Godet Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 Forgive me if this has been covered before, but I haven't seen it. More and more I find myself trying to find more and more time for woodworking...how do you all find time, or balance your time, between day jobs and the shop? At best, I get maybe 2 hours during the week and a few during the weekends...any great secrets/strategies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersb Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 That is about all I can get in too. In fact, as of lately, I haven't been out there but once in the past couple of weeks. Woodworking is a hobby for me and I have to remember that. Believe it or not, there are many more important things in life than a hobby. Trying to balance that can be a challenge at times. I have 3 projects coming down the line, 2 that I have committed to for other people and one that is really important, a hope chest for my soon to be 12 y.o. daughter. I will have to push some other things aside and make the time for these projects. I would like more time in the shop, but life goes on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomP Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 For me its also a hobby. The winter is the hardest. Can really only get into the shop (garage) on the week ends. Day job during the day and working on my HVAC certification at night. Sundays in the spring I'm on the soccer fields as a referee. Kids are grown but life is still busy. Like Brett, I have a couple of projects to do, one is the guild build. Woodworking to me is just so relaxing. Whatever time I get in the shop is priceless. Enjoy each time your there and be thankful for everything else going on in your life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rutabagared Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 Being a morning person helps in my situation. I find my best shop time is spent early mornings on the weekends (6am-ish). Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlehikoinen Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 It is challenging, I agree. Especially with a 10 month old girl. Family must come first which leaves me only a couple of hours per week and Saturdays. Although, I work from home so sometimes I can sneak into the shop during lunch if the baby isn't taking a nap. When my wife goes back to work in March, it's going to get harder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmack77 Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 It's tough! With two kids (3.5 & 2) with another due at the end of March, I'm lucky to grab a couple hours a week. I'm blessed to have the work schedule that I've got (24 on, 72 off), but the wife works, so I'll be on child duty on my days off. I try to sneak out during nap time, but this then cuts into my nap time. When I do get out to the garage/shop, that time seems that much sweeter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlamulle Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 It is challenging, I agree. Especially with a 10 month old girl. Family must come first which leaves me only a couple of hours per week and Saturdays. Although, I work from home so sometimes I can sneak into the shop during lunch if the baby isn't taking a nap. When my wife goes back to work in March, it's going to get harder! I typically put about 20-30 hours a week into the workshop. It is both a hobby for me and therapeutic as well. I own a heavy construction company and all my thoughts all day are getting things done quickly an efficiently to make a profit while doing a good job. My wife has always told me I don't enjoy the journey only reaching the destination, so I'm using this to teach myself to slow down and enjoy today. When I go out to the workshop it's like time stops and I can take forever to make just one cut if I want to. I took so long to build my shop because I was trying to enjoy the journey there as well. I actually get as much enjoyment building a great jig or clamp rack as I do a masterpiece piece of furniture (not many of those yet). That's how I justify spending time in my shop working wood. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhell Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Simple. You make time. If you can't make time its either not that important to you or you don't want it as much as you think you do. People always ask me how I find time for all my hobbies. It really is that simple. You "just do". Turning off the TV is a good start. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godet Posted January 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 You all make good points..., but Bryan, thanks for the kick in the butt. TV's not usually the problem...but there are plenty of distractions that eat up 20 minutes here, 30 minutes there, etc....and I can usually get a lot done in an hour in the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 A trick I learned when our daughter arrived and her crib was directly over the garage: Organize your work according to noise levels. I found I would get a fair bit of time after hours, but very little time during the day. So, after the little one went down for the evening, I went into the garage to straighten up and do all the prep needed to set up an operation at the saw, the router, the planer, etc. e.g. Arrange stop blocks, outfeed rollers, clamps, even put safety glasses and ear muffs right at arm's grasp. Sometimes, I could set up three or even four operations on different tools. Then leave everything, turn off the lights and call it a night. The next day, if I could carve out so much as twenty minutes of freedom while wife and child were having lunch, I would head down to the garage and get straight to work. Blast through as many noise-making operations as possible, then leave everything to straighten up and set up for the next operations during the next quiet hours. Mixing your shop with both hand tools and power tools also helps this. i.e. If I can do the rough disassembly of a board with a hand saw and then get it ballpark straight with a jointer plane, then that's three or four operations that get done during quiet hours and don't have to eat up precious noise-acceptable time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I have a 6 month old son. He goes to bed at 8-830ish. I can sneak out to the shop and get an hour or more in before I hit the hay. (My shop is isolated so you can't hear me in the house while I'm working. Even with the radio on, dust collector and running my thickness planer, the baby can sleep right on through. I'm an early to rise sort of guy and so I don't generally stay up past 10. My wife is very supportive. She helps me get time in the shop... of course she loves the furniture I build so why not? Another trick I've learned is that listening to the Bears' Games on the radio gives me 3 hours in the shop. I used to make time to watch them every week and my wife would always let me. Now, I listen to them on the radio while I work in the shop. With this system, my wife and I watch almost no TV. Sometimes, we'll look up and say something like "Do you realize our TV hasn't been on in over a month?" Then we put in a DVD, sit down on the couch together, and watch a Columbo movie. On those nights obviously I don't go to the shop. BTW ... Good Thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I go in spurts. During the build of Gretchin's Cradle, my wife let me off the hook for ALL duties. But now, I just get a few hours here and there. I'm trying to get at least a full day on Sundays, but doesn't always happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bywc Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I get an average of about 8 hours a day mon-fri because I have made my schedule to work for me, I do my 40 hours of work in 3 days two 16's and an 8 on monday and have the week days alone in the shop while wife and kid are at work and school. of coarse when kids are out of school I dont get as much time but thats ok because as kids get older they dont require as much parent time they become pretty self sufficient so for right now I just enjoy that the sun sets and rises in daddy and dread to "troubled teen" years lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I get a little time here and there but my main time is when we plan for a shop day, make the plan for you and your wife/husband so you each get a day to do your own thing. We only started doing this in the past 6 months or so and it really helps, it gives you some time to look forword to. My kids are getting a little older, (unfortunatly 8 and 10 already) so when they have friends over I escape because they don't know I am there anyway, I guess you just have to look hard for time. One more thing is what I am sure most of us do, my mind is in the shop a LOT more than I am so I plan the project out and the steps to get there in my mind so when I am in the shop I a not scratching my head and I can make progress. Every once and awhile I get a bonus time, I guess I get a little owly because my wife tells me "maybe you should go out to the shop", who am I to argue! I have to admit the grumpyness is gone rather quickly so if you want to be a jerk you could just get crabby all the time but you will loose it all in the divorce! Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iSawitFirst Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 I find I can't discipline myself without a deadline. If I decide I'm going to have a project done by a certain time I'll work nights and weekends if necessary to finish it. I also enjoy breaks between projects. It maintains the novelty and excitement of woodworking and gives me time to come up with a new project that I really want to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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