Farming stigma…. Working like “crazy”

[Bossfarmer]

Interesting way of looking at it, not your usual way of building a business, you can’t value your time very highly? I prefer to work smarter not harder, all that extra work you do could be done by one extra person, if you can’t make money from employing that person then the business can’t that profitable, I know it’s not the easiest industry to make money at but employing the right people is the difference between a successful business and one thats not going any further, you can’t just keep working more hours, you have reached your limit , now what?

you are making a lot of assumptions.....if you want to get ahead in life you have to work smarter AND harder than the competition theres plenty being smart and plenty working hard you have to be prepared to do both, yiu have to make what some would call "sacrifices" theres no substitute for hard work,

lot of people out there kiddin themselves and using this "work smarter not harder" phrase as an excuse to sit back and take it easy if theyve done something they percieve to be smart, wrong attitude, roll on to the next thing, keep moving

 

[alomy75]

she prob sees enough but not too much, id wager against that, lot of the most sucessful people like elon musk dont seem to need much sleep

How old are you if you don’t mind me asking? Kids?

 

[Jimdog1]

Why? because times going to pass anyway whether im sat on the couch or sat on a tractor seat, if im doing 90hrs a week and the other farmers are doing 60 thats an extra 30hrs a week im getting done,

thats 1560hrs a year extra, thats 195 extra working days compared to a guy that does 8hrs a day, that 195 days adds up over a farming career

thats 9750 extra working days over a 50 year career, its over 26 years worth of extra work done over an 8hr guy, THAT to me is the difference between a very sucessful business and one thats going nowhere, especially consdering my brother does likewise

she prob sees enough but not too much, id wager against that, lot of the most sucessful people like elon musk dont seem to need much sleep

Your Elon Musk?

 

[Werzle]

Plenty of us work long hours but we dont knock off the time spent having a chat with the neighbour, lorry driver, ai man, reps etc. Most of the people who tell me about the hours they are working arent the hardest workers i know of. Getting the wife/kids involved in the work can help the work life balance. Nothing wrong with working your guts out for a goal or taking time off/finishing early as long as the works done. Livestock come first here, i wouldnt feel comfortable having time off if i knew there was stock that needed bedding or feeding.

 

[Henarar]

we seem to have progressed more than most id imagine, lot of neighbours the same acreage as 30 years ago

Is that bad ?
Perhaps they don't need so much to make their way in life.

 

[B R C]

you are making a lot of assumptions.....if you want to get ahead in life you have to work smarter AND harder than the competition theres plenty being smart and plenty working hard you have to be prepared to do both, yiu have to make what some would call "sacrifices" theres no substitute for hard work,

lot of people out there kiddin themselves and using this "work smarter not harder" phrase as an excuse to sit back and take it easy if theyve done something they percieve to be smart, wrong attitude, roll on to the next thing, keep moving

I agree there is a balance to be had, if you are earning £200k a year would you work all hours to save a £30k salary, which would actually only save you £16.5k as you would be in 45% tax bracket. There is a point where you will have to delegate work to others, at what point that is, is a combination of profit/work/life/self worth values.

 

[chipchap]

Don’t ever do work that you wouldn’t pay somebody else to do if you were incapacitated.

 

[Spear]

Hmmmm. So it’s fine to belittle someone who wants to work long hours but not someone who doesn’t?
Seems some people want to take a look at their lives and work out why they feel the need to “attack” others just because they think differently.

 

[Bossfarmer]

How old are you if you don’t mind me asking? Kids?

early 40s, yes

 

[Bossfarmer]

Is that bad ?
Perhaps they don't need so much to make their way in life.

depends on their goal, i work according to mine, if people want to criticise me working the hours i do its water off a ducks back,

it seems to offend people if someone is working more hours than them and they try to come out with negative comments to make themselves feel better about doing less, unnecessary

 

[Bossfarmer]

I agree there is a balance to be had, if you are earning £200k a year would you work all hours to save a £30k salary, which would actually only save you £16.5k as you would be in 45% tax bracket. There is a point where you will have to delegate work to others, at what point that is, is a combination of profit/work/life/self worth values.

well yes because i did that last year with the big grain and cattle prices, lot of kit needed upgraded though so not huge tax bill

 

[Bossfarmer]

Hmmmm. So it’s fine to belittle someone who wants to work long hours but not someone who doesn’t?
Seems some people want to take a look at their lives and work out why they feel the need to “attack” others just because they think differently.

glad someone else has spotted that, unnecessary

 

[puppet]

I have no issues with you working all hours but what if you were ill? You can't have any reserve in your business doing so much yourself.
You see success as a bigger business with big returns I guess but I have had conversations with people who are ill or dying in later life and they regretted working so hard.
Look after yourself

 

[alomy75]

early 40s, yes

Same as me. When do you see your kids then? Aren’t they in bed when you come in and still in bed when you leave in the morning? I respect your work ethic btw and my dad was just the same; but now my mum has a debilitating condition and needs care-dad has semi retired and he has no one to spend his retirement with and admits that he wishes he maybe adjusted his priorities in his younger years to make the most of time with my mum (as I try to do now with my wife/kids). You never know what’s round the corner.

 

[DRC]

There's a lot more to life than working on a farm 24/7.
Went on holiday for the first time in years last year.enjoyed it so much within 2 days of been back home booked another for this year.

Agree with most of what the OP said.what annoyed me most was after playing football for 20+ years.to a good standard never once did my old man come to watch me.never once asked how it went.all because he was too busy doing something on the farm.

My dad was like that. I played in cup finals the lot, but he never came to watch.
Always stopped what I was doing to go and watch my two play rugby or hockey as life is too short to miss out.
I packed in farming last year and thoroughly recommend it as I have a part time job that gets me out and about meeting people . I show folks around houses for sale and rent with one of the higher end estate agents , which pays me to look at some wonderful properties without any pressure at all. Absolutely love it .

 

[Henarar]

we seem to have progressed more than most id imagine, lot of neighbours the same acreage as 30 years ago

Is that bad ?
Perhaps they don't need so much to make their way in life.

depends on their goal, i work according to mine, if people want to criticise me working the hours i do its water off a ducks back,

it seems to offend people if someone is working more hours than them and they try to come out with negative comments to make themselves feel better about doing less, unnecessary

Hang on, you seemed to suggest that you had "progressed" more than some neighbours that were farming the same acreage as 30 years ago so it was you coming out with the negative comments about them which is unnecessary.
All I suggested was perhaps they had as much as they needed, any more may not have been progress, they may well have reached their goal 30 years ago, if that is the case perhaps they are doing better than you ?

 

[Forkdriver]

All the successful people l know and knew delegated the graft and concentrated on the business. They can make decisions and take time off, but get up to make sure stuff happens.

 

[Real Straight shooter]

Saw this thread and Knocked off ploughing so I could put my 4 year old son to bed, read him is favorite dinosaur book and watch the lambs playing around the field out of his bedroom window. Best decision I have made all day.

 

[4course]

Saw this thread and Knocked off ploughing so I could put my 4 year old son to bed, read him is favorite dinosaur book and watch the lambs playing around the field out of his bedroom window. Best decision I have made all day.

good on you, in farming the life /work balance is very difficult to get right, believe me ive spent over 50 years trying to achieve that and it aint easy and I reckon its getting harder and f driver in the post above is spot on.

 

[Bossfarmer]

Same as me. When do you see your kids then? Aren’t they in bed when you come in and still in bed when you leave in the morning? I respect your work ethic btw and my dad was just the same; but now my mum has a debilitating condition and needs care-dad has semi retired and he has no one to spend his retirement with and admits that he wishes he maybe adjusted his priorities in his younger years to make the most of time with my mum (as I try to do now with my wife/kids). You never know what’s round the corner.

i see them when i get home or they sit in tractor with me and learn, the way i see it the farm keeps me on the straight and narrow fit and healthy, could easily spend the weekends shopping spending money or sitting around boozing, not that ive a problem but its unhealthy, what do people spend their weekends doing? i do take the odd sat afternoon off for the rugby, havent this year yet though been too busy