Diversifying....Kinda

[Woodboogah]

This may not be the correct place for this so mods.  feel free to move.

Before I got into the world of conventional logging I was an arborist full time.  I still do some residential tree work if previous customers call or someone hears about me.  I dont turn away work.  As of lately I have been getting a lot of calls and jobs for residential work.  Getting these jobs done on the weekends is not a problem but it is conflicting with me home life (wife).  If I schedule them during the week then my logging production drops way off and I ended up doing that on the weekends.  Does anyone incorporate tree care with logging and how do you manage both aspects?  If I was not married and could work 7 days I would, problem solved.  I love my wife and need to keep my personal life just as good if not better then my work.  Heading out on the water to do some thinking.   Thanks all!

[CCC4]

I know exactly where you are coming from! I used to hit it like 30 days straight before a day off...I am now single! There were other issues but being off working pushed my relationship over the edge and I lost her. An old preacher told me here a while back when we were talking about how much I worked and that I needed to maybe consider coming to Church, he said, "Son, if ya can't make a living in 6 days...you sure as Hell ain't gonna do it in 7"! There is a lot of truth in that!

Another thing to consider....if you are a full time faller, it is not "if"...it's "when" we get hurt...the more trigger time, the quicker the "when" will reveal it's ugly face! I can testify to this...I got hurt pretty seriously last year and received a broken jaw and nearly broke neck...I was pushing my limits working waaaay too much and it caught me. This stuff will happen right when you think you are bullet proof!

You won't be able to figure this all out in one day, take your time and do some serious thinking...coming home to an empty house every evening is very discomforting.

Hope this helps a bit man...good luck to ya!

[BargeMonkey]

 There is no solution to your dilemma, Im in the same boat with the "soon to be new wife". I work out on the boat minimum 6 months a yr, and then hustle between the logging, excavation, and farm when im home. Was just off for 12 days, longest period all yr and had to hear everyday why we hadnt gone out for a whole day "just for her". Ive been trying to slow down 1 day a week for her but it doesnt always happen. We just had another local logger get killed in the woods a few weeks ago, and his guy had cut more wood than us all combined over his lifetime, ive been real easy about just hacking stuff down lately.

[ga jones]

I work full time for the pa. DOT . Log at night and weekends. Married with a teenage daughter. I have found a balance. Skip a night here and there for family. Quit at 3 or 4 on the weekend still time to go to dinner or such. There is no point in hanging around the house in the morning and early afternoon on the weekend. they have housework to do anyway. Sports on weekdays. They run run run. ......(if there ain't enough money to go around she ain't Gona like that either!)

[lopet]

When I was your age, I was exactly like that with that ambitious drive.  Just work work work.    In hind side I probably would have done things different, but who knows how it would have turned out.  I also wish , I had spend more time  with my kids when they were little. This is something you can't change anymore and you may regret some day.   If you don't have any children yet, I would ask  for a little more understanding or business sense. Finding the balance, as ga jones said is very important, to make a marriage work.  Sacrifices have to be made on both sides.
In my case we are still together after thirty some years and she had no farm or logging  background.

[Maine372]

got two ideas for you:

1. hire help. always nice to have someone still working when youre chasing jobs, chasing parts, hes logging while youre doing tree work, etc. but that comes with a lot of headaches, paper work, etc.

2. find a tree guy you trust and hand the work off to him for a finders fee. get an agreement in place with someone you know isn't going to rip off your repeat customers or be unprofessional. set a finders fee, whether its a set price per job or a percentage of the take.

[Timbercruiser]

You can only do what you have time for . Family is important and remember the money comes and goes but the time is spent once .  Do what you can and take your weekends for yourself mabe not all of them but make sure your off more than you work . Just my thoughts 

[CTL logger]

I always try to take Sunday's off, seems like what you make on Sunday you spend on Monday fixing something.  Anymore I don't feel like working 7 days straigjt, I've done it for years just don't have it in me these days. I bought my first new log truck in 01 I remember getting it and how scary it was to have that payment and how was I ever going to make it. End of first year I put 4079 hrs on that truck 125k miles I never turned anything down, maybe looking back it wasn't worth it but I don't regret a minute of it. I think it gave me a good reputation for getting things done when I owned the trucking side of my business I never had to go looking for work it always found me. I hope I can teach my kids the benefits of working hard and how it pays off. I just try to reserve Sunday for family time or to work around the house to keep the wife happy.

[redprospector]

All I can say is "been there, done that...twice".
You're going to have to get your priorities straight. What is important to you, and then list them in their order of importance. If your family isn't worth at least one day a week to you, then they ain't worth much to you.
One solution to your dilemma is what I tried for a while. Put her to work with you in the woods. Didn't work out perfectly for me, but I know a guy that it has worked great for.
I started out just taking off Sunday's and giving her some of my time. That has worked out so well that I've started taking some Saturday's off too. We're finding out that we still like each other pretty good, if we just take a little time to do it. ;)

[timberlinetree]

We do both and what we do depends on time of year, weather and demand. It actually works really good for us and since I'm add(just get board doing same thing for along time) I really like the changes. Life does go by too fast take time to enjoy it.

[Pine Ridge]

set aside time to worship your lord, take time to be with your family. they are more important than the need to make money and a person needs to realize that before its too late to get their priorities in line. I do speak from personal experience,and I hope this helps.

[dgdrls]

Drop the lowest paying jobs and raise your rates a bit, build your schedule to allow regular "weekly" time with La Familia.
Work on Quality not quantity where you can.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy is a proverb. It means that without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring"

Best
DGDrls

[clww]

Very well said. ;)

[Woodboogah]

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.   I did take this Sunday off, felt good, weather was nice, no complaints.    The guy who climbs with/for me just cracked his skull in two places so tree work is put on hold for now.  Thanks again!