A day in the life of a landscaper

[jaclawn]

What is a typical work day like for you? Mine is generally as follows:

4:30- Get up, read paper, Check in @ lawnsite, read/send email. Eat breakfast.

5:30- Start on paperwork, billing, A/P, quotations, tax forms...

6:30- Head for shop, do any last minute adjustments, load material for day, mix chemicals, fuel all equipment...

7:30- Arrive at first jobsite. (First job is generally a commercial, vacant house, or a job that is quiet.)

7:30-11:00- Continue on the route, completing jobs.

11:30-11:45- Lunch.

11:45-17:30/18:30- Finish the days jobs.

17:30/18:30 Back @ shop, dump debris@ shop, do any major repairs, Start getting things in motion for next day.

19:00- Head home, Shower, Dinner

20:00 Check back in @ Lawnsite, return any phone calls.

21:00 Bedtime.

 

[little green guy]

How do you get up at 4:30!?!? I'm usually just going to bed then!

My day usually starts at 7:30 so i stumble out of bed around 7:15 and then we meet at the shop at 7:30 and start working. Have lunch whenever, and usually get done between 6:30 and 8:30

 

[jaclawn]

LGG- I get up @ 4:30 because I go to bed @ 21:00 or so. How do you stay up till 4:30?

How can you get out of bed, dressed, breakfast, and to the shop in 15 minutes?

There is nothing like getting up early. Try it sometime.

 

[cos]

sounds about typical

 

[RYAN]

No offense jaclawn but it sounds like you need a life. Up at 4:30 in bed by 9:00 work all day and sleep it sounds like. I go to be at midnight and wake up at 8 am. I am not a morning person at all and getting up for me is the hardest part. I start mowing around 9am I work till about 6:30 or 7:30 then have the rest of the night free. no way I could ever go to bed at 9pm sorry

 

[Guido]

I can remember when I used to party till 3 or 4 in the morning and then head to work @ 7 and I hated every minute of the morning!!!

Ever since I joined the military, I got forced to appreciate the early morning rises. (Get your mind out of the gutter guys, thats not what I mean!)

I actually enjoy it now, and If I'm up for an hour or 2 relaxing before work, it really helps. I feel refreshed and alive by the time I start work, and I runcircles around the ones that did the $hit, shave, and shower thing in 15 minutes!

JACLAWN - Sounds like your pretty dedicated to your business, which is good but I hope if you have a family you get to spend enough time with them. Don't forget theres a lot of things that come first in life before a profit!!

 

[cos]

kudos guido, well said

 

[TGCummings]

Excellent, Guido, well said.

My day starts at 6 AM (I am a morning person ). I rise, eat breakfast, check Lawnsite/e-mail, and get ready for work. My shop is at home, so I have to load the trailer before leaving.

We leave the house between 7:30-8:00 and my first stop is to drop the wife at work. I then do bank deposits and drop mail before heading to my first job. I usually rev the machines up by 8:15.

On a typical day, I cut lawns from that time until 5:00, when I go to pick up the wife from work. Somewhere along the way I wolf down one of my wife's delicious homemade sandwiches in the truck between lawns. Generally, I don't remember doing it.

One or two days a week, I'll take break at 11:45 and pick up the wife for lunch. On those days I'm generally away from work from that time to 13:15. Those much needed breaks are life-savers, but I couldn't get away with that everyday.

We usually pull back in between 17:15-17:30 and have dinner. After dinner, I usually grab a cold MGD and a cigarette (generally, I smoke one/day) and head out to unload the trailer and do adjustments for the next day. I'm generally back inside my 19:00 where I get to work on paperwork, scheduling, researching, and checking in at Lawnsite. Then, I grab a shower and, nowadays, put in an hour of study for my pesticide exam between 20:00 and 21:00. I spend 21:00 to 23:00 with the wife, do some reading and get to bed by 23:00-23:30.

Except Wednesday nights, when we bowl.

I think a full mix of work time, fun time, and family time is essential.

Good thread, jac, this is fun!

-TGC

 

[Kevin]

Old schedule: Up at 6,help getting kids to caregiver. mow 7:45 to 2:30 pm, 3:00-11:30 work full time job,12:30 home and sleep. Did for 3.5 years New schedule Up at 6, help with kids,mow etc. until 5:00, home and happy .

 

[little green guy]

Hey guys i'm still young! I got to have a life sometime.

Jaclawn- I can get to work by 7:30 cause I roll out of bed get dressed and stuff in about 10 minuts. My shop is only a block away from my house so it takes me like 30 seconds to get there. For breakfast i just grab something somewhere near where working and eat in the truck or on the job.

I tried getting up earlya couple times and I was wasted by 9:00am.(i even went to bed early that night) I don't like it, dosn't work for me. mabey i'll try agian sometime though. I don't understand how you can go to bed at 9:00 every night, my night is just starting at 9:00

Guido- for some reason mornings arn't that bad for me. I just drink a couple pepsi's and I'm fine.