This job is just getting better and better. Well... Minus the newfound anxiety revolving around my phone, and the number of people who try to contact me 24/7 using a wide variety of communication methods. 2 months in—new(ish) job update below
The company uses Voxer—a chat app—and those distinctive *BEREEEEP*’s tick up my stress level by small, but noticeable amounts. I go in to work at noon, but hearing that chime between when I wake up and when I’m actually physically in the office... Oh man. It’s like a deep—but unexpressed—loathing towards the world. I’ve grown to dread that beep. Then there’s the constant email barrage back and forth between management. I now have a personal Gmail account, a sepperate work email that’s spliced onto that Gmail account somehow (Idk), a spam/burner account, and a super-duper official work email that I’m still unsure as to what I should be using it for. Gotta stay up to date with those. And Google docs update notifications. Always with the shared docs. Then we have a scheduling app where management can make the schedules, and crew can clock in/out and ask for time off. Then there’s a job app that lists out the jobs each crew is doing, among quite a few other things. It’s very apparent that the company owner comes from a Microsoft background. I’m in charge of all equipment, from the paper in the office printers to the Diesel medium duty rigs that contain the sodium hypoclorite roof cleaning system. So there are many calls as well, between repairs, sourcing parts, trying to troubleshoot broken things over the phone when my guys are on a job. I’m also in charge of training, so if anyone doesn’t understand how to best utilize everything above.... They come to me, and5i pretend to be asleep until they leave and bug a different manager. And finally.... There’s my personal communications added to the mix. I feel like it’s too late to switch to a work phone. gaaaaaaah.
LOVE the job, I really do, but I finally understand what it felt like whenever I heard people complaining about work taking over personal life at times. I’m trying to get in the habit of shutting off my phone at a certain time each night, or turning airplane mode on.
Anyways, some of my largest organizational projects are coming along fantastically. Box truck has been de-rusted and painted (it looks surprisingly great for rustoleum spray paint). HQ shop is in the process of getting usable—good god it was SO BAD when I arrived. There was no way in hell you could do any work. And the crew section of HQ—the areas that crew go to to gather supplies for each job—are in much better shape, with much of the chaf cut out and only the essentials put out to facilitate a much quicker morning routine while minimizing the chances of making mistakes in choosing gear.
Getting paid to devise efficiency-increasing systems is a dream come true. I already do this for free, I’m OCD about that kind of thing. It’s nice, barring calamities (which do happen) I can basically do... Well. Absolutely whatever the fuck I want day to day. Total freedom to work as I see fit. Company owner is available to answer questions, but for 99% of it... He's stepped back and left the company in the hands of myself, the crew manager and the office manager. And it works! Profits are soaring, spirits are high, the company is growing, our workers are getting more skilled.
Also on my list—go through and completely overhaul our box truck’s storage usage, figure out the best way to build out our pressure washing flatbed to be able to do other jobs besides pressure washing, sell our old pickup while simultaneously buying a brand new pickup, and a bazillion other tasks that get added to daily. Busy, but enjoyable. And I can honestly say after just two months I’ve learned so much that will benefit me should I ever start another business, not to mention the new home services that I can now perform, and the experience I’m gaining repairing all sorts of machinery, plumbing systems, acquiring regulated chemicals, etc. So much learning. New job was a good choice, it’s been nerve-wracking at times, but it’s helped me realize that I had gotten way too complacent with where I was in life.