Every day is a friday

There are many things that I like about working in the building trade, it is a great job if you are suited to it. I often try and isolate the characteristics of the job that appeal to me, and there are many, but one stands out in particular. By its very nature, a building project cannot progress without men working on it. When there are no men onsite, nothing happens. The key benefit of this is with nothing happening, nothing can go wrong. And if nothing can go wrong…. There is nothing to worry about. The building trade is officially stress free out of office hours.

Certainly there are times at work when things can become a little tense, especially when deadlines approach. But in any career that is the case every now and again. And if you are running a small business there is an endless amount of extra work to do such as paperwork, quoting and visiting prospective clients. But these are all individual tasks that contribute to a successful business. They are not things to worry about either. It is just a case of scheduling the diary so everything can be achieved.

But contrast the builder with the city trader, retail manager or salesman and the ‘no worries’ philosophy of the man in the dusty clothes is easily appreciated. The City tradermight worry about foreign markets fluctuating while he is asleep leaving him with a nasty shock in the morning. The retail manager cannot be there every minute that his 24hr store is trading. Customer service may slip without him there, or deliveries may not arrive. The salesman can only sell his product. He can’t control the quality, delivery or after sales support that hiscompany provides. But the builder with his small team working the same regular hours together knowsa happy site at hometime won’t be spoilt come morning.With nobody working outside of the team, and no external influences, there is zero potential for trouble. In essence, the beauty of the builders’ day is its simplicity. On the other hand, one must remember that nothing will improve while the builder is enjoying his evening off. If the wall under construction was leaning at half past four, it will still be leaning at eight the next morning. But this goes further to reinforce the idea that leaving the site with a good days work done, knowing nothing further can happen, is critical in creating a stress free time away from work. And that isessential for a happy life.

Anyone out there who finds themselves worrying a lot, especially about work, would do well to reflect on the philosophy of ‘don’t worry about something you can do nothing about.’ The builder lives this every day, and it is twice as exciting at the weekend. A good tidy up on Friday and it is a worry free weekend.

For a builder, every day is Friday. Leave the job a happy man, and come back the next day for more.

And remember, whatever you do, it is only a job.