Climbing for the long haul

[Stumpsprouts]

Questions for those of you who have been production climbing for a long while, say, past the proverbial seven year itch.
How do you keep the work interesting and fun? What are you excited about when you show up to work?

Has anyone taken some long leaves of absence, perhaps dabbled in another industry, and come back?

I’m particularly wondering about the accumulation of mental stress and anxiety over a long period of time and what folks have done to clear some of that energy.

 

[oldoakman]

Continue to educate yourself and network with others in the industry. No one is an island.

 

[climbingmonkey24]

Well as the business owner I have that luxury of deciding what jobs to bid and what jobs to not bid. Primarily for tree care I focus on pruning and smaller removals, but we also do shrub trimming, shrub removal, hedge trimming, etc. Those kinds of jobs that don't require climbing kind of make for a nice change of pace both on your body and on the stress level. Doing primarily pruning and trimming projects every job is different and I consider it like a form of art. Taking something from before and creating it into a thing of beauty versus just knocking a tree down, and hearing my clietns feedback etc. That is something I enjoy and look forward to.

When we are on the job we are focused and serious but also know how to let loose and have fun with each other without compromising safety or production. I think that's important, to enjoy the work atmosphere and the people you work with.

Once in a while but not always I will listen to music while in the tree to help me find my groove and lift my spirits. I've heard of some climbers listening to audiobooks or podcasts as well. I suppose you could argue there may be a safety factor that comes into play here because you need to hear what's going on around you and that's true, but I also think it might be a valuable tool to help calm you down, etc. if you find you are nervous, anxious, or just not plain feeling it.

Taking a break or vacation, trying out new things, aren't bad ideas at all. Whether you do it on the side of tree work or take an actual break from tree work there's nothing wrong with either. You got to find what makes you happy and keeps you motivated everyday. Part of what I enjoy about tree work and climbing is the physical side. For instance last Friday I worked almost 12 hours or so, and I was exhausted at the end of the day but it felt great. For me personally I thrive under higher pressure, being more busy, being tired from work, etc. I like being busy. But not everyone is like that. Some people prefer more of a work-life balance.

The last thing I want to talk about is I also wake up every morning around the same time and workout. Bodybuilding and fitness is a passion of mine. I workout first thing in the morning because it helps me get my day in order, feel happier and focused, and more confident for whatever I have to do. Helps me deal with the stress or nerves of whatever as well and is certainly an outlet for me with coping with anxiety and stress.

So in other words here, developing a morning routine that helps you start your day off right, whether it's exercise, meditation, yoga, etc. could be helpful and finding an outlet to help you deal with whatever you have going on, etc. For me it's working out, for others maybe it's running, hiking, etc. the list goes on.

 

[adolan]

This is my 15th year doing tree work and I know what you mean about getting inspired or excited about going to work. I spent 7 years doing full time production at a company then left when my first boy was born. Things felt stagnant and I wasnt really enjoying work at that time. I went and worked at another company which was great. Awesome group of co workers and it really reinvigorated my love of treework. After 2 seasons there I wanted another change and went back to the other company lol. I went back doing a mix of sales and production. Shortly after going back I stepped into the operations manager position and was more or less in the office full time. After almost 2 years of doing that I really missed being in the field and stepped back from the office work. I was doing a mix of 1-2 days a week sales and the remaining days were production. I found that balance to be so great for me. My body got a break on my sales days, my brain was stimulated in different ways and I got to use a broader portion of my education interacting with clients.

I have been more or less keeping that schedule for the past few years and it's been good. The other thing I did was shorten my days- typically working an 8-8.5hr day. That made a huge difference for me- I wasn't exhausted at the end of the day, I had time to be with my family where I wasn't falling asleep on the couch and I was happy !

I love climbing and being in the field but for me a mix of sales and production has made my days a bit more diverse and I really enjoy every day.

I recently started my own business so I'm again putting a big change into my life, and I'm excited to be excited about work again!

 

[southsoundtree]

Might have said some of this already...


Setting your own schedule is an important factor, IME. Rest days and low impact days to balance high impact days.

Pacing yourself throughout the day and week and season, too.

Periodic breaks are good. Still be active and focus on rehab and preventing injuries.


Core strength is vital, along with muscle balance, good posture and flexibility.





I've been rock climbing steady then tree climbing since 20, and am 48.
Holding up pretty well. Occasionally, I'll take an Aleve.

@rico trumpets the various "face-pull"-type exercise band routines for shoulder health.


Climb higher, avoid reaching.





Ok... back to work!

 

[27RMT0N]

This is a mindset thing, but know you can always leave, you are not trapped into tree work. You are choosing to do this work, so make the best of it for as long as you WANT to. If you ever stop wanting to, either improve things or find something else. Once you have the mentality that it is a choice, how you keep going is in your control (as much as any of us can control life that is...).

One thing that helps me a lot is knowing there is always ways I can improve my skills. I started tree work like 13 years ago, and in the last 2-3 I've gotten so much better that keeps me interested and looking ahead. Play games with it: try to toss that brush into perfectly straight piles from the tree, mark exactly where you want to hit when felling and see if you can. Try out new tools and techniques, or even different areas of tree work/tree care. There is absolutely a lot of repetition in the work, but each has it's own problems and solutions, finding those and looking for interesting solutions keeps it from getting stale. Personally I get a lot of satisfaction in being a 'problem solver' for my customers, even when it's a type of work I've done a million times before.

You run your own business, right? In my experience, that workload and responsibility is where MOST of my stress comes from, not the tree work itself. Point being, that is just the result of being the boss, not specific to the industry.

 

[Stumpsprouts]

You run your own business, right? In my experience, that workload and responsibility is where MOST of my stress comes from, not the tree work itself. Point being, that is just the result of being the boss, not specific to the industry.

I think that’s a big part of where I’m at right now. A lot of responsibility. And also having just become a parent- my bandwidth for responsibility is pretty narrow.

There is always ways to keep sharp and excited. Getting brush to land all in a pile from the ground is a great example, thanks for sharing. Getting the shy crane operator to tell you details about his personal life is another past time of mine…

So in other words here, developing a morning routine that helps you start your day off right, whether it's exercise, meditation, yoga, etc. could be helpful and finding an outlet to help you deal with whatever you have going on, etc. For me it's working out, for others maybe it's running, hiking, etc. the list goes on.

Nice- I was on a good meditation streak but got off it in the last little while. That would definitely help. Also I wish I were doing more pruning like you mentioned. I’d say 80% of the time I’m removing trees, and most of the time they are quite large. I miss my days in Brooklyn deadwooding honeylocusts and thinking a ‘3 story high tree’ was tall.

I recently started my own business so I'm again putting a big change into my life, and I'm excited to be excited about work again!

Congrats! I appreciate your story describing bouncing around a lot of different roles within the industry, and even cycling back to previous roles. That was just the kind of thing I wanted to hear, I suppose, just that it worked for you to do that and it doesn’t have to always follow a linear path.

I’ve been chatting a lot with other arborists I work with. I think I may just need a break from certain kinds of climbs for now… but not a break from tree work. As much as I say I want to build cabinets, when it comes down to it there really is something you can only get from hanging out in the crown of a tree.

 

[adolan]

I think that’s a big part of where I’m at right now. A lot of responsibility. And also having just become a parent- my bandwidth for responsibility is pretty narrow.

There is always ways to keep sharp and excited. Getting brush to land all in a pile from the ground is a great example, thanks for sharing. Getting the shy crane operator to tell you details about his personal life is another past time of mine…


Nice- I was on a good meditation streak but got off it in the last little while. That would definitely help. Also I wish I were doing more pruning like you mentioned. I’d say 80% of the time I’m removing trees, and most of the time they are quite large. I miss my days in Brooklyn deadwooding honeylocusts and thinking a ‘3 story high tree’ was tall.

Congrats! I appreciate your story describing bouncing around a lot of different roles within the industry, and even cycling back to previous roles. That was just the kind of thing I wanted to hear, I suppose, just that it worked for you to do that and it doesn’t have to always follow a linear path.

I’ve been chatting a lot with other arborists I work with. I think I may just need a break from certain kinds of climbs for now… but not a break from tree work. As much as I say I want to build cabinets, when it comes down to it there really is something you can only get from hanging out in the crown of a tree.

For what it's worth most of my career moves also coincided with kids being born, kids starting daycare and the need to be more available as a parent. My wife has a great job and enjoys the work she does so I had to facilitate a lot of change on my end to help support her. Tree work generally makes for early mornings and long days which didn't mix well for my family.

It all ended up working out for me in terms of keeping things interesting work wise.

Best of luck !