How hard do you work? (And for how long?)

Typical day of work m-f
6:45 foreman shows up to do maintenance or odds and ends and he’s on ot by Friday
7:30 I’m out in the shop with him

7:45 The Team shows up we discuss the day before jobs and point out all good and any bad or if anyone has any suggestions

8:00 we are at our locally owned gas station for the crew to cooler up or whatever

8:30-9:00 we’re on the job I introduce myself and the Team to the homeowner and we all do a walkthrough

They take breaks as needed but usually one maybe two before lunch

12:00 is usually lunch which normally I buy

12:30 back to work

2:30 we start cleanup and loading

3:00 pulling off the job

3:30 pulling back in the shop and start dumping

4:00 Team is off work and I eat dinner with my family

4:30 I’m off doing bids 2-5 a night depending on daylight (time of the year)

Home between 6-7:30 depends on how many bids

29 minutes of paperwork take a shower

I personally do not physically work hard at all but mentally I feel differently and my Team doesn’t either but do work harder than me
We are really fortunate to have all the right equipment to make our job not too physical at all
 
Mick Dempsey said:
Sounds reasonable.

We have a saying in the UK, ’job and knock’ meaning if we do this early we go home early, I’m not going to give you another big tree to do.

You’ll hear it many mornings on site, puts a spring in everyone’s step.
Click to expand...
We used to say we'll "bank 8" on a construction crew I was on, same meaning. Get the task done early, still 8 hours of pay.
 
Super variable. We mostly stick to 8 hour days, start 6/7 depending if we are in the city or not. PHC work I’m averaging 10hr days with the odd 12-13hr day. Consulting can actually be long days because of the report writing after data is collected.
 
Because I live on one island and mostly work on another, my work schedule is completely dictated by when the ferries run. Because it's such a pain, I'm developing a piece of property where my work is located to make life easier and get some hours back in my day I lose commuting, and the stress of rushing a job in order to catch the boat home.

Depending on the boat schedule, I'm awake around 6am, out the door by 7am and on the jobsite by 8am. Generally don't take breaks other than lunch, and wind up on either a boat home around 3:30 or 6:30. Once home, I generally have to do about 15-60 minutes of calls/emails, and anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours of cleanup/maintenance to be ready for the next morning.

Truth is I work way too much, but I'm trying to improve that balance by moving and eventually having employees to take more of the load from me.
 
27RMT0N said:
Because I live on one island and mostly work on another, my work schedule is completely dictated by when the ferries run. Because it's such a pain, I'm developing a piece of property where my work is located to make life easier and get some hours back in my day I lose commuting, and the stress of rushing a job in order to catch the boat home.

Depending on the boat schedule, I'm awake around 6am, out the door by 7am and on the jobsite by 8am. Generally don't take breaks other than lunch, and wind up on either a boat home around 3:30 or 6:30. Once home, I generally have to do about 15-60 minutes of calls/emails, and anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours of cleanup/maintenance to be ready for the next morning.

Truth is I work way too much, but I'm trying to improve that balance by moving and eventually having employees to take more of the load from me.
Click to expand...
I’m sure everyone else knows, but where are you?
 
Usually get to the job 8 or 845 depending on my morning commitments, slowish start setting up whatever needs to get done talking through the job a bit maybe eat lunch 12ish if it's a good time if not it'll maybe happen later hopefully finish up by 430 and go home if it'sa 1 day job if it's 2 days we just hit a good stopping point to keep us on/ahead of schedule.
 
I'll add that I have 50/50 custody with my ex so weeks I have my son it's a hard 8-5. No exceptions. I don't answer calls or emails outside those hours and if there's any maintenance to do (saw sharpening, greasing equipment, computer BS, etc.) I wait until he's in bed at 8:30pm. I'll return calls/emails the following day after I drop him off at school.

Weeks he's with his mom I'm a little more flexible, but I still enjoy walking my dog, hitting the gym, or going out with friends. I know it's frowned upon, but if the customer is more than 20 minutes away I will typically do a picture quote. No one around here wants to pay a consult fee and I'm not using my time and fuel on a maybe.

I would like to hire an employee this year if the work load allows it (even if just 3-4 days a week) and I hope to be as flexible with their schedule as I am with mine. If they want to be done by 4pm, I can do that. If they want to be out until dusk I'll save my solo work (hedges, brush chipping, drop and leave) for those times. I know what it's like pulling 10-12+ hour days and I would never force that on anyone, but if they want it the option is always there.
 
islandarb said:
Jesse might just have to do that.
Click to expand...

I'm only about 40k north of @evo, if you ever do come out this wa, let me know, I've got a guest room.

And I am very lucky to live where I do, honestly I can hardly imagine a more beautiful place. I've actually been to the summit of Mt Baker in that photo, and it is the view I see from my new property:

0 baker.jpg

00 best orcas baker view.jpg
 
27RMT0N said:
I'm only about 40k north of @evo, if you ever do come out this wa, let me know, I've got a guest room.

And I am very lucky to live where I do, honestly I can hardly imagine a more beautiful place. I've actually been to the summit of Mt Baker in that photo, and it is the view I see from my new property:

View attachment 86145

View attachment 86146
Click to expand...
I am a beach man all the way. But I have to say that these islands look stunning. Breathtaking even. I will visit one day for sure. You are truly blessed. It will be summertime though as I do not do cold.....lolol
 
This is a neat thread so i figured id add and keep it going. Not that it's much different from anyone else but just for fun :
I'm gunna throw myself under the bus here and admit I'm slow to get the ball rolling once I get to the shop. (Owner of a small tree Co of only 3 guys in the field. Myself being 1)
For this reason we start at 7. Chemistry is built off the jobsite as well, so I like the time in the morning to BS with the other guys about yesterday, or someone vent about whatever, or a guy is not well rested for whatever reason. Discuss the job notes over a cigarette and a coffee and whatever else is top of mind for the day. We roll out of the shop around 730- 745.
There's no scheduled break time. Eat when there's down time. Keep your drinks close. If we're doing a lot of hard physical labor than we will be taking breaks when needed. We don't do a half hour lunch. In between projects or when someone wraps up a long climb, they can take a quick moment to collect themselves. If you know when to expect it, there's always a time to eat and drink.
We end back at the shop around 330. Few and far between are 5pm days but it can happen. Everyone knows ahead of time so no one is surprised by it. Everyone has kids here so we all try to respect personal schedules.
 
Depends on the size of the job and time of year. But it’s not unusual for me to be on the road heading to a job site as early as 6:30am-6:45am. Sometimes I’ll start bringing equipment over even earlier than that depending on what we need and how far away it is.

On bigger jobs and on hot days I like to actually start working on site by 7am-7:30am the latest. However, I will try to delay any real noise until about 8ish if possible. Although I think some of the towns in my area actually allow you to start making noise as early as 7, doesn’t mean we will though as a courtesy factor to the neighbors.

Sometimes I’ll take a lunch break and sometimes I’ll just work straight through until the job is done or we call it for the day if it’s a bigger job.

I do a lot of pruning and other smaller jobs, so some may only last 3-5 hrs and then I may call it a day and take care of whatever else I have planned whether work-related or otherwise, other times I have larger projects that could last all day into the early evening or we call it sometime in the afternoon and come back the following day.

I operate at a pace I’m comfortable with, and I also encourage my employee to take frequent water breaks if needed, eat lunch if they want to, pace themselves, and let me know if they’re starting to feel burnt out (especially when it’s real hot).

And at some point during the day I also workout. Whether it’s around 3am or 4am in the morning before work, or later in the afternoon, etc.
 
Mick Dempsey said:
I sometimes see vids of August or Reon Rounds turning up at decent size jobs at 3 pm and I think ‘I’d just burst into tears if my boss did that’
Click to expand...

With the new Grove crane he got, the merlo, knuckle boom crane, and all his other equipment they’re sometimes completing those decent sized jobs in an hour or two. Reon has one heck of a setup for large tree removal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Kask Stihl NORTHEASTERN Arborists Wesspur TreeStuff.com Teufelberger Westminster X-Rigging Teufelberger
Back
Top Bottom