Stop using 'restaurants have no time' as an excuse. The daily life I gained by creating a system.
My hand stopped for a moment when I saw the words 'Work <Like> Balance Diagnosis' flowing through the contest timeline.
It is a balance between 'things I must do (work)' and 'things I want to do (like)' to improve life satisfaction, as proposed by the job change service doda. How am I doing right now?
If it were me a few years ago, I don't think I would have even had the time to open this diagnosis.
■ It started by questioning the common sense that 'restaurants have no time'
I used to be completely chased by 'things I must do (work)'.
Since graduating from university, I have been training in the world of cooking, from a long-established Japanese restaurant in Kyoto to an Italian restaurant and a kappo restaurant in Honmachi, Osaka. Even after taking over the family business at 30 and having my own restaurant, I believed that 'staying on the front lines' was the absolute truth due to my pride and sense of responsibility as a craftsman.
When I say I run a restaurant, many people say in unison, 'You must be too busy to have any time for yourself.' In fact, that was true. If I opened the shop, I was glued to the front lines, and the shop wouldn't run for a single day without me, from preparation to business operations and managing the numbers.
However, I thought at one point.
Is it okay to give up on my life by using 'restaurants have no time' as an excuse?
I wanted to create my own time. I wanted to use my time for 'things I want to do (like)' where I could exercise my passion more freely. That's why I decided to create a 'system' that would run even if I wasn't on the front lines.
■ The view beyond overcoming the 'anxiety of delegating'
Of course, not everything went well from the beginning.
When I welcomed new staff and gradually let go of the discretion of the front lines, there was always a great anxiety deep in my chest.
Because I have the skills and commitment that I have acquired in the world of strict training for many years, the fear of entrusting others, such as 'Is it really okay for me not to be on the front lines?' and 'Will the customers be satisfied?', was beyond imagination.
I endure the urge to speak up, believe in the system, and above all, trust the staff and leave it to them. In a sense, it was also a challenge to let go of my own 'ego'.
Since I officially entrusted the front lines to the staff, the shop started running more lively than I imagined. While concentrating on what I should do as a manager, such as managing numbers and daily updates, I gained an overwhelming amount of 'my own time'.
■ What I gained: time for my precious family and my beloved Muay Thai
I am fully dedicating the time created by building a system to the 'likes' (things I want to do) that I truly value.
My greatest treasure is the time I spend with my family. Laughing together over trivial conversations with my children and sharing the same space and time with my family. This is a calm and lovely daily life that I could never have imagined back when my days were spent only going back and forth between the shop and the workplace.
That is not all. Because I have more time, I have been able to attend my favorite kickboxing and Muay Thai practice sessions regularly. Furthermore, I am currently using that experience to provide personal training instruction.
The moment I see people who come to take my lessons, from children to adults, sweating to their heart's content and returning with the best smiles, saying, 'Ah, that was fun!' For me, that is filled with a joy as heart-warming as seeing my own shop thrive.
And I have one more big 'thing I want to do' that I am secretly nurturing.
'Someday, when my children are older, I will go to Thailand alone to train in authentic Muay Thai.'
Having the time and peace of mind to get excited about such a boyish romance and plan it seriously is the greatest asset for me right now.
By organizing 'things I must do' and creating a system, I am maximizing the proportion of 'things I want to do.' Little by little, I am realizing the value of this work-like balance.
However, my story does not end here. Precisely because I have gradually approached my ideal, there is a 'next challenge' that has come into view.
■ Not just for myself. From now on, toward 'a shop where staff can also live that kind of life'
What I will challenge next is 'creating a shop where not only I, but all the staff who support the shop can realize their own work-like balance.'
The colleagues who work in the restaurant industry also have their own lives. They must have precious families, hobbies they want to immerse themselves in, and dreams they want to fulfill. I want to end the way of working where their 'things they want to do (likes)' are sacrificed for the sake of the 'shop.'
Now it is my turn to further evolve the system I created, and create an environment where they themselves can control their time and enjoy life from the heart. I believe that only when the staff is filled with happiness will that energy return as the best service to our customers.
Work-like balance is not a goal that ends once the scales are balanced.
It is an endless challenge to continue updating the way of working with everyone involved with me and to raise the satisfaction of life together.
Today, too, I am continuing to build a restaurant that will last for 100 years together with my staff, while enjoying time with my family.
I am chasing new dreams again.
