How'd it go today?

[SeanKroll]

Congratulations on your big deal there, Matt!

Gutters and eaves can easily be fixed, and almost nobody has sentimental attachments to them, unlike conditions when working in a cemetery.

 

[Burnham]

Nasty one.

 

[TINYHULK]

Glad to read ya again Matt! Sounds like you are doing well. Are you still loving the tree work?

Hey Mike! Financially things have been great. Mentally I went through a season of exhaustion and anxiety/panic attacks. Got so bad I had to leave work twice in one day. Couldn’t even go shopping without getting overwhelmed. But I’m doing a lot better now and am back to my normal tree work!

 

[Treeaddict]

I know you have a lot on you regarding your position. The work is awesome but being a manager sucks. I had to manage people in a toxic office environment before and it was the worst. I’m sorry it ran you ragged but glad you sorted through it. Panic attacks suck. I’ve had about 20 over the past year if my heart did anything abnormal it would send me into one. Sounds like you’re getting control over them.

 

[cory]

How'd you get over the anxiety?

 

[TINYHULK]

I’ve been dealing with anxiety my entire life and always just pushed through it but we had a huge clearing job. Over 300 trees in a 2 acre area on the corner of a busy intersection. With all the mechanical issues 60-70 hour weeks, sometimes working 7 days a week. It became too much mentally and my brain just went into over load for a few weeks. So I knew I just had to recover mentally and “reset” back to my normal self. I’ve never smoked a day in my life but it got so bad I resorted to seeing a doctor for some pills. Instead of that I chose to get my cannabis card. Doing a tincture micro dose kept me from feeling high but curved the anxiety. After a few weeks of using that now I’m feeling back to my old self and not needing it anymore.

 

[cory]

Good.

Btw, there's also some good books out there on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which is a big term for getting your thinking straight and not letting twisted thinking rule you. Helpful for anxiety and depression.

 

[Treeaddict]

Matt, the sabbath is made for man. I’m not trying to preach at you, just some admonition. I need to hear it too. When we don’t take a day to rest, when we don’t consistently sleep 7-9 hrs a night, when we skip meals and eat junk, bad things happen. I know your boss has 3 business which makes me think he’s a workaholic. Maybe he expects the same from you? I don’t wanna see you getting burned out brother

 

[SeanKroll]

Breaks make for better productivity.

 

[TINYHULK]

There’s definitely been some boundaries set since then. All those crazy weeks was because of the clearing job gone wrong and being on a deadline. Now that we are done with all three clearing jobs and I’m back to my trees I’m able to handle the schedule and be realistic with hours. I love 45-50 hours in 5 days but we will pull 6 days a week for the next few weeks to catch up.

 

[treebilly]

45-50 is a good number of hours to work. It’s taken me many years to figure out that I don’t need to work every single day.

 

[Cobleskill]

Nice to be your own boss and call your hours. Not that there is less stress being your own boss. The opposite I would think most times. If you have a good boss and good job it would be less stress.

 

[Treeaddict]

I cannot imagine working 45-50 hours a week. I can't recall the last time I worked a 40-hour week.

Do you work more or less?

 

[flushcut]

As an owner operator does the work really ever end? You may be only cutting 50 hours but there’s the “other” work, invoicing, parts purchase, taxes, books, taxes, bills, and taxes. Then there’s the house work.

 

[stikine]

Took a boat ride out to St. Johns field camp today to drain the water system and winterize everything. Cold out but nice and sunny. A couple of pictures on the way back to town.

 

[lxskllr]

Routine day. Did a boundary job. The control perimeter was ~7900'. I took a few pics, but it just isn't the same as being there. I like the wide open space(Jim would laugh at that definition), and the trees looked good even though I didn't capture it well.

 

[SkwerI]

I probably average 25-30 hours a week.

I used to average 25-30 hours per week in the field. Then another 10 hours per week running sales calls. And another 10-15 hours per week working on equipment. And then another 10-15 hours per week dealing with customer issues, fixing fences, dump runs, buying supplies, scheduling, bookkeeping, etc.

 

[flushcut]

That looks like many places here.
Elm deadwooding today and tomorrow with a cable.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I used to average 25-30 hours per week in the field. Then another 10 hours per week running sales calls. And another 10-15 hours per week working on equipment. And then another 10-15 hours per week dealing with customer issues, fixing fences, dump runs, buying supplies, scheduling, bookkeeping, etc.

Pretty much how it rolls here as well. Rob gets to go home and have a beer after 5-6 hours and then my game keeps going. Kids, repairs, quotes, errands. Never ends. Often 7 days a week for the administrative and mechanic stuff.

 

[Fiddler]

Knocked down & cut up a little dead leaning Maple, then trimmed the dead & broken from an Apple at the course today. Drug everything into the woods line & called it good...got a whopping hour in all told.

I remember many 100+ hour weeks when running my own business.
Love working 7 days a week now during the season (keeps me on a comfortable routine), but I keep it down to an average of ~4.5 hrs per day. I just think of it as "morning chores".

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Poison oak removal all day before rain.
Tomorrow the same depending on rain. Probably Thursday as well. Killing a couple Pines will be a pleasure on Friday

 

[Fiddler]

It was a perfect day to re-paint stripes on the parking lot.

 

[SeanKroll]

I bought a guitar yesterday. Got some lessons from my GF this morning.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

No rain till later today, so it decided to dump sleet at about 12:30. If mossy rocks covered in poison oak aint slick enough, add sleet. So, we packed it in for the day.

 

[pigwot]

Removed a very small Norway maple. Will grind out the stump and plant a white oak.
Before:

After:

During (albeit in another tree):