How do you guys find the time??!?! [RANT]

[GreenEye]

I haven't been able to do any stompbox stuff for months.  It's like I'd need to take a week off from work or something.  Then there's these folks that have like 2 kids and a full time job that are building pedals by the dozens in enclosures better than big companies.  Maybe if I solder one component per day....

[smashinator]

Basically, if you REALLY want to do something, you can find the time.

I've been known to stay up late so I can work on "fun" stuff.  And I do break my projects up over several days usually.  If I can get a good hour in per night, I'm a really happy camper.  

If you're married, it helps if you hop from one foot to the other while explaining that you really want to go work on effects.

[MartyMart]

............. OR you can be a "self employed" muso, going broke from a
hobby that becomes an obsession !!!

Seriously, if I'm not "workin" "drinkin" or "fu****" .... them I'm inhaling
solder fumes ... !  :lol:

Marty.  

[grs149]

Speaking as one of those guys with two kids, my answer is "somehow." Somehow, I find the time - usually after 9 pm on weekdays, after the kids are in bed. I rarely get to work for more than an hour at a time, so building a single pedal can take two weeks or more.

Basically, you have to make it a priority, and don't expect anything to happen too quickly.

Greg

[Melanhead]

Speaking as one of those guys with two kids, my answer is "somehow." Somehow, I find the time - usually after 9 pm on weekdays, after the kids are in bed. I rarely get to work for more than an hour at a time, so building a single pedal can take two weeks or more.

Basically, you have to make it a priority, and don't expect anything to happen too quickly.

Greg

me too! .. after the kids are in bed ... an hour here and there. My wife likes to bath and relaxe for a bit after the kids are in bed so it's great. I unwind breathing in solder fumes ... I really need a fan

Last night she was out so I spent 3 hours modding and fixing ... It's a rare occation though to get 3 hours alone! ...

I don't watch TV either, other than Hockey and with the NHL lockout there hasn't been any! ...

There's always time if you're willing to dedicate it to one hobby only.

[Hal]

(-- full time student.

I wait for the summer! :-D

[Paul Marossy]

You could get up at 4:00AM like I do. I have to be at work by 7:00AM. I have about 1-1/2 hours every morning to spend however I want as long as the kids are still asleep. I usually choose to practice in the morning, though. I also have maybe 1 hour in the evenings before I go to bed. As was said, if you really want to do something, you'll find the time. Oftentimes, that can mean that you are neglecting something else. It's a juggling act.

[R.G.]

... we don't need no steenkin' sleep...

[robotboy]

My wife is a waitress and works 2 or 3 nights a week. She never gets off work before midnight. I put my daughter to bed around 9:00, so that gives me a few hours a couple times a week to work on projects. Like others have said, I usually break up a build over a few "sessions". Time is definitely in short supply though. Balancing being a parent, being a husband, being in a band (with my wife :shock:), and working 40 hrs is enough to give me a nervous breakdown sometimes...

[Paul Marossy]

I usually break up a build over a few "sessions". Time is definitely in short supply though. Balancing being a parent, being a husband, being in a band (with my wife ), and working 40 hrs is enough to give me a nervous breakdown sometimes...

Yeah, I can relate.  :lol:

[ExpAnonColin]

You could get up at 4:00AM like I do.

Wow.  Maybe I will try that tomororw morning.  Have to be at work at 7...

-Colin

[Mark Hammer]

... we don't need no steenkin' sleep...

Funny, that movie (Treasure of the Sierra Madre) was on the other night.  My wife was watching it upstairs, and I popped into the living room to catch a few minutes while the iron was heating up.  When the critical scene was about to occur, I yelled up "He's gonna SAY it!", and my wife yelled down "Yup, I'm watching it right now!", and we both waited with baited breath to hear the actor say "Batch? (badge, with a bad Mexican accent) We don' need no batch.  I don' need to show you no STEENKING BATCH!".

My hobby life doesn't begin until after 9 or 10PM either, most times when I'm up to it.  For me, the trick is to find projects that won't take more than an evening.  In far too many instances, I start things that are bound to require more than one evening, and invariably something intercedes between the two or more evenings and before you know it I've forgotten where I left off, or else someone has posted something even more intriguing.

[vanhansen]

... we don't need no steenkin' sleep...

Like Mark, I remember this from a movie, but from Blazing Saddles..."We don't need to steenking batches!".   :lol:

If I'm not tired after the kiddo is in bed, I'll play around on the breadboard for about an hour, usually 9-10 or 10:30.  On the weekends, I can be up until midnight.  My wife will soaking in the bath or she's doing something else.  I try to keep it down to a few nights a week though but lately it's been tougher trying to keep the house up with it on the market (can't wait until the new one is done and I have my own playroom).

[Apehouse]

i'm addicted to them late night solder sessions. If i didn't have a job that i had to be fairly alert at i'd probably spend the entire night slamming espresso, cranking tunes, and sucking soldering fumes...junkie style. As it is now i progressively squeeze in as many hours as i can a night until my body starts to give out a little, then i get a few nights of sleep. Then back again. (tho maybe my true goal should be to try to synch the times when my body gives out with the times my mind gives out... that'd be a timesaver)  
-greg

[mojotron]

Ya.. I don't know how I do it, but somehow it works.. My schedule from m-f is from 6am-6pm I'm at work/studying stuff or comuting, 6pm-7pm I play guitar and test new builds - anything that might need to be loud, 7-9 I hang out with my 4 kids, from 9-10 I spend time with my wife and if I need to build anyting it's usually after 10pm... I do a lot of effects stuff on the weekends too - especially Friday night, but I spend a lot of the weekends with my family. I guess the main thing is that I don't watch TV.. and my family is very supportive.

Speed is a real asset. I have built some tools to accelerate building, I use PNP blue, and try to use surface mounted pots/connectors for anything I am building in quantity. So, I can build a new box in about an hour if I have the graphics on the enclosure and the pcb done before hand. I pay my son teenage to do a lot of the board making and some of the enclosure work... he loves working on this stuff.

I've been working on a few of my own original designs for about 6 months now, and not selling a lot of stuff I had made before that were tweaks of other pedals. Part of the reason for the long development cycle is the fact that I do have a lot going on. But, I also like tweaking things and giving some time to evaluate the change... I got really bored making TS9 related stuff - it sells well - but it's still not really worth the time.

[jmusser]

One thing I do, is to "bag up" projects. I have some freezer bags with the names of the circuits taped on them. I'll take an hour or so, and get all the parts together, and then fold the schematic up and stick it in there with it. If I'm missing something, I'll put that on a list to order when I'm ordering stuff next time, and mark that on the bag too. Like "complete except for 10K pot", for example. A lot of times at work when I have to wait on engines to fire up and load, breaks or lunch, I'll keep a schematic in my pocket, and make a parts list on the bottom, and give each component an "R" or "C" name for labeling my perf board. Tonight at lunch for example, I'll be taking the "Whisker Biscuit" circuit in with me, a clean schematic and highlighter in my lunch box, to see what in the world I've wiswired this time! :roll: That usually takes 20 minutes. Then before I go to work tomorrow, I'll fix it and see what it sounds like. You HAVE the time. It's the priority part you're having the problem with. :wink:

[Paul Marossy]

I do a lot of effects stuff on the weekends too - especially Friday night, but I spend a lot of the weekends with my family. I guess the main thing is that I don't watch TV.. and my family is very supportive.

Yeah, I work 7:00Am-5:00PM Mon-Thurs and 8:00AM-Noon on Friday. If I take a break from the 4:00AM routine, it's on a Friday. Anyhow, Friday evenings and Saturday mornings are the most productive. Fortunately, my wife is pretty cool about my hobby. I think it's been wearing on her lately, though. Good thing I don't build too much anymore!

[MartyMart]

If I'm away playing concerts, then it s impossible, but when I'm here
in the studio, we dont normally "kick off" 'til 10.30 - 11 am so thats time
enough for a decent build, if only to "pot ready" stage !
I normally have one day a week, when there's no real "work"
so that's been "build time" too - lately ...
I think I'm a bit "maxed out" now , need to choose about 15 of the project's and actually "box them up" properly !!!
I have two "shoe boxes" full of working circuits, without DPDT switches or
an enclosure.
I think that I'll end up with :
Rat
Liquid drive
AMZ overdrive lite
Dist +
Ross distortion
Distron thrust ( WGTP's )
Big Muff Triangle
Axis face
Tripple fuzz
Psychtar
Marshall super fuzz
Tycho - Octavia
Phozer
Phase 45/Univibe ( boxed not painted )
Kay Tremolo
? .....
? ......

:shock:
When I've decided, I may post a list of "working not wanted" circuits, so
I'll happily send them to someone who's interested, for the cost of the
parts only
Marty.

[smashinator]

Was anyone elses first experience with the "Badges" joke in the movie UHF?

It took a loooong time until I got that joke.

Back on topic, I also sit down and gather the parts I need for my various builds ahead of time, although I put them in the "big" drawers in my storage bins.  I keep components in the little drawers...   I can do that when I don't have time to actually build, and then everything is ready when I DO have time for the build.

[squidsquad]

I cheat:  
Never got married...it's a lot easier (and cheaper) if the urge *to cheat* comes up.  No house or kids=no responsibilities.  And find a job where you can work as much or as little as you want without gettin fired.  So the only problem is the girlfriend sayin, "Why aren't you working today?"