to multitask for long periods of time, we receive a garbled mix of data, people, and tasks. An example would be if we worked all day on our computers just opening files without closing any of them during the day. Our computer screens are full of information and consequently it is hard to find what you need in a moment because of the mess that has been made. That is life when we are consumed by 4th gear.

Dr. Jarrod Spencer, a renowned sports psychologist and friend, shares that our minds are like computers. At night our minds begin closing and sorting the files that we have opened all day into the proper locations or files. He goes on to share that those of us who are constantly opening up files without ever fully closing them at the end of the day normally have a harder time sleeping than others.

Sleep patterns, relationship dynamics, and overall peace of mind are just a few areas that are adversely affected when we stay stuck in 4th gear, consumed by our tasks. While technology has promised to help, it often only enables access for MORE: more tasks, more emails, more actions, more conversations, more information, and more stress.

Mark Herringshaw, one of our regional partners at GiANT Worldwide, shares some insight on this topic about one of our manufacturing clients. “The engineers I've met in this company live in 4th gear. Their days on the remanufacturing lines are filled with reaction action. A problem arises; they adapt. A message arrives; they respond. Forget an action list. Their agendas are improvised on the fly by others.” This is an issue for many companies, as the tasks of one person, especially if they have a dominating personality, can become the priorities of many that day, deferring their own priorities until another day.

Mark goes on to share some of the growth that has taken place after implementing the 5 Gears. “We are learning how to do 4th gear more effectively. One of the best steps to improved productivity we've seen has been the simple injection of intentional 5th gear time. It's a necessary luxury that if they don't make happen, it never will. So, many are locking themselves away, perhaps for no more than an hour, three times a week. Some put signs up that say, ‘Go away until 3:00.’ Some leave the building to find time to get ahead to think.”

In this case, 5th gear is the proper way to manage the over-stimulation of 4th gear, especially in a highly stressful manufacturing, to-do culture. 5th gear is a natural shift when you have so much on your plate that needs to be focused on. By simply disciplining yourself and letting other people know you will be out for a period of time, you can knock a big project off your list, feel better about yourself and get back into your 4th gear routine.

The truth is that when we don't manage 4th gear well, it can take over our lives and begin to take us on a ride where we begin to lose our souls a bit. We wind up feeling like robots on an assembly line, or appearing that way to those around us. The tasks take over, our personality changes, and our work suffers a bit.

Mike Oppedahl, our managing partner at GiANT Worldwide and a phenomenal leader from Albuquerque, New Mexico, describes this perfectly here:

In my last organization, I had a mid-level director/leader in my organization named Shelley. Shelley is a rock star and like a cruise missile as it pertains to her work, and she has a very high capacity. In a staff meeting with our administrative team, we introduced the 5 Gears tool. There were many revelations throughout the team, but Shelley was speechless. Later that week, she requested a one-on-one meeting to discuss her leadership learning opportunity. She started off the meeting by stating that she had never had this kind of insight into her personal development in all her 20 years of leadership. Having been a high performer her entire career, Shelley had never needed to work on increasing her productivity by a significant magnitude. The 5 Gears helped her realize that she thought she was always in 5th gear, but in reality, she lived her leadership life in 4th gear, constantly being interrupted by her teams. As an extrovert, she had a tendency to want her door open during the entire working day and she had never learned what it was like to truly get to 5th gear and really focus on moving the needle. Because she was a high performer, she put tremendous pressure on herself to succeed at all costs. This led to a consistent 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. workday for her. After this incredible learning in her “self” circle of influence, Shelley began to spend intentional time in 5th gear every week. The immediate result was that she was able to achieve significantly more in her responsibilities and her team felt even more supported. The positive result in her “family” circle of influence was that she started leaving the office by 5:30 P.M. and was able to have dinner with her husband (who had become accustomed to eating alone).

Wow! Think about that. One subtle realization could possibly change the relational dynamics across the board. Now, imagine that being you. For the 85 percent reading this who are addicted to 4th gear, it is time to put it in the right order. Some of you simply need to shift gears to 5th and block the time out to truly get things done before shifting again into 3rd, 2nd, or 1st at the end of the day.

Remember, 4th gear is not bad. In fact, I encourage you to get as good as you can in that gear so that you are appropriately productive. However, I find it amazing that there are gurus who write and speak on maximizing 4th gear and yet don't understand that it is not as much about 4th gear as it is about knowing how to shift to the right gear at the right time.

The Different 4th Gears—Work and Home

Now, let's go deeper. 4th gear is not just for work. There is actually a 4th work gear and a 4th home gear, and while they look similar, they are different in the tasks and characters. Can you picture this? Waking up in 4th gear, being in 4th gear at work—all day—and then coming home only to switch to-do lists and maybe change clothes before continuing on with your to-do fetish?

Elizabeth Paul, a marketing guru, all-star leader, wife, and mom of three puts it this way:

The personal story for me was realizing that as a woman I have “work” 4th and 5th gear and “domestic” 4th and 5th gear. I thought that because I was being disciplined about putting my devices away during the golden family window of 5 to 8 P.M. I wasn't in 4th or 5th gear, when in reality I was just putting on a different task hat. When my eyes were opened to that, I realized that I actually have little to no 3rd or 1st gear in my life at all. That was shocking.

Like a lot of working moms, I put heroic effort into making sure that my work commitments don't adversely affect my kids/husband. I do this by getting up first, going to bed last, and sprinting like crazy any time they're in school, napping, and so on, so they don't “feel” my working quite as much. Basically I completely sacrificed 1st gear in the service of 2nd (with husband/kids) and 4th/5th. Those gears felt like “have to haves” whereas 1st (any time for personal recharge) and 3rd (non-specific time) felt like luxuries that could go. Diagnostically seeing those holes made me realize why I've been feeling so tired and frayed. In order to make it all work, I've had to be ruthlessly efficient with my time—which has meant little time for non-“purposeful” or “happenstance” connecting points (3rd gear) and even less time to put fuel in my own tank (1st gear). Haven't exactly fixed that yet, but I hear admitting you have a problem is the first step toward recovery!

Elizabeth is spot on. Becoming aware of this leads her to an “aha” moment, which moves her to a breakthrough opportunity. When put into practice, this breakthrough could change the dynamics of her family forever and just might give her a renewed energy because she will be able to reprioritize her needed recharge and social time.

What It Is Like to Be on the Other Side of 4th Gear

A leader of an event business describes what it is like to lead a team in 4th gear. This example is a perfect way to process how to adjust and shift once you get to reality:

We are in the events business. Our logistics teams pretty much run in 4th gear through an entire event with a focus on getting things done, but also being available to help others who need it. Our training team, however, shifts in and out of 4th and 5th gear throughout an event. If they are training all day…they are likely in 5th gear. So, you have two sets of people…both working eight hours…but…they are in two different gears for most of the day. When our training team finishes, they are worn out and tired, while the logistics team is still ready for more.

Our logistics team, unknowingly, tends to judge the training team, thinking they are being lazy and don't want to do the grunt work when, in essence, they need recharge time. As their leader who can see the combination of personality styles as well as gear reality, I can now see what is really going on and what it is like to be on the other side of each group. Now we have language and the tools to analyze what's really going on and take preventive action.

We now plan ahead by scheduling downtime within the context of events so that everyone can recharge. Some need it…some don't. But, the key thing is that we're able to avoid perception issues. And the training team now knows when their recharge time is and doesn't have to try to “get out of something” in order to get the time they need to rest.

That is how a leader should lead. He knows himself to lead himself and knows the tendencies of his team. He understands the tendencies of his different groups and is proactively aligning them based on what gear they should be in, while eliminating the natural drama that occurs in most work settings.

Reprioritizing What Really Matters

Why do we let 4th gear control us? Is it the fear of possibly letting others down or is it a habit to allow tasks to run our lives? “Yes to both,” some might say. We have choices to make and our hope is that this concept and the stories within it might cause us to reprioritize the little things so that the big things of life become more healthy and effective. When 4th gear controls us, we lose the ability to connect well and our presence with others tends to be limited at best.

This is one of my favorite stories. It is from a client/friend of ours in a large public company. She asked to remain nameless, but was thrilled to share the story. Notice how she became aware of her tendencies and chose to not be controlled by 4th gear in this important relationship:

My father is ill. The two things that he could do to improve his physical condition most significantly are to eat better and exercise. The two things he refuses to do are eat better and exercise. After our first GiANT Exec Core retreat in June 2014, I realized that I was spending all of my time with my father in 4th gear. I was reviewing medications, talking about diet, preparing food, setting up exercise routines, and contacting physical therapists. I had never really thought about it from my father's point of view. I asked myself what gear he might want me to be in during our time together. I knew 4th gear was not the answer. He certainly had expressed his irritation at my constant “nagging.”

Since then, I have focused our time together being in 3rd gear, frequently shifting down to 2nd and occasionally up to 4th when there is an issue where he needs my help. (I certainly have not neglected any of his physical needs.) Over the last six months, he has lost significant weight and his health has continued to decline. If I had continued to nag at him from 4th gear, would he be in better physical condition? I don't know, but I suspect not. What I do know is that we have spent many precious hours together in 2nd gear.

We have discussed his faith on many occasions and his questions about grace and eternal life. He has shared many stories, memories, and life lessons with me. We've talked in-depth about his grandson Garrett's future. Dad told me many times that I might love Garrett as much as he did, but there was no way that anyone in the world loved him more than he did. Garrett feels the same way about his granddad. I know that he needed to talk to me so that he could see what the future looks like for his special buddy—his education, his career, his wife, his family. He has told me his hopes and dreams for Garrett and special things he'd like for him to experience. I know he knows I'll carry those forward for him. He is now confident that Garrett is going to be OK and told me he isn't worried about him anymore.

We have shared and connected on an intimate level as father and daughter. So while I was previously focused on the nourishment and health of my father's failing body, I changed focus to the nourishment and health of our relationship and his soul.

I've never told my father about the 5 Gears, I just showed him. I don't know if he has recognized that things are different or not. I do know that I am so glad that I was there to have these conversations with him. There is no one else he talks to the way he talks to me. In giving to him, I have received so very much in return.

My father won't be with me too much longer. I am so thankful that God used you to open my eyes before I was at a point of irreversible regret. I won't have to say, “If I had it to do all over again, I'd spend more time just being with my father and making sure he knew how much I loved him.”

This is what a responsive leader looks like—someone who can lead themselves and adjust along the way to make a tough situation better.

Why Using All the Gears Makes 4th More Productive

4th gear is the work gear. It is the natural multitasking gear of which some of us are much better than others. And yet, if you will take the time to implement the other gears in your life you will find that your everyday, multitasking 4th gear will become more productive.

• You will finish projects while in 5th gear, which will make 4th gear feel more productive.
• When you insert 3rd gear appropriately (which is the next chapter) you will become much more at ease with people and will watch your influence climb because you are not too distracted by the cloud of tasks hanging over your head.
• If you insert 1st gear recharge into your task world you will have more energy and more peace about you.
• When 2nd gear is used correctly the people most important will become prioritized above the urgent tasks, which will lead to healthy relationships and, again, peace for you.

Practice getting better at 4th gear and learn to insert the other gears for your best and the best of those you lead and love. If you have a hard time getting into 4th gear then find someone who is brilliant at it and begin to mimic what you see.

Let's get really practical and begin to look at how 4th gear may be controlling you in an unhealthy way and how to get healthy at shifting into the task gear.

Warning Signs: You know you have an unhealthy 4th gear if…

• You consistently start your day with email.
• People notice you are obsessed by tasks.
• Achievement becomes the chief goal of your life.
• There are no boundaries on your time.
• Anxiety separation occurs when you are away from email or your phone.
• You are consistently drained and never fully charged.
• It takes a lot of effort to consistently get into a 2nd or 3rd gear context
• Struggling for consistent sleep is the norm and the mind is always racing.
• Your spouse, kids, and friends know that tasks come first.
• You are physically present, but intellectually and emotionally absent.
• There is a lot of activity but no real sign of progress.

How Do You Get Healthy?

• Replace email in the morning with something more inspirational—whatever helps you come alive.
• Be proactive, not reactive—don't let someone else define your day in an email or phone call.
• Discipline yourself by turning your phone off, or leaving it behind!
• Teach your family the 5 gears sign language so they can help you.
• Use boundaries, scheduling, trigger points, and markers to help you.

Key Question: Why do I allow others' tasks to run my life and dominate my agenda? Let someone you trust help you process this.

The 4th Gear Challenge

Replace email before breakfast with something that inspires you. Trade up to something that charges you for the day.