Not Enough Time In The Day?

AndersonsWworks

How do you guys manage your time and get everything done? I am a one man cabinet shop. That means I do all the on site estimates, CAD design work, buy all my materials, and actually work in the shop to build the cabinets. Sometimes I get frustrated getting it all done. How do other one man shops work their schedule to find time for everything?

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Fyrzowt

Dunno, Our shop has 9 employees, but my brother has run a solo shop since '79.
The only time he has hired a second person is on a very limited basis for large installs.
I'll see him tonight and ask.

BCConstruction

It's called 12+ hour days 7 day weeks lol. I been having to do this for the last 12 months because of work coming out my ears but it def helps.

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rselectric1

I think Leo G has a very similar operation as you, and also does the installs. He'd be a guy who would know.

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Leo G

I usually do short days. Something on the order of 10-12hours And I like to take a 1/2 day every once in a while, you know 8 hours . And Saturday and Sundays, yep, workdays. I try to do 60 hours a week. When I am busy about 70-75. I hate 90 hour weeks, they suck.

You gotta know what your doing, you gotta partition your time off for different projects. I work Mon-Fri on my main job. Sat or Sun are the time to go look at jobs (and work). When you get home, it is time to start working on designs, CAD, eCab and bids/proposals. It's like a full time job or something.



Since you are self employed you are allowed to choose whatever part of the day you want to work your 16 hours.

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Bergstrom

I second what Leo said

Wife, "You are going to church with me today,right?"

Me, "Well no, but the shop is kind of like a church....there's a lot of pretty things made out of wood to look at"

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WarnerConstInc.

Get more organized.

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Gus Dering

I used to do my drawings from about 5 am till 8:30 or so because there were no interruptions. Then cut list around the same time because that is where the time and money savings are and I hate answering the phone during that time.

9 -5 is shop time during the week. That is the goal anyway. When I needed to measure or meet with clients I would push for afternoon - evening times.

Return calls in the morning and at lunch and after shop time. If you have to go pick up material during the day make as many calls as possible from the truck. You don't have to answer the phone just because it is ringing. If the sound of the ringing is something you can not resist then don't have the phone in the shop when there is nothing you are waiting to hear about.

Outsource things that make sense to have others do. Think about the progress you are making with others doing things for you while you are busy pulling in more work or running to the yard. When you have others doing your finishing or building your doors you are not dead in the water while you are not in the shop.

Develop a good system and push your client's needs into some form of cabinet that you are good at. That is easier said than done. But keep your shop's system and flow as a priority while you are in the design mode with your clients.

Clean up the shop at least at the end of the day. You spend a lot less time on things if you keep the shop well organized.

Buy machinery to clean the log jam that is the most irritating. Smart tool purchases are very personal, but look beyond today and consider weather or not this machine will see me into retirement or not. That perspective will generally work for me.

A good shop dog does wonders too.

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Leo G

I make sure I clean up the shop at least once a month, if I can get to it.

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Gus Dering

But we all know you are the exception to all rules, Leo.

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Leo G

If I had a couple of guys it would be done way more often. But I look at it a matter of time. If I clean the shop for 15 minutes a day I spend an hour and a quarter a week. If I wait a month I would spend 5 hours cleaning. After a month I can clean the shop up in less than 2 hours. Most of the time I hate it after I clean up. I am constantly going into the waste and drop to pick out useful small stock for jigs and test pcs. When I clean up I have none and sometimes have to resort to using real stock.

Now if I could only get the wife to come in the shop and sweep. I have tried. She always says no. I mean she says NO!

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Gus Dering

Well if you didn't tell her that she does it wrong she might want to.

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Leo G

Come on Gus. I've been married for 23 years. I know the wife is always right, not matter what (If I know what is good for me )

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pinwheel

Leo pretty much summed it up for me. 10-12 hour days are the norm in the busy season.

I've been training my wife to help with the sanding, cleaning & finish work. Having that second body that can run a spray gun really makes a lot of difference on what I can turn out of the shop.

Gus Dering

Well you have a point there.

You could always put the broom handle in the pocket you were born with and sweep up everywhere you go.

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eXpatRioteX

Still waiting on the Fein cloning booth.

bb71

Obivously everyone works differently and what works for you is why you do it that way - it works.

I have a different take on keeping the shop clean. I spend about 10 minutes per day cleaning up but that 10 minutes saves me a lot more than that. First off is the obvious safety factor of having things laying around, scraps on the floor, etc. I don't need a slip and fall into a spinning router bit. Also for me, its the way I work, kind of a moral / mood thing. I'm proud of the work that comes out of my shop. If I'm not proud of it, it doesn't leave. Having said that, I need to work in a space that I can be proud of. For me, that means cleaning up and making sure things are in their space at least once a day. I always try to keep things in their place to begin with as well. There's also a time savings to be had when things are organized and clean. Not having to move a stack of lumber to get to the piece you need etc. saves time.

I've been trained in 5S so sometimes I might go a little overboard. Now I better go out to the shop and clean up!

Leo G

One area in the shop gets messy. On the left side of the tablesaw where I put my long drops. Most of the other areas of the shop are basically clean. I do push the broom around after a day of using the router. Most of the other machines have dust collection so there is just a bit of dust/chips that escape. I have a path around the tablesaw drop and when I can't get by anymore I know it is time to clean the shop. It can be months or weeks depending on what I am doing. If I am using a lot of plywood then the scrap piles stays pretty low. If I am making moldings then the scrap pile builds with long skinny drops faster. Everything gets cut up and I give it away to friends to burn in the winter and my landlord in the summer, he makes mulch out of it.

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Leo G

Only sometimes ???

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bb71

Sounds like you do a little more organization and cleaning than you admitted to! The "I can't get by anymore" line scares me though.

I remember when I was about 8 years old. My father was putting a small addition on a variety store he owned. I was "helping" him do the exterior studs. He was just throwing the cut offs around the outside perimeter of the addition. I'm walking into the studded area and slip on a junk of 2x6 and lurch forward between two studs. My father not being one to make sure things are always done correctly had been driving 3-1/2" spikes straight through a doubled up 2x6. I go through the stud space and end up with a 3 inch long gash across my knee. I believe that was the point where I decided keeping things in their place including garbage made a lot of sense. For every project I ever did with him again, I was in charge of cleanup! Still have the scar today.