[Clive McDonald]

After a two week holiday i fought hard to catch up, then six weeks later hardly any work as the corresponding weeks came round again. Even had a few days off.

Printed off work for next week and it's huge and barely doable. I've just got wcpro and hoping to manage things a little better.Anyone got any tips.

[Gleaming windows]

Bring some of next weeks work forward?

[ftp]

Don't go on holiday?

[Clive McDonald]

I'm a bit stuffed now but in the future yes. With this wcpro i have seperated the work into four area rounds and this gives me more flexibility. Window cleaning and holidays is a probem that rumbles on.

[martinsadie]

its pointless trying to do extra and catchup,thing to do is come back off holiday and call it day one do normal weeks work and after 4 weeks you are stright and work is balanced again

[ftp]

Some of my work has been washed out this week, so come the next cycle I'll be short. However I rarely manage to keep on top of it all, so in the end that empty week usually fills up again.
Doesn't your man keep working when you go gallavanting?

[d s windowcleaning]

start at the begining at get to the end . get to the end and restart at the begining have a break inbetween thats my tip . start at the begining and work to the end its a sure fire winer .

[stevieg]

Ideally you need two types of work! Work that is done monthly and then some done less often,then when that happens with holidays and rain in that short week you can pull in the work that is done less often(3 to 4 monthly)With that sort of work a week earlier isnt too bad.
I am lucky in that i do lots of landlord work 4 monthly and i just do it spread out after my other work so if i have a light week i do that.But it can be a problem.

[A & J Owen Window Cleaning]

windowcleaner dont av holidays or is it just me!!!!!! maybe i need help!!!

[ftp]

Round constipation is always preferable to any other shape I would have thought.

[daniel worgan]

Just keep to your normal schedule and when the customers ask why you are late just tell them about your holiday,surely that wouldn't begrudged you a break.

[martinsadie]

windowcleaner dont av holidays or is it just me!!!!!! maybe i need help!!!

4 weeks holiday a year ,plus days off for rain  

[matt]

its doenst need to be complicated

pick a start point of your round, let says " st georges ave "

the work your way though the round, allways keep the same order and your all done

thats it, no need to split your round up into zones etc etc

[Clive McDonald]

Some pretty honest replies.I hadn't seen it the way that most of you do.I E. balanced. The thing is i come back and print a george list for the two weeks i've been gone and the commencing week.It's always over 3k and i just want to attack it.

I don't even attack it very well, i pick off the plum jobs first and the priority is maximising every days wages- it's true that i also prioritise new work so i am also working my way through the answer phone which does slow me down a little.My foot print is about ten miles square and none of my work is compact, and even houses that are close together i very rarely do on the same day.There is an element of running around like a headless chicken.

Where wcpro seems to help is that i now can print off seperate lists for areas, whereas before i had to felt pen mark jobs that were natural partners.Anyone who has read my posts before will know that one theme is always about how smart i am, but i am not any near as smart as a computer and dedicated software.

The man who works for me doesn't have a driving licence.I told him i would pay for his licence and lessons, but he never gets around to doing anything about it.

So the idea of just putting everything back two weeks doesn't appeal because i am too greedy.

[Gleaming windows]

Wow! You need to simplify things Clive and be more disciplined.

[mci services]

i am much the same as you slump i had a holiday last month and rushed round got caught up and now very little due next week, and yes i am guilty of prioritising the plush jobs and new work. but although i got caught up it wasnt to much of a struggle so i should be able to keep it up so next week i am going canvassing

[macmac]

Some pretty honest replies.I hadn't seen it the way that most of you do.I E. balanced. The thing is i come back and print a george list for the two weeks i've been gone and the commencing week.It's always over 3k and i just want to attack it.

I don't even attack it very well, i pick off the plum jobs first and the priority is maximising every days wages- it's true that i also prioritise new work so i am also working my way through the answer phone which does slow me down a little.My foot print is about ten miles square and none of my work is compact, and even houses that are close together i very rarely do on the same day.There is an element of running around like a headless chicken.

Where wcpro seems to help is that i now can print off seperate lists for areas, whereas before i had to felt pen mark jobs that were natural partners.Anyone who has read my posts before will know that one theme is always about how smart i am, but i am not any near as smart as a computer and dedicated software.

The man who works for me doesn't have a driving licence.I told him i would pay for his licence and lessons, but he never gets around to doing anything about it.

So the idea of just putting everything back two weeks doesn't appeal because i am too greedy.

IMO, your problem is the software dude!!! It can't depict bad weather, holidays, sickness etc. It can only work on a rigid timescale, no flexibility like a human brain. I don't know why you rely on this kind of crap to be honest clive. Running a w/c round, even a huge one is, frankly a piece of p for anyone with an ounce of the common matter.

[matt]

Some pretty honest replies.I hadn't seen it the way that most of you do.I E. balanced. The thing is i come back and print a george list for the two weeks i've been gone and the commencing week.It's always over 3k and i just want to attack it.

I don't even attack it very well, i pick off the plum jobs first and the priority is maximising every days wages- it's true that i also prioritise new work so i am also working my way through the answer phone which does slow me down a little.My foot print is about ten miles square and none of my work is compact, and even houses that are close together i very rarely do on the same day.There is an element of running around like a headless chicken.

Where wcpro seems to help is that i now can print off seperate lists for areas, whereas before i had to felt pen mark jobs that were natural partners.Anyone who has read my posts before will know that one theme is always about how smart i am, but i am not any near as smart as a computer and dedicated software.

The man who works for me doesn't have a driving licence.I told him i would pay for his licence and lessons, but he never gets around to doing anything about it.

So the idea of just putting everything back two weeks doesn't appeal because i am too greedy.

where its nice to earn max everyday, it doesnt help your situation

pick a starting point and work though your job list, it will become your round and you will not even need to look at your printout to know where you are going next, you will know that house A is followed by house B etc etc

[Nathanael Jones]

I don't even attack it very well, i pick off the plum jobs first and the priority is maximising every days wages- it's true that i also prioritise new work so i am also working my way through the answer phone which does slow me down a little.My foot print is about ten miles square and none of my work is compact, and even houses that are close together i very rarely do on the same day.There is an element of running around like a headless chicken.

Sounds exactly like what I do. I'm not nearly strict enough with myself. If I wake up not feeling like going to a certain area, I just look at my list and go to the best paying job that's due. I have to be stricter with myself!

[Clive McDonald]

I've just printed off three lists for tomorrow using window cleaner pro.These are my home area,12 jobs £130, area one 10 jobs £237, and area two 13 jobs £257.

I'm a bit different to the rest of you in that in the morning i have to go and set up a market stall.I get back home about 8am and jump into the window cleaning van, this is still a bit early to start so a twenty minute drive to an area is a good use of 'dead' time.
I always run out of water by 2pm and have to refill.I have to finish my last job at about 3.40pm and jump into the market van to go and reload the stall.So you can see i don't have much time and if i run out of water when i am far away that's another problem.To refill with water takes about twenty minutes and i begrudge this and is the reason that i want another new transit so that i can carry 1000l.The good thing about refilling is that we have a cup of tea and my helper gets to eat loads of sausage rolls and pasties that we buy at asda on offer with the premise that if we look after him with grubb he won't want paying much ( this does seem to work).

So the pattern of my day would be to shoot off in the morning, work, and come back to refill and do some local jobs before hopping into the other vehicle to go back to the market.Working till five is not an option for me.

So what is the difference between my three lists and just printing a big list with the same info? Well instead of me baffleing for twenty minutes with a felt pen highlighting jobs in the same area the overview is already done for me, and i can concentrate on working instead of puzzleing.