Thread: Poll: How long can you go without 'Shed Time'?

As with most things for busy people, shed time needs to be put into the schedule/calendar.

So - Rule 1. Write the minimum required shed time into the weeks schedule FIRST. (ie Tuesday night 1830 - 2130 shed time)

It is a mental health appointment as important as any other appointment/meeting you have.

Fit other things around that.

I'm a woodie, of sorts, for a living and I get to mutilate fine timbers on a daily basis.

However, I sincerely miss the "me time" that is possible with a shed.

Why is it that women can have "me time" which involves lounging around the house, but as soon as a bloke does it it's "Get off yer lazy asre and go do... [insert job of the moment here]"??

I think my signature says it all. In case that changes it's repeated here for prosperity

Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Shedday - Shedday - Monday ....

Shed time or creative time like most of the things I NEED for sanity & general mental health come in small packages and a long time apart.
I need at least 8 non sleeping hours of total human free time per day but only get it a few time per year. Shed time is about the same so i never get to start a serious project these days.

Ross

i find i cannot go more than........................................................................................................

The temptation is toooooo great!!!!!!!
I am currently doing my yr 12 and exams in 1 week!!! and I am still buying planes and ordering timber to the holiday
I have held back a few months (10 months) with out woodworking, not even after school, weekends, public holiday or school holiday because have to go work for extra pocket money....but now...cannot hold back any longer!!!!!!!!
while every 1 in my class in studying i am...visiting the forum, going to the www show, and planeing + cutting scraps of timber....
If we all have some extra time for woodwork...

Two weeks or two weekends is about my limit. Daily trips just to soak in the atmosphere of the shed help greatly though. Speaking of which, I missed out this morning, Darnit!!!!!!!

cheers
Wendy

I did not think about it before and just went to the shed when the mood took me. It was only when I was away for two months on a trip and deprived of it that I found myself geting twitchy. I had a head full of ideas for when I got back. The shed is therapy!

Regards
John

The longest I have been away from my shed in the last 10 years was 9 months. But when I got back I had a solid 4 months in the shed to recover!

I try to get into my shed every day but usually can only do this every second day but if I go more than 3 days I get twitchy!

I haven't been in the vicinity of tools or unfinished wood since 29th September 2001. I miss it every day, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

My little shed goes up on Wednesday and I hope to get into it every day, even if only for a few minutes at a time.

I don't think non-creative people understand the need for creative people to have that regular fix. It goes beyond being an obsession - like footy, cars or what ever - it's an essential requirement and part of creative people's genetic make-up.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

I don't think non-creative people understand the need for creative people to have that regular fix. It goes beyond being an obsession - like footy, cars or what ever - it's an essential requirement and part of creative people's genetic make-up.

Well said.

I think this applies equally for those of us who will never make their living from working with timber. Once you have experienced the satisfaction of taking a rough bit of timber and turning it into something both useful and beautiful, there is no going back.

I've been suffering shed withdrawal for the past 10 months, from a combination of moving interstate and ending up with a "shed" space that is too small, and where i am unable to make dust to my hearts content (share space with the laundry).

I've kept myself busy renovating a number of user-quality hand planes, and am currently working to enclose my lathe so I can again do some serious shed time.

Well, I have to sleep, so lets say, eight hours.

But I can quit any time I want.

I was in the shed yesterday afternoon. This morning I'm wearng "better" clothes because of a dental appointment. I'm climbing the walls because I can't go out to the shed.

The other way around this problem is to bring small parts of projects into the house with you, eg I have a fretboard that is being glued up that needs fretwire inserted.... Oh and I need to check the width of the M&T on the neck....., you get the idea. But Ive learned that sanding around the furniture or flooring is frowned upon. Ive got to get a proper shed going.