In today’s hectic world, most of us have to schedule our time pretty carefully to be sure of getting all the important things done. In light of this madness, I wondered how folks managed to find the time to work in their shops, and this led to this month’s question: “How do you fit your woodworking activity into the rest of your life?”
“I have tried to structure my shop time as any other job. I get home, have down time and supper with my family, then head to the shop and work until 10 or 11pm. My family is well understanding of my efforts, but time management is essential.”
“When I retired, I had visions of everyday shop time building unique items. What I found was quite different. So far, I spend much of my time on general maintenance and home improvements. Shop time is out of necessity and not for fun.”
“I make furniture for a living, so for me the question is how do I fit the rest of my life around shop time. I try to work a good 8-hour day. I get more done this way than being sporadic and having to cram at the end.”
“My shop is the driveway, so I have to move everything out before I can work, and weather plays a big role. I’m currently working on a new kitchen for us, and during the winter I make boxes.”
“To have any success requires the discipline of making time to work in the shop. I have to treat my woodworking as a second job. When I leave my current day job and substitute woodworking, I know that I’ll find more time to relax, have fun, and drink a few more beers.”
“I retired thinking my days would be wide open for workshop time. To my surprise, I only get a couple hours a day. I have a resolution to find ways to cut down on maintenance, eliminate machines that are too fussy, simplify the yard, etc. I need to find a better way.”
“Since retirement, I spend about six hours a day in the shop. I made a major decision to decrease the amount of time spent doing work for others, and now rarely accept a job offer. The only schedule I go by is what my own mind dictates. I learn more that way, because attempt things I’d never try if subject to time constraints.”
“I’m the father of younger children, and I’m working full time or overtime nine months of the year. A person must make some sacrifices in life, and balancing it all is a struggle. I fit in woodworking whenever I can, usually on the weekends. The bigger and more difficult the project, the longer it takes to complete.”
“Coming home from work and getting kids to bed wears me out. I was time-limited even before kids, but did get into the shop evenings and weekends. Knowing my time was limited, I set up my shop to be as efficient as possible. You have to be at least a little efficient to make it work.”
“I used to think once the kids were grown, I would have more shop time, but that hasn’t proven to be the case. If a project has a deadline, it makes it easier to change the priority to get it done, instead of doing other things.”
“Although my interest in woodworking is persistent, the intensity rises and falls according to other commitments and diversions. The key factor in my shop time is that I don’t sell my work, and now I make only what the two of us can use.”
“I usually work and think in terms of ‘projects,’ as opposed to just spending time in the shop ‘puttering.’ When I have a project underway, I am motivated to make time for it. There is also a factor that prevents one from getting shop time:the dreaded’unfinished project’ that sits in the middle of the shop with body parts lying here or there, patiently waiting. You don’t want to get rid of it, but you sort of wish it would just go away.”
“For 32 years, I’ve worked with computers for a living, and nothing-I repeat, nothing-ever gets completed in that world. So I am very interested in finishing things. With woodworking, you have something to hold, to look at, and enjoy. My shop time has been mostly spent building things for the shop. This provided a learning environment where I am the only one who has to live with my mistakes.”
“My life is a balancing act: kids, chores, wife, chores, work, chores, sleep, chores. We are really semi-professional jugglers in a circus of life here, aren’t we? My shop is a detached and dedicated space, and I love it that way. Sure, the wife and kids need their face time, but I also need time away as well. Don’t we need to keep our sanity?”
“I am 60 years old, self-employed, and have no intentions of retiring. I am overstocked on tools, with very little space, and I have a lot of equipment set up on mobile bases. I use both new and antique tools, and I have made several of my tools. If it were not for my shop, I would have gone bonkers years ago.”
“My shop time is often hectic, with three or four projects going at the same time. While I’m doing all that, I usually come up with another idea that has to be sketched for later reference. Sometimes, I actually get to start a project and finish it all at once without interruptions. Man, is that nice.”
“I don’t do much serious woodwork in the shop after my day job, as I find it a little hard to redirect my energy/concentration. Most every Saturday and Sunday, I’m able to spend a good eight hours each day, working projects.”
“Between April and October, I spend about four hours a day in the shop. Any more time than that and I become a danger to myself and anyone standing near me.”
“I think about working in my shop during every minute of my 12-hour work day. I remember all day what the shop smells like and what tools need to be sharpened. I make rough drawings, lumber lists, and cut lists in meetings. During the week, I spend an hour in the shop if I’m lucky. It’s where I accomplish things that I can hold in my hands, that I can take a few steps back from and be proud of. The shop is the one part of the world that I own, and that owns me.”
“Before I had a second full-time job crammed into my already full-time job, I used to set aside the hours from 4 am to 7 am for quality shop time. An understanding wife who doesn’t mind the sound of whirring is a critical feature.”
“For me, there are not many long periods of time that can be allotted to woodworking. My passion is Windsor chairs, and I currently have pieces for four different chairs, a surplus of spindles, and one chair ready for assembly. One problem is that nothing ever seems to get finished. Sometimes, I will just make something quick like a Welsh stick chair, a peg leg stool, or a spoon, just to make something from start to finish.”
“I try to pick a project, get interested in it, then shuffle my life to get it done. I give other people in the house chores to free up time for me.”
“The only reason I get any shop time during the week is because I can’t leave the property without going past the shop door. So, I’ll sneak into the shop for 10 to 20 minutes, if I get a chance. During long boring meetings, I doodle design ideas or project related notes. I also fit woodworking into running. A 10-mile run provides plenty of time to figure out joinery details.”
“I’m doing well if I get a couple of hours in throughout the weeknights, and 4-5 hours on a weekend. Organization and comfort are the keys to getting anything done. If the shop is inviting and comfortable, I’ll be more likely to go in and work.”
“How do I fit my woodturning activities into the rest of my life? I don’t. It’s the other way around. I need the money, and life has to be lived around the woodturning schedule.”
“When my wife takes our four-year old daughter to visit her parents, that is time for me to jump into the shop and make some more mess. When my stock is ready, I can really get some stuff accomplished, but when it’s turning time, that’s when the shavings really fly.”
“I am lucky to be retired and spend time in my shop as enjoyment. What bugs me the most is waiting for the varnish to dry and having to leave the shop to cut the grass or help my wife clean house.” “I usually try to alternate activities, but I always seem to devote myself to one or the other, until a specific task is completed. Creative ideas are always a priority for me. If I get an idea about any of my interests, I drop everything and document it.”
“I park my car in the electric company’s parking lot next to my shop. I lock my cell phone in the car and keep the door on my shop locked. I tell my kids that I’m going to visit a friend they don’t know. They are all married. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m sneaking out leaving my kids home alone!”
Originally published #41: September/October 2006
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