The 4- Hour Workweek and Cabin Cluster Hosting
This blog is about managing the time and effort it takes to start and run a glamping campsite. The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss offers a ton of information about working smarter and not harder. Here’s how short-term rental hosts can apply what he teaches and find better work-life balance. Death and Taxes We don’t regret putting money, time and energy into getting our glamping campsite off the ground. Being a project we’re so passionate about, it’s easy to lose track of all that has been invested so far. But reviewing the final spreadsheet with our accountant this year was pretty eye opening. Apart from the money spent (installing eco-friendly bathroom and shower facilities is expensive!) the number of miles driven was through the roof. Every trip to and from the land, to and from various stores to pick up materials, added up. More important than wear and tear on the truck, all those trips were a record of how we were spending our most important resource. Time. A walk on the beach How do you have both? That’s the question I was asking during a quick vacation not long ago. Wanting to get away before the glamping campsite season began, a few days at the ocean were a great perspective gainer. Running a glamping campsite that people love is amazing, but time at the ocean is great too! Our family is extremely close but we are spread out geographically. This makes finding time for what’s most important even tougher. Spending quality time together requires more travel. As far as the campsite goes, it would be great if we all lived close by and worked on this project together, but that isn’t the case right now. Rethinking time There are so many great things going on, but only so many hours in the day and years in the tank. Being able to build a cabin cluster and to develop a private park has been a blessing. We’re glad we’ve done the bulk of all the work ourselves up to this point, to know what it involves and to be hands on when setting the stage for an amazing visitor experience. But if we want to have enough time to give in all areas that are important, we have no choice but to work smarter, not harder. That’s where The 4-Hour Workweek comes in. The 4-Hour Workweek The 4-Hour Workweek is a book by Timothy Ferriss that was first published in 2007. It questions the life plan of working grueling hours, taking very few vacations for decades, and saving money in order to relax after retirement. It spent four years on the bestseller list, has been translated into 40 languages, and sold around 2.1 million copies. If you’re in the short-term rental business, you’re probably already questioning this life plan. So how else can you apply what Ferriss teaches? Time and mobility This book is about changing the way we look at how we live and work. It’s about the importance of changing old assumptions. The New Rich (NR) talked about in Ferriss’s book use a different kind of currencies – time and mobility – so that they can design the lifestyle that they want. Income is necessary only to the extent that it supports these two things. There are a ton of factors that go into being part of the short-term hosting world. But thinking about how something could affect available time and mobility could be a very useful step in the process. Interesting to think about. Location independence Ferriss makes the point that ventures should be doable from anywhere and be location independent. In some ways that ship has already sailed for us – our cabin cluster and park are located on property that has been in the family since the 1800s. But there are always adjustments that can be made to free up time and give more mobility. For one thing, we’re at a point when hiring the right people to help out is making a lot of sense. Ferriss’s DEAL approach has been a big help when thinking about next steps. Here’s the DEAL – Definition/Elimination/Automation/Liberation Definition Step one is to define dreams to chase- with timelines and written steps. Ask: What would excite me? And apply timelines to these exciting dreams (called dreamlining). Part of this process is to calculate required monthly income for living this dream (by adding the monthly cost of reaching these goals to 1.3 times monthly expenses). I can quit my job and be a full-time host when I… Elimination Eliminate inefficiencies by following Parkinson’s Law and Pareto’s Law (the 80/20 rule). Parkinson’s Law – a task will swell in importance and complexity in relation to time allotted to it. In other words, the longer we have to accomplish a task, the longer it will take and the harder it seems. The trick is to set specific and short deadlines. Hosting is great practice for this, with built in deadlines lining up with the arriving and departing of guests. Large tasks can be broken into smaller pieces, with swift deadlines for each step. Pareto’s Law (the 80/20 rule) -in short, this is the concept that 80 percent of outcomes come from 20 percent of all inputs. In business, a goal would be to identify the productive actions and make them the priority. A good example of this could be trying to please an unpleasable potential guest vs taking great care of a wonderful repeat visitor. Automation Learn to outsource – define clear rules and processes to follow before hiring anyone. Identify things that could be outsourced – for more free time and greater output. For me, it’s taking my shirts to the dry cleaners. It saves time, the result is way better, and I can show up looking professional when I have to. Eliminate first, THEN automate. Delegation can be difficult but is worth the effort. Delegate what you can and put that time and energy toward tasks
One of Those Beaver Dam Days– When Beavers Love Your Property and You Want Them to Love it a Little Less
This blog is about the pros and cons of owning property that beavers find attractive. A beaver dam has been built on our creek almost every fall recently. Beavers are fascinating creatures and beaver dams can have their benefits, but they can also be very destructive. Here are some things we’ve learned about beavers and about how to make them feel a little less welcome. What attracts beavers to the property? Beavers build dams across streams so that they can make a pond. The pond and a beaver lodge become home and give protection from natural predators. When picking a dam site for their new neighborhood, beavers love certain features of our property: -Plenty of trees and woody vegetation for building materials and for food. – Manageable water flow that they can easily dam up -A cove perfect for building a lodge – Limited human disturbance and noise for uninterrupted work -unprotected creek banks next to wooded areas Beavers are hard working How quickly beavers can build a beaver dam is impressive. Last season, they built a forty-foot-long dam about a foot high across the creek in less than three days. They gnaw down trees for building material for dams and lodges and also for a food source. They eat the bark and the layer right below it (called the inner cambium layer). They prefer certain species of trees – like aspen (because of how it is), poplar, cottonwood, willow and birch. We have plenty of these to choose from on our property, many trees in sapling form and easy for beavers to manage. Our beavers start working at dusk and can be heard cutting and building throughout the night if left alone. They build more and cut and store more trees in the fall to be ready for winter. . Beavers are family oriented Other than the problems they can cause, beavers have a lot of positive qualities. They mate for life and have a strong family bond, centered around the mother, father, and the kids (called kits). Both parents help raise the kits and older siblings may also help with daycare. The kits leave home after their second or third spring. They travel long distances by land and by water to find a mate and to start a new colony. Beavers live about 10 to 12 years (if all goes well). They can live as long as 19 years in captivity. But before you invite Bucky home, you’ll want to keep in mind that owning a beaver is against the law in most states. First the good news Beaver dams can offer a lot of benefits to the ecology of an area. Dams can act like filters, slowing down water flow and letting sediment and pollutants settle out of the water. Dams can help with flood control. They can serve as natural buffers and store extra water after heavy rains. Water can then be released more gradually and sent downstream. Dams also store water in the ponds they make and in groundwater. This can be very helpful during drier seasons. Beaver dams can make or expand wetlands, which creates an important habitat for various plants, animals, creepy crawlies and insects. They also create deadwood habitats by taking down trees. This makes more homes and food for an even bigger variety of plants and wildlife. Wetlands can also preserve and protect an area if there are wildfires. They can act as a fire buffer and also might protect some species of plants from being wiped out. Now the bad news: How a beaver dam can change the lay of the land Beavers can quickly disrupt the ecosystem by changing waterflow of a creek and by stripping away trees and other vegetation. They can quickly raise the water level upstream and can flood large areas. On our property, it took about a week for an acre of forest floor to be underwater. Dammed water can also become stagnant, which can lead to algae and the spread of disease. Beavers take down a ton of trees to give them something to build with and for food. They also peel bark and the layer underneath (cambium layer) for food, possibly damaging much larger and more valuable trees. If given time they can do A LOT of damage to a wooded area. A dammed stream or creek can also put a stop to fish migration. The creek that runs through our property is regularly stocked by the state with trout so this is a real concern for us. How much wood would a beaver chuck…. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck If a woodchuck could chuck wood? A woodchuck would chuck as much as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. I didn’t understand this riddle when I was a kid. I took shuck to mean peal away layers. And I never understood why they were asking about woodchucks and not asking about beavers. Because I knew the answer to that one. They’d chuck a lot!! How much damage could a beaver really do? Beavers have extremely strong teeth and jaw muscles and are tree chewing machines. They can take down a 5 inch tree in a matter of minutes and can take down a medium size tree in a single night. A pair of beavers can gnaw down 400 trees in a year! They prefer smaller trees (two to six inches) but can take down a tree with a thirty-three- inch diameter if they want to. That’s a lot of wood chucked! How big can a beaver dam get anyway? Beaver dams are usually on the smaller side but can range from 9 or 10 feet long all the way up to 330 feet long. They can also get up to six feet high. Beavers also build canals that can be as long as 1600 feet. They use them to transport food and building materials to deeper water. The world’s longest
Benefits of Creating – Practicing Mindfulness and Manifestation While You Build
This blog is about the benefits of creating and being mindful when you build. Every project is an opportunity to create something that you’ve seen in your mind first. It’s also an opportunity to be mindful and to create balance. With carpentry, focus is a must if you want to create what you envision and if you want to keep all your fingers. Focusing on the present can help create a sense of well-being, reduce stress, increase awareness, and increase emotional balance. Mindfulness in a nutshell, or, in this case, a dishpan There’s a lot of talk about mindfulness these days. But what is it? And what does it have to do with building stuff? A friend shared this explanation of the basics years ago and I’m still grateful to him for it: He said think of something you do every day that you’ve learned to do on auto pilot. Something that lets your mind drift when you’re doing it. It gives you time to worry. The voice in your head messes with you and is thinking that its helping. We all know that voice – it’s the anchor that tries to keep you in a lousy port in order to keep you out of a storm. It’ll never work, I’m too busy, It’s a dumb idea anyway. But the same voice that keeps us safe also keeps us from getting to where we want to go. For me, my mindless task was doing the dishes. My friend’s advice? Do the dishes. That it. He said that if my mind wandered to other things, I should take a breath, think ‘Im doing the dishes’. And then do the dishes. It worked like a charm! Anxiety and worry faded. I felt grounded. Sometimes I’d actually say aloud, “I’m doing the dishes” to stay focused and to reset. (Check to see who’s around if you do this though. A few times I’ve heard, “Good job! Do you want an award?) Staying present and focusing on the ‘now’ takes a little practice but has a ton of benefits. Applying this mind clearing focus to carpentry and other projects makes DIY even more beneficial. Benefits of Carpentry Mindfulness There are so many benefits of mindfulness that you can experience as you build. Focus and Presence: The need to concentrate and to pay attention to detail creates the perfect space for mindfulness. Measuring, cutting, and assembling wood can be meditative. This sets the stage to be fully present and in the moment. Pulls in the Senses: Paying attention to the sights, sounds, smells, and textures when building brings the sensory experience to the next level. The way a nail gun feels in your hand. The small of fresh cut wood. The sound of boards seating perfectly when tongue and groove click together. What a way to be in the moment! Stress Reduction: Carpentry can promote mindfulness, which can greatly lessen stress and anxiety. Focusing on the present is the best defense against looking back (and regretting) or looking ahead (and being anxious). It keeps you in the now and can be great therapy. Flow State: Carpentry can lead to a state of flow, where you become completely immersed in what your doing and lose track of time. You’re in the groove, the now, the zone. This is great for mental health and is also when a ton of work can get done quickly. Sense of Accomplishment: Completing a building project can provide a sense of accomplishment and improve self-esteem. Creating a space, a piece of furniture, or any other number of items for others can be an incredible gift. And what better way to build self-esteem than to give? Cognitive Benefits: Carpentry takes a lot of brain work. Planning, sequencing, spatial reasoning are all complex processes and are great for keeping the brain sharp. The math, geometry, physics and material science involved makes building an excellent cognitive work out. Mindfulness in a Pile of Tongue and Groove A pile of 12- foot tongue and groove haunts me in my sleep. I wake up in a cold sweat at 3 AM. How do I start getting this stuff on the walls? How do I do the ceiling? How do I adjust for warp? What if I never finish? What if I finish and everyone thinks it looks dumb? How will I ever get this all done? Why can’t I get back to sleep? The hamsters are running on their wheels inside my head and more of their friends are on their way. I lay there and plan – assembling and disassembling over and over again. A list of problems to be solved keeps growing as I stare at the naked rafters and insulation where a ceiling is supposed to be. What helps? When daylight comes I do the dishes. Except it’s something better than dishes. I have a bigger picture of how things are going to be – all walls and the ceiling covered in tongue and groove knotty pine boards, and then moldings to finish it up. It’s going to be a lot of work. It’s overwhelming. But then I use the dishes trick. I’m carrying this board. I’m cutting this board. I’m nailing in this nail. And then I do it three hundred more times. Something happens during a project like that. Full- time craftspeople and artists are blessed to experience this for a living. You get to create something in your mind and then get to manifest it in the real world. You also get to experience mindfulness one board, one nail at a time, until you’ve built something great. Carpentry Mindfulness and the Manifestation Muscle Manifestation is another concept that isn’t always easy to grasp but that plays out over and over again during building projects. Knowing how to manifest can be a key to success in all areas of life. Carpentry is a perfect place to exercise the manifesting muscle and to become stronger. What is Manifesting? Manifesting is the