The Boss, and the Worker.

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Aerindel

Aerindel

Awesome Friend
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Joined
Oct 20, 2020
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2,167
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On some scarred slope of battered hill
On the homestead, there is the boss and the worker.

The boss is disappointed in how much the worker gets done each day. He thinks the worker is too slow, and everything always ends up costing more than he thinks it should. . He sees the worker make mistakes, he gets distracted and sometimes it doesn't seem like he knows what he's doing.

The worker thinks there is more work to do than is possible to ever get done with the available employees. Some of the things he is asked to do, he hasn't been trained on, and he isn't always given the right tools or even clear instructions. He never seems to get enough time off, he is always tired and it seems even when he should be done with work for the day, he is getting calls from the boss 24/7.

The problem is.....this is one and the same person here on the homestead....

Any advice for getting along with.....yourself?
 
Aerindel said:
..Any advice for getting along with.....yourself?
Click to expand...

Amphetamines? 😬 .....Kidding!!

Having done the 'Self-employed thing', 100% from 1999 - EO 2018 (and, Still maintain / run the 'LLC', on the side..) I definitely get that.. (and, it's even Worse as the kids get older, and your Relationship / Friendship deepens with them, as that's, soon, All you want to Do, is 'go on Woods adventures' / blow off your "workload" spending 'Quality time' with them (which IS both Paramount-important, and, ends up self-perpetuating you deeper-under yer yoke..) but..

..One thing that has helped Me, is to actually make 'Checklists' (and, yah.. Sometimes I end up with 'Lists of my Lists' :rolleyes: ) as, at least As you're making progress - You See it (even good to 'break it down', ie: Take a task, say, 'Build Shed', well.. Don't just have it be "Build Shed" as One single 'line item' - Add smaller, but Key, 'steps' in, under that (ie: 1. Buy / Get Lumber / Fasteners / Materials; 2. Foundation / Walls-prep; 3. Frame-out; 4... etc) so As you get those Done - you can 'Watch that progress, progressing'..

..Which also helps you 'take stock' of where yer at, Overall, so you don't have this massive 'non-defined Elephant', running around in yer head, 'intimidating you' into procrastinationlandia..

This also allows the 'boss' to "See" the progress, and allows You to tell him, 'Hey! Lookit all this Progress, aight? So howbout u shuddup, aight??' ;)

'Course, none of this means that my Garage and/or Living Room and Back Patio don't Still look like the 'Trash Compactor scene in A New Hope', there.. :D

Just one idea that Does help me, at least.
jd
 
I have to do lists when things are stacking up. I occasionally put things on the list as I complete them. That way I can still see my accomplishments adding up even when I wander off script.

I also make 2 lists sometimes. 1 for things that require money and a second for things that require time. Let's face it we don't always have both.
 
Sounds like you need to stop being so hard on yourself. I pick one big project at a time, and believe me, moving to a run down place like ours just a little more than a year ago, that's a hard thing to do. because there's so many projects. Also, take a break with your family now and again. After all, you are working so hard with them in mind. If we have a town day like yesterday, I can't get anything extra done.
I just finished painting fence, and it was a good amount of fence. Now it's go through boxes in our big building. A huge task that was too hot in the summer to do. We try to look back once a week and see how much we have accomplished.
 
Sojer really hit the nail on the head, no pun intended. Eons ago we used to call it "Baby Steps". Sometimes when you look at a task it seems overwhelming. When you break it down into more manageable components, it isn't so daunting, and you can better track your progress. Good for the worker. Maybe if the boss sees that you are making progress he might be more understanding, and less critical.

I might also suggest prioritizing. You probably do this already, but if you do the things that the boss thinks are the most important the lesser tasks can be more easily overlooked. No need to get worked up over those.

Good Luck with your Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dilemma.
 
Thought you were talking about me and the hubby for a minute! I know I'm tough to work for around the homestead but... I work for myself, and I find I just have to push my worker and not give her any slack! Day off, rarely. I get called into human resources often! LISTS, LISTS, LISTS! I work alone cleaning houses, fast and thorough! Always have the right tools and supplies! Around the homestead the saying we live by is "if someone else can do it so can we"! Everyday is a learning experience! Don't be afraid to tackle the things you don't know how to do!
 
Too much to do and not enough time to do it is a constant struggle. Add to that is the need for a full days round trip to get a part or an item that you need to complete a project if you don’t have it. I typically kick myself in the butt pretty hard when that happens blaming myself for poor planning.

The good news is that when a project all comes together and the wife is happy about it, it’s a pretty good feeling.
 
I think @Aerindel called out a really common problem, we all have lists of things we have to do, things we need to do and things we want to do: Some of us are even fortunate enough to have lists that others want us to do. I find it is a delicate balance to do what we can without becoming frozen by the list(s).

I have noticed that we all think we can do things much faster than we really can. My experience has taught me to try to make my best "reasonable estimate" for how long it will take to get something done, then multiply by 3.... Even then you might not have enough time, but from time to time you will finish early and doesn't that feel good. ;)
 
I don't even give my self time periods when it's a big project. My next one is a super big project, and if I can get out to work on it on days that we are not in town or at doc appts, then that is good. It will get done. Slow and steady. On our way to dump off a whole truck backseat load of stuff to the thrift store so I can fill it up again.
 
Pearl said:
...Don't be afraid to tackle the things you don't know how to do!
Click to expand...

That's the OPs 'middle name'.. :cool:

Also, PS: The whole 'Lists' methodology Also helps ensure you Don't Forget some things - and things that might not be 'slap you in the face-Obvious' Main-items (like 2x6's in my 'Shed' analogy..) but that end up 'mission critical', later on, if you forget.. Like that one tiny little O-Ring that you 'forgot' when you were in Town, 30 miles out.. <facepalm>

..'Course, again, it Is important to 'Push' yerself, at least to some degree.. I have, for example, ended up with a 'Wall-full of Checkboxes', and that can yield 'ennui' and a self-perpetuating glut of 'Round Tuit's.. :rolleyes:

.03
jd
 
Fire the worker and get someone competent.

Didn't work for me either. I finally accepted that I would never accomplish as much as I thought I could. When I was a contractor I learned to bid my hours at a far more realistic time frame, and then add 50%.

I had a major remodel job. At the start of the job I sat down with the homeowners and had a discussion. Me, "Just be aware that there will be problems on this job." Her, "What problems?!" Me, "I don't know, they are different on every job, but they always happen. You hired me to find the answers to those problems." Sh, um, ur, Stuff happens.

In the last scene of the "Martian" the min character is lecturing a class of new astronauts. He's saying how they will have problems and how they have to fix that problem, and the next, and the one after that, and if you fixed enough problems you get to come home.

A plan never survives first contact with the enemy.

Contractor, "You can have it fast, cheap, or right. Pick two."
 
Caribou said:
I had a major remodel job. At the start of the job I sat down with the homeowners and had a discussion. Me, "Just be aware that there will be problems on this job." Her, "What problems?!" Me, "I don't know, they are different on every job, but they always happen. You hired me to find the answers to those problems." Sh, um, ur, Stuff happens.
Click to expand...

I really need to have that talk with myself....well put.
 
Aerindel said:
I really need to have that talk with myself....well put.
Click to expand...
I learned a lot from that discussion. When things went wrong, and they did, there was no panic from my customer. They were expecting issues to come up and there was no stress.
 
Any advice for getting along with.....yourself?

if it was me, id give myself a big raise, a path on the back with a big thank you. then treat myself to a cheeky chardonnay. cause if im the only worker i better treat myself right. i dont need to get mad at myself and quit or something.
 
Aerindel said:
On the homestead, there is the boss and the worker.

The boss is disappointed in how much the worker gets done each day. He thinks the worker is too slow, and everything always ends up costing more than he thinks it should. . He sees the worker make mistakes, he gets distracted and sometimes it doesn't seem like he knows what he's doing.

The worker thinks there is more work to do than is possible to ever get done with the available employees. Some of the things he is asked to do, he hasn't been trained on, and he isn't always given the right tools or even clear instructions. He never seems to get enough time off, he is always tired and it seems even when he should be done with work for the day, he is getting calls from the boss 24/7.

The problem is.....this is one and the same person here on the homestead....

Any advice for getting along with.....yourself?
Click to expand...
When was young I would add items to the list things I wanted or had to do. But there a came when I had to accept the reality that I had more stuff planned than I had time left on this planet.

In my 40+ years doing project work it was rare that any projects came in under or on budget. The rare occasion when it did it was the result of a planning phase almost as long as the project itself with a huge spreadsheet or a customer that planned on it taking twice as long.

I use lists of big projects that are prioritized. The top 2-3 are the only ones that get attention based on weather, budget or needed supplies.

A daily list is revised daily to make progress on the top 3. While the daily list is driven by the big list, the daily list takes the form of tasks that can be completed in a day. The Princess has input on the list and lets her see progress.

For critical projects I create detailed step by step procedures that ensure I do what it required in the correct order. By critical I mean modifying my water pipes in my house. This the list for adding a new duct for my AC recently.

Ben
 

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Yeah, the problem is, there are more things that need to get done than I ever can do...which leaves zero time for the things I WANT to get done. Thats the conflict....if do any of the things I WANT to do, even more of the things I need to do, don't get done.
 
I agree w/ @SoJer and a couple others in that lists are valuable tools. Also, the not putting "build shed" or some such thing that it not a task: purchase supplies, frame walls, etc. are doable tasks. This also helps you go through the steps mentally before actually doing it so when you get to that point, you have less of a chance of forgetting steps or overlooking details. @UrbanHunter mentioned time. A question to ask yourself (whichever roll you are playing) is how long would it take if I hired this out? Perhaps you can do it quicker, but . . . that at least sets a more reasonable expectation of what can be accomplished in a day. The last thing is to have a completion date. Have the shed built by Nov. 1, garden in by May 30 etc. Whatever dates make sense for your circumstances. If you are a day or two late, forgive yourself, but you have a target so it's not open ended or "someday."
 
As long as I can be the one hugging Andie MacDowell. :p


. Old ranch owner John farmed a small ranch in Montana. The Montana Wage and Hour Department claimed he was not paying proper wages to his workers and sent an agent out to interview him.

“I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them,” demanded the agent.

“Well,” replied old John, “There’s my ranch hand who’s been with me for 3 years. I pay him $600 a week plus free room and board. The cook has been here for 18 months, and I pay her $500 a week plus free room and board. Then there’s the half-wit who works about 18 hours every day and does about 90 percent of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night.”

“That’s the guy I want to talk to, the half-wit,” says the agent.

“That would be me,” replied old rancher John.
 
"As long as I can be the one hugging Andie MacDowell. :p"
Four weddings & a funeral.
St. Elmo's Fire
Michael
Jane Porter in Tarzan
Ground hog Day
Bad Girls
Many more.
 
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