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Back on track

Alien Human

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Two weeks ago I completely ran out of energy midweek and the head & body were mangled by 3pm Wednesday. I did still manage to bring a fairly decent amount of £ Thurs / Fri but was not enjoyable and took me till Sunday pm to fully recover.....shoulders aching blah blah blah

Problem: working like a Trojan, not eating a healthy enough (at all), constantly thinking about work, getting stressed & therefore not sleeping well, people pleasing etc etc etc.

Solution: ....very simple:

1.) More Sleep

2.) Better Diet (kind of;)

3.) Better Plannng & Preparation

So basically, I had a much better week and really enjoyed myself. Sometimes it's easy to get lost in it all and just work, work, work at the expense of everything else.

I personally have no doubt that if I carried on the way I was then I would have burnt out by June......and we can't be having that as I frickin love being a window cleaner!

Have you peeps had any similar experiences like this?

 
Yeah, i crashed out a few months back as i was doing too much. I put it down to trying to work too long each day, i think we all have different limits and we need to learn them and rest properly.

I simply limit the hours i work to 5 a day but work every day mon to fri. I was trying to do 9 hours a day and thats too much for me currently. Better to be consistent every week than trying to do too much.

 
Interesting.....I trimmed down the work hours to about 6 a day & decided no more work on weekends too /emoticons/smile.png

 
I only work about 7-8 hours a day now and have stopped weekends as of this week

Been feeling tired

 
so funny you post that I have been struggling for at least three weeks..some days great but some days I just died....well not literally but you know what I mean

still struggling but I keep believing I am back on track but am I ...I will find out on monday..yep..even got a job booked in then..

I do think diet has caused me lots of problems...I often dont bother with breakfast...dont do dinner....so I am working on that..

yesterday shot off to the chippy for a change..

with me at the moment I havent got the strength I know I used to have and ...you need that in this job...yesterday farmer giles sent me up in his version of a cherry picker to clean windows which you just couldnt trad..

there was an apex roof with no valley and fragile tiles and whilst the top of the window I could trad pole and blade you just couldnt get to the bottom as it was level with the roof...but wfp was made for it..but ..fully extended and not the strength I should have I was really pushing it..

and no I canna be bothered to queue up to see the doc...

unless....it doesnt get better very soon..

after all...windowcleaners arent allowed to be ill /emoticons/biggrin.png

and what you say about pleasing all the custys all the time ....yep its bloomin hard.

I have a nice easy system where texts stay put until I have done the work emails the same but..

phone calls go down on the nearest bit of paper....not good..

a work in progress..I have jobs booked in right up to bloomin whit...and then...maybe...time off..maybe...

and another thing is...new jobs...it takes time to find and price them..and then people expect them done...so you have to squeeze them in and I dont like rushing..

I may be mr grumpy window cleaner at the moment with this annoying weakness thing but yesterday after eating my chips and going to clean the nice old biddy er lady who has never had a price increase in probably ten years...I got accosted and asked if I WAS A WINDOWCLEANER.....no...er...I carry all my kit for the cool look it gives me...:rolleyes:

on our walk to his house we hear...I do them myself but I am getting a bit old to go up ladders...hmmmm

a quick glance at the sills and I see hes one of those lazy window cleaners who dont wipe the sills..how anyone can do that I dont know...

as I walk past the kitchen window I spot a big blob of birdy muck and before you can say anything out comes my applicator and its quickly removed with the special scrubber on the end..I just couldnt walk past that...wifey inside doing the pots smiled on and shot out of the door...

oh can you do them all now...as auntie so and so was coming to visit..

well...not being funny but what stops mr retired husband who has always cleaned them before getting all the bottoms nice and clean...

yeh mr grumpy window cleaner explained...its late friday after noon and I had another two big uns to do with the money awaiting so I was sorry but...

well I am not 100 percent..and the sun had come out and I was now overdressed..

so its booked in for next friday...but ..theres not enough time in the week next week...

I HOPE CHEAPIE GETS BACK ON FORM..../emoticons/biggrin.png

 
I've just realised that I got into a cycle of beasting it Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday and then starting to flag on Thursday moving 1-2 jobs into Friday and then just thinking 'can't be a***d anymore, am done in' and moved 3-4 jobs into Monday / Tuesday the following week........recovering Sat / Sun...... and then the same all over again but never quite catching up with myself.

 
remember your only here once, you cant take it with you, the TAX man will see to that :devil: and allway`s wear sun cream .

:rofl: AND RELAXE

 
I am working 4 days 9 -16:30 -

then Friday Big Day - 6:30 am costa coffees then on to full day builders cleans at massive site till 4 pm

Then Saturday off with my wife and kids ( plus 12 week old )

Am sat here Sunday watching boxing at 4 am - then more costas to clean at 8 am -

Bring it On !

 
I am working 4 days 9 -16:30 -then Friday Big Day - 6:30 am costa coffees then on to full day builders cleans at massive site till 4 pm

Then Saturday off with my wife and kids ( plus 12 week old )

Am sat here Sunday watching boxing at 4 am - then more costas to clean at 8 am -

Bring it On !
How often to Costas get their windows cleaned? - out of interest

 
burnout is a real risk in this job . its a horrible feeling waking up and staggering to the bathroom knowing youve another full day ahead and youre behind with it all too.its not about the money anymore its about you and your bodys aching

time to take stock,do the do - for starters anybody who dont pay right they can **** right off thatll get rid of 50 .

or maybe its your turn to have a bash at employing-dont mess about with the job centre -instead put a card in a shop window on your way home for a parttime helper-your phone will ring within hours i promise you that.

iv employed 6 yrs now and oh yes theres been times iv been let down and employed losers ,but you just get rid and get a new one -main thing is its very rare that iv headed out to work feeling dead on my feet since iv employed.

before i employed,i took a look at how McD does it while eating my burger, they employ a lot of parttimers, hmm now thats a thought..

if theres a loser starts it doesnt matter much cos someone else is already there too. so i first employed 1 parttimer, then a second parttimer. then 3 parttimers, then 1 became a fulltimer , now all 3 i employ are fulltimers , if 1 goes sick no matter, 2 go sick the days a killer but still do-able. you get the picture

 
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I also think it the weather. Or unsettled weather. It makes you more tired because the air pressure moves up and down to fast. UK is terrible for it.

 
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