Burnout?

[Mowin4cash]

Ok guys, lets hear what YOU do when your on a 7 day a week schedule, it rains at least on time every day, your so far behind that your actually almost back on schedule, you can't find anyone to help you that has 1/4 of a brain, you have a bunch of highly profitable customers that pay you when they feel like it, you haven't been fishing all year, and you see no end in site. No I'm not burned out, I JUST WANT MY MOMMY! lol<p>----------<br>When the mowing gets tough, sharpen your blades, and don't forget to &quot;VOTE REPUBLICAN&quot;!!!<br>

[Charles]

We had a discussion on this topic awhile back. The most I will work these days is 5-1/2 days. That 1/2 day is saturday and only when absolutely neccessary. Otherwise saturday morning is for maintainence. Life is too short to work 7 days a week. You get definitly get burned out on this schedule. Become very irritable and short tempered and lose interest in your job and lose customers in the process by developing a bad attitude. Your health can deteriorate under the stress of trying to keep up this kinda work load. But I use to work 6 days with the idea i could do it too. Until it dawn on me that it was just not worth it. And that extra day of money was not making me happy anyway.

[Runner]

Mowin, First of all, if you're voting Republican, that can contribute to everyone's burnout because the way THEY put the screws to us makes it less enjoyable to be working class. But anyway, enough about politics. A good way to avoid burnout is to pace yourself, get plenty of PROPER rest, and don't stop thanking GOD everyday for what you have and think of the less fortunate.

[Lawnworks]

Hey man,<br>Pesonally I do not work on Sunday. I have a small business, but I also go to school (high school). Sometimes it gets really hard and time consuming especially in the spring w/ all the estimates. It really helps to have day to rest. I need my sunday church and relaxation in the afternoon. Give it a try, money is not the only thing in life.<p>Rick Wallace<br>LawnWorks

[thelawnguy]

&quot;Ok guys, lets hear what YOU do when your on a 7 day a week schedule&quot;<p>Youre asking for it by putting yourself in this situation. I schedule a 4-day week. There are much more important things, IMO, in this world than money.<p>Bill

[geogunn]

bill--I can use my imagination to guess what you do in your three days off but I'd rather ask you.<p>how do you run your operation, which I will assume is successfull and supporting your lifestyle, and make all of this work for you in only four days. sounds good.<p>GEO

[Scag48]

I had 3 different jobs to do on a saturday. Started at 8, quit at ten. I was very tired on Sunday. I can't say what I would do, just rest. I know what you mean when you've got all those jobs and so little time. I work at night mostly and have to finish most of my lawns by 9. If I don't, its back out there the next day and then I'm behind.<p>----------<br>Chelan Valley Mowing<br>- - - - Striping the way to success - - - -

[MOW ED]

Take the next nice afternoon and park your trailer. Get in the truck and go do something you like to do that is not related to lawn (unless you go golfing;) ). <p>No one will know but you.

[KirbysLawn]

If rain causes me to get off schedule, I mow at the first chance I get (Not Sunday). If I mowed the lawn on Monday or Tuesday of the following week, the next week I get back on schedule.<p>I bill all year and get the same each month, I do not loose money, even with missing a week! :) If a customer were to ask (has never happened) I would explain due to the weather I was not able to mow, now it is much higher, it all works it's self out.

[thelawnguy]

Just because I schedule 4 days doesnt mean I only work 4! Fridays are left open to accommodate rain delays, landscape jobs, hedge trimming, etc. I will work Saturdays only if its absolutely necessary. Never Sundays or holidays. I have 59 weekly mowing accounts which I do at 23 stops. If I can get on the road by 7:30 I can be home by 6 and finish all in 4 days as long as the weather stays dry.<p>Like Kirby I start off where I left off before the rain. Maybe move some up a day, delay some a day, and be back on schedule within a week. Being in New England my customers understand, it could be sunny and 90 one day and raining and 40 the next. This week is going to be tough, rained yesterday most of the day so I only got 7 lawns in, its raining this am so Im waiting for the expected clearing before I venture out.<p>Days off are important to me. I would like to enjoy the company of my kids before they become teenagers and decide its un-cool to hang with &quot;pop&quot;.<p>Bill

[TGCummings]

Charles hit the nail on the head (haven't I written that before?? Chuck and I run a very similar operation, it would seem... :) ), and Kirby's follow-up was right as rain. If you're a full week behind schedule because of weather then, by god, you're back on schedule! Lucky!<p>To recap: Schedule a 5-day work week max. M-F works for me, since my wife is off weekends, too. Catch up on Saturday morning, if necessary, or do some side work then if you're up to it. Generally, give yourself more weekends off then on.<p>Bill monthly, and don't adjust your billing for &quot;missed weeks&quot;. Rain happens, man, and you still have to mow that mess when it stops. It evens out. <p>In six years, I've had burnouts that would blow your mind. Nothing is worse. Starting year 2000, I made a conscious effort to log my work week and do stuff around my house or out and about with my wife on weekends. The difference is amazing. I'm a new man!<p>Good luck, Cash! Keep votin' GOP!<p>-TGC

[toddman35]

If i were in your situation, i would keep someone extra on backup with an extra mower and trailer to do some of the work to get back on schedule. Hope this helps.<p>----------<br>Todd Maurer<br>

[Chip]

I used to be in your postion.Cutting 6 days a week 10-12hrs/day. Stressed big-time when we got 2days of rain. I have gradually cut back on quantity of lawns. 2 1/2 -3 days of cutting wed-fri reserved for cutting. Mon. and Tues. for maintenance and other work. Saturday is a buffer incase we get behind on lawns or to catch up on side jobs. Customers are happy there lawns look good for the weekend and I am a lot less stressed and don't get burned out so soon in the season. I can actually schedule some time off for a weekend with the family. Also seam to be making more $$$

[Runner]

We work Sundays (some of the guys) for one reason....Commercials! This is the day we do our medical plazas and professional centers. It is so nice to be able to drop a gate in the center of the complex and be able to mow without worry of getting grass on cars, and to be able to work around the buildings without shutting down every 45 seconds while people are walking out of everywhere. This way, they're all cut fresh for the work week and everyone's happy.:)

[yardsmith]

<p><font size="1">Edited by: yardsmith

[yardsmith]

As others have said, money does you little good if you're in rehab or psych ward from burnout & breakdown.<br>I would pick out enough of your lousiest accts & either hire a helper to run that (or any) route to give you a day off, or drop the worst accts. Learned full schedule of stress is not worth the extra money.<br>I also take Sundays off to attend church. Keeps my priorities in line & the good Lord will take care of the rest, & in the past has given me better accts. so I can make same amt of $$ with fewer accts. <br>When the rain gets you behind, be thankful you still have job security. I'd much rather have that than the alternative- drought & NO work. Good luck, & don't forget to get away every once in awhile.<p>----------<br>Smitty ô¿ô<br>

[GrassRoots Lawn Care]

When I get burnt out on the business I go over to my favorite customer's house and go skinny dipping with the customer, her daughter, my partner, our helper and we just forget about our woes. Works for me. And yes, I am serious.<p>----------<br>Mike Reynolds,<br>GrassRoots Lawn Care, Florida

[lawrence stone]

I treat Sat and Sunday just like any other day of the week. If work needs to be done<br>and it's not raining I work. I must take advantage of fair weather.

[TGCummings]

Eh... I would never treat Saturday and Sunday like 'every other day of the week'. I've gone that road before and it turns you into a bitter cynic. ;)<p>Runner has the right idea about Sunday, though, if you have those commercial accounts that are better done when no one is home. I would make that up with Monday (or whatever day is best) off. <p>My days off are easy. My wife works Monday through Friday, with weekends and holidays off, so I make my schedule the same. I'm more relaxed than I have ever been, and I tend to get more done during the week. We get nights, weekends, and holidays together. Good plan.<p>I'll be working this Saturday, however, because of my vacation. I'll have about 3-4 hours of work to make up because of overgrowth (and because I took Monday off when I got back to put things back in order). Every so often, a Saturday morning at work doesn't kill. Just be careful not to get caught up in that or, as I have in the past, you'll find yourself back into the 6-7 day work week, stressed, and ready to go postal...<p>-TGC

[tslawn]

I'm a husband/wife team (with young children) with occasional helper (if I can find them) with other areas of business expanding. Working 7 days a week, 5-6 days mowing and 7th day working on other projects. HELP! Any suggestions are welcome.

[TGCummings]

TS, raise prices and cut back. I'm cutting back to 3-4 days mowing, 1-2 days extra work. Don't drive yourself insane!<p>-TGC

[tslawn]

TGCummings - can you turn down the $$$? Help problem is at its worst. Can't find qualified/capable people who even want to work. Forcing husband/wife to do all the work, mowing and then some. Already raised prices on some customers. Others- can't do that until next year. What all do you do?

[TGCummings]

Well, yeah, I got to the point where I had to turn away some money: the lowest paying accounts (by rate). I sent 19 customers a notice at the end of June, informing them of a price increase effective in August. 7 customers took the low road (and one of their *neighbors* called me to tell me what a horrible job their new gardener was doing!), but the other 12 hung tough. <p>That'll free up several hours every week for me to work trimming/hauling, irrigation and spraying/fertilizing when I get my license in September.<p>It would be easy to work a 5-day lawn week (I love the lawns more'n anything), then schedule Saturday and Sunday to do additional work. In fact, that's what I did for the longest time and, yes, I made 20-40% more money doing that. However, I lost family and leisure time and had no time to get things done on a personal level. <p>Yeah, I'll take the pay cut when it comes to that. I expect to make that up in higher prices as the years roll by. Higher quality instead of higher quantity service.<p>The alternative is unthinkable. I may not find my market and may end up with more losses than gains; anything is possible. I may not make it in the biz cutting back and raising rates, but I already know I *won't* make it working 7 days a week, 10 hours a day in the field (though I probably still put enough extra hours in *on* the business to make my work week thus). I've done that route and won't go back.<p>Take a deep breath, relax, and pull back some. Or, if you're really raking it in, spend some solid money on real, quality help. What's the alternative?<p>-TGC

[Runner]

ts lawn, One remedy would be for you to find some dependable help, and tell your wanderers sorry, but they'll haveto hit the road. Just make sure that the new help has the impression that you're SERIOUS about business. You can STILL be nice and pleasant to work for. (I've overheard my guys talking about &quot;how cool I was to work for) but they know I only stretch so far on absenteeism. Sometimes, running more part time workers is a little more suitable thanfewer full time. The wayI see it, if you have the work, (and it sounds like you do, then make money with these people! There's nothing wrong with that, it's capitalism. My girlfriend tried asking me once. &quot;Can we afford to hire these other people? My reply was yes, unless you have something against making an additional $28.00 an hour for each one. I arrive at that figure by averaging 35.00 per man hour, and paying around 7.00 per hour in wages. Just be sure you do your homework, and BE ORGANIZED in setting the work roster up. Good Luck!

[Guido]

Theres a lot of good option mentioned on this thread, loosing accounts, raising prices to deter new business that is not 300% profitable, subcontract some jobs out, etc.<p>I think the most important thing to think about though is your family and your health. If you work 7 days a week, you don't get a chance to spend all that $$ your earning and enjoy your life. But then again I know a lot of people have to work 7 days a week just to support their business'. Thats sad. 70+ hours a week of sweat just to break even. Don't kill yourself if you don't half to.<p>If I had to pick from all the options suggested, I would raise prices and you could sift out the real paying customers that way, or I would sub out some of the work, this way you can still take in a profit.<p>my $.02<p><p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://communities.msn.com/guidosequipmentpics/&quot;&gt;&quot;Guido&quot;&lt;/a&gt;<br>David M. Famiglietti

[bill phagan]

There are a ton of things you can do for burnout......I just finished an article entitled &quot;Have you had your pity party yet?&quot; for a magazine....lots of great info on how to do it. E-mail me and I'll send it to you if you'd like it.<p>Bill Phagan<br>bphagan@tampabay.rr.com

[jaclawn]

When I am burned out, usually only once per season, I back grass cutting rig into shop. I hook boat trailer to back of truck. Drive 1.5 hours to lake. Put boat in water. Cruise around lake one time. Drop anchor in middle of lake. Fold out lounge couch. Sleep. No phones, beepers, radios, magazines. Also, leave the watch on shore, go back when you feel like it. This usually will take a half of a day, and feels great. Suggest you try it sometime.

[rats5656]

Originally posted by jaclawn
When I am burned out, usually only once per season, I back grass cutting rig into shop. I hook boat trailer to back of truck. Drive 1.5 hours to lake. Put boat in water. Cruise around lake one time. Drop anchor in middle of lake. Fold out lounge couch. Sleep. No phones, beepers, radios, magazines. Also, leave the watch on shore, go back when you feel like it. This usually will take a half of a day, and feels great. Suggest you try it sometime.


this is a great idea every one should try it some time .