How Do You Stay Motivated ?

[Mojo]

I am just curious as to how so many of you stay motivated. Recently I am so burnt out from sewing that it isn't funny. I have been going week after week after week sewing 6 and 7 days a week and sometimes after an afternoon snooze of 2 hours or so I sew till 10 pm. It has all been to stay up with orders and keep them going out the door. I had no choice but to sew my fool head off because I have been so backlogged.

Business has been great and the money has been awesome but I am now feeling the effects. It is Sunday morning and I have to get out to the shop and will sew till noon. Catch a snooze then get back up and sew till 8 pm or so. My problem is I am getting so burnt out I am dreading going into the shop. I have had several days recently where I hated seeing the shop, machine, cutting take and fabric. I know I will not be able to keep this schedule going once I start chemo again in June and once the dreaded poison starts flowing through my veins I will be back to very short days and 3 days a week. But until then it is going to be very busy with 6 and 7 day a week sewing schedules.

Some of you have been at this much, much longer then I have. Some of you have been doing this work nearly all your lives. So my question is how do you stay motivated ? Do some of you dread seeing the walls of your shops, your machines, fabric, thread, cutting tables  ?

Chris

[baileyuph]

Mojo,
Keeping score is the motivation .  Everyone like association with winners and more so be a winner.  Hard work and long hours does have its woes but, when the score indicates you are winning, it takes care of a lot of problems!

Plus, always learning something is something that keeps the body going.

Everyday is a new learning experience!

Doyle

[Mike]

Chris being. Usy is good but you just hsve to take  time off too.
Me i made a mooring cover yesterday and i installed it this morning. Because the guys leaving for the north soon a snowbird. But ill take off on a wrkday afternoon go out fishing i havnt much latly getting my boat ready but thats a strees relief also sorking on my own stuff. I dont dred  my maching and the sewing. Its the instsll seeing if it all fits unlike  upholstery  where  i can see the seat looks good now lets go put it in the bost   Canvas i dont see hos it looks till i put it on the boat and i dred it.
Just this morning i was deading the install.   Have you taken you wellcraft out  much?

[Rich]

I am just curious as to how so many of you stay motivated. Recently I am so burnt out from sewing that it isn't funny. I have been going week after week after week sewing 6 and 7 days a week and sometimes after an afternoon snooze of 2 hours or so I sew till 10 pm. It has all been to stay up with orders and keep them going out the door. I had no choice but to sew my fool head off because I have been so backlogged.

If I kept a schedule like that I'd be burnt out too. Sounds normal.
Rich

[SHHR]

Reading your posts over the years I've gathered that you do this out of a labor of love and not out of neccessity in putting the "beans" on the table every week. Also, knowing that you come from the corporate world, you have a drive to succeed in all you do and maybe at all costs. I'm not trying to be rude by any means in saying that ,but rather hoping to help out some way.
What really got to me in a good way last year was I've always worked many hours to get a job done, Many nights, weekends and even holidays. Two Christmases ago my wife got me a trip to Florida to go hunting with a bunch of guys from church who go every June. As time was nearing to go I started getting cold feet because I was busy and had to keep plugging away and had other jobs backed up. One night in church the preacher who just happens to be the one who sets up this trip, came right out in a class and said a person needs to take time to do things for themselves even if it's just to stop work for a bit and relax (and the kicker for me was) NOT TO FEEL GUILTY of doing it. I went on that trip reluctantly, but ended up having the best time. I;m looking forward to going back this June too. Since then I've started making a point to take off on weekends and at decent hours too. Oh, I still work long when I need to, but when I did take that week off with the guys guess what happened? the work was still there when I got back and customers were still nringing stuff in. I was worried about losing business or something andinstead I gained some sanity back.
Take care of yourself!
Kyle

[lc]

Chris I wished I had read your thread before I posted a new one just now .,it's in the same sort of category but I'm dead for business your swamped ..I envy you but I am glad your busy .

For your own sanity and from what sounds like you have a struggle enough with just your health,,you said kemo which doesn't ring nice to me so my advice is please for the sake of your health alone take your weekends off and enjoy your life !
Your customers can wait ...your just some Joe labourer to them they all want it yesterday . We can't make everyone happy as much as we all try to do but we need to make ourselves get back to earth and get out fishing or whatever it needs to smell the air and listen to the water the birds singing.
I couldn't catch a fish if you paid me but I absolutely love fishing ! It takes my mind totally off work ! We all have to do that and if you don't you'll burn out and won't be good for anybody.
Take time to enjoy the life that's left in us ., we are all mostly an older bunch ..life's to short.
Take care buddy!

[Mike]

I forgot to say chris from 1991 till i left Nh i worked 7 days a week to make as much as i could cor the year
To survive customer came to me on the weekens and i did the work mon to fri.  I ised to hate seeinf everyone having fun in the lake iutside my shop  getting the bedt spots for the fireworks ion the lake early 4th kf july.
Winter was filled with selling bait for ice fishing.  Till i decided to  vacation a few months in florida. And forget the. Ice fishermen.  They went elsewhere.  I was out on tera cieva bay  one day in febuary. Sun shinh on my back and i started feeling guilty as i never was on the water fishing.  I should be working.   So i ended up heading  north that year early. And affer i got gome inwished i had not left early. 
That when i decided to move and  not have to work 24/7.
Aftrr my stroke ive come to learn to take time for me 
As i layed in the hospital. The work was waiting  and was still there after
Just wensday i was out in my boat in the afternoon.

[lc]

Yep life can be good if you let it . Mike my daughter is 34 and she had a stroke ..affected her motor skills slightly and her memory has dwindled but she isn't going back to her stressful job . she decided to stay home and  look after her girls ., she quit smoking a year ago . I noticed such a big change in her without that stress in her life...she can actually laugh more

[sofadoc]

In my 20's,  I would get up in the middle of the night sometimes just to in to the shop and knock out a job. Partly because I needed the money, mostly because I just couldn't wait til morning.
Sometimes I'd tell my wife the next morning "While you were asleep, I made $300". That changed when we had kids.
I was 30 when my first kid was born, the second one when I was 33. I never missed a minute of their growing up. Now that my kids are grown, I wish sometimes that I had the fire that I had in my 20's.
I still love what I do, but the 4 walls of my shop do close in on me every day. I hear some of you talk about how you don't answer the phone while you're working. And you won't take customers without an appointment. I WELCOME distractions!
I think that if I just had a huge stack of orders, and nobody to talk to, I probably would give this career up.
Chris: If you needed the money to pay bills or put food on the table, you'd have all the motivation you need.
Personally, I consider it a blessing that I've reached a point in my life where I'm not as motivated as I once was.

[lc]

It can get lonely working on your own but we make the best of it and at times I like to be on my own. I can concentrate more.
I did in the past not  answer my phone , now that I am slow I wished I had answered each and every call now.
We do need to slow down a bit though

[Mojo]

I am not rich by any means. I have a decent pension, medical and dental from my employer where I retired and my wife has a good job with a decent salary. We have numerous assets and we have made it a point not to get deep in debt so we have no problems with monthly bills. But still, we are not rolling in dough. We have what I would say is a comfortable life.

If I closed my shop tomorrow it wouldn't make any difference in regards to how we live. Most of the money I make is for extras in life. These are all things we could do without. So maybe that is why I am lacking motivation lately. I think the other reason why is because I have had no ME time. I have a boat sitting out back with no interior in it. Its all done but I have not had time to put it in the Gulf.

I have been a workaholic all my life. I have worked this schedule since my late teens and I know nothing else. I get guilt feelings if I am not busy doing something. Even when I am on chemo and drugged out of my gourd on pain killers I still find odd jobs around the house to do ( ones that I wont kill myself while doing them ). On my good days ( and many times on my bad days ) while on chemo I sew. It is an excellent therapy and when my bone marrow is giving me loads of pain, sitting at the machine and focusing on sewing helps manage the pain. I refuse to sit around and wallow in self pity...........poor me. I have leukemia, those are the cards I have been dealt so get on with life and don't whine.

Everyone else ( my wife and kids and other family members and friends ) think I am nuts. They think I should just lay back, take it easy and enjoy the days I have left. But something inside me prevents me from doing that. I just have this need and urge to work......at something....anything. I told my wife if I ever quit sewing I will probably volunteer my time somewhere like the SPCA or humane society or maybe work with disabled people.

My wife gets pissed because I wont take a day and just relax, watch some movies and grab some down time. But I feel lazy as hell whenever I do that. Maybe I need a shrink. :)

I think my problem lately and my lack of motivation is because I have been so slammed with business. I am so frigging sick of seeing orders for slide toppers and window awnings that it isn't funny. I am hoping things slow down for the month of July and August. I can then get into my woodshop and do some projects I have been wanting to do not to mention finish off my boat and splash it for the first time. :)

I really appreciate your input everyone. Thank you.

Chris

[lc]

I hear you Chris .
we do get wrapped up with what we do ...just remember whats special to you...when your wife gets upset your working too much take a bit of downtime for her too she is number one , business is number two your own life is foremost the ultimate to protect.
Your an icon in the work society many an employer would love to have you on their team.
I can tell that you work your problems out by doing what you do...that I agree is therapy in itself...we all know where that comes from we use our work to escape......still '' try to take out a bit of time for your family.
Your a proud man ! awesome !

[scottymc]

I think my problem lately and my lack of motivation is because I have been so slammed with business. I am so frigging sick of seeing orders for slide toppers and window awnings that it isn't funny. I am hoping things slow down for the month of July and August. I can then get into my woodshop and do some projects I have been wanting to do not to mention finish off my boat and splash it for the first time. :)

I really appreciate your input everyone. Thank you.

Chris

One way to slow down work, 50% price hike, surely you wouldn't feel lazy finishng the boat off and using it. Listen to the Missus Chris, you know she's right, don't work yourself into the ground, you don't need too

[lc]

I cannot believe I am up so late but the price hike sounds like a good plan ...less time more money. Go for it chris.

[Mike]

One thing when my son  was young i Regret working so much im sure it had ill
Effects. Too.bad your  so far id lend a hand on the interior  and show you a good sandbar.
Gou have to take time doing shat you like
Heres a vid i took of heading gome while playing hookie wensday afternoon for me

http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy102/Mike8560/IMG_0279.mp4