RoamingFrancis' Journal

[AxelHeyst]

Do you think the Wheaton Levels are a useful framework?

Yes, but consider that a hammer is a useful tool when you need to drive a nail or bash something, but not if what you are trying to do is drill a hole. I don't often think about wheaton levels. I spent/spend more time thinking about reverse fishbones and WoGs/systems thinking *when I'm doing theoretical/abstract thinking.*

But of my total thinking time, only a minority is spent on these sorts of things. Most of my thinking time is spent on puzzling out designs and solutions for my builds and other creative projects (writing, trips, relationships...).

In other words, I zoom up and down scales of thinking fluidly but tend to spend most of my time thinking at the project and action level. Higher level thinking happens when I sense friction or too much uncertainty and know that I ought to bump up a scale or two to check out the view from 30k feet. Similar (the exact same?) as the familiar feeling of having skipped too many Weekly Reviews.

It sounds like you've got an intuition that becoming absorbed in theory isn't the right move. The WL discussion in particular probably isn't very relevant to your desire to level up. If you're having trouble feeling confident in deciding what actions to take, what skills to learn, etc, then maybe working with the concepts of reverse fishbones and wogs (chapter five) can be helpful to point you in the right direction.

An epiphany I had during the WoGshop at EREfest was that 'WoGs are useless: sketching WoGs is essential'. Every sketch I've ever made was useless to me after the fact, but the process of producing it generated/cultivated intuition/wisdom with respect to what actions to take.

It's important that the activity isn't abstract. It's a systems-thinking approach to pro-and-conning, stream of consciousness exploration, journaling, insight meditating, etc -- working with the actual events and decisions you have facing you.

And maybe the output of the exercise for you will be that you're wired different and these particular tools aren't useful for you. That'll be an educational success; you won't have to waste time with those tools in the future.

[theanimal]

How’s your cooking ability coming along? Have you been pursuing any other skills lately?

[RoamingFrancis]

Thanks for asking!

Yeah, I’ve actually been going through some big life changes recently. The short version is that I started a locksmithing apprenticeship and broke up with my girlfriend….

[RoamingFrancis]

3 months into a locksmithing career. Really enjoying it so far - the skills I'm learning are really fun. Experiencing the frustrations of working a traditional 9-to-5, but I know that I am making strategic choices, and that my locksmithing apprenticeship is a part of that strategy. One could say I'm using it to unlock freedom and open doors!

Also, I adopted a cat.

[ertyu]

Cat tax

Cannot mention cat and not provide cat pictures

What are your plans about the apprenticeship?

[RoamingFrancis]

Ah, old ertyu the bridge troll. How I wish to wander thy pestilent lands without being ransacked of my cat photos. I defy thee, knave!

(Yeah I’ll post a pic as soon as I figure out how to actually use the forum software)

WRT the apprenticeship:

I honestly have no idea. I got this job because:

1) I needed money

2) I wanted to learn how to work with my hands.

Locksmithing was the first opportunity that came my way and I grabbed it. I think I’d rather be working in a different field if I can find a way in.

I have no idea what I’m doing.

[ertyu]

Picking a thing and letting serendipity sort out the final outcome is a valid strategy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Good luck to you and cat

[RoamingFrancis]

Thanks for validating that.

Goals:
- transition to a nomadic lifestyle
- continue locksmithing
- get a job as an arborist
- make health #1 priority
-.introduce slack into my system. Transition from tightly coupled to loosely coupled.

I think vanlife is the closest thing to my desired lifestyle at the moment. I believe that this would be feasible with a cat. I’d most likely be looking for a home base somewhere in Colorado and moochdock in the Midwest and Quail Haven for part of the year.

I want to keep locksmithing. I wasn’t passionate about it at first, but I am now. I’ve been entering flow states while locksmithing that feel great. And it’s kinda fun learning how to break into buildings A potential career goal could be to get paid to break into a bank, as in a white hat hacker. The 9 to 5 structure is killing me though. I want to negotiate a new schedule with my employer to let me work fewer hours.

I want to get a job as an arborist. Maybe I could even combine this skill with locksmithing in a creative way that makes my work life more interesting.

I’ve made a bunch of sacrifices to get established in this career. I’ve been spending about 20 hrs/wk commuting in order to get to the shop. And my health has been suffering as a result. The best thing I can do for myself now is to continue working in the same field but work a lot closer to home. Bottom line is that my health is more important than some job, and while I had to make some sacrifices to get established, I’m not willing to sacrifice my health anymore.

I’m working on my systems thinking. I’m at a point where money is a (mostly) solved problem, on the condition that I stay on the 9-to-5 treadmill. I can still work to increase my earning potential, but the more important thing is to reduce the expenses that I have incurred as a result of making a big lifestyle transition. In more practical terms, I’m talking about finding a way to reduce the commute (time capital) and build up other stores of capital so that I am less dependent on the job for survival.

Basically, I traded a time-abundant money-poor lifestyle for a time-poor money-abundant lifestyle. And I want my goddamn time back.

[Ego]

I want to keep locksmithing. I wasn’t passionate about it at first, but I am now. I’ve been entering flow states while locksmithing that feel great. And it’s kinda fun learning how to break into buildings A potential career goal could be to get paid to break into a bank, as in a white hat hacker. The 9 to 5 structure is killing me though. I want to negotiate a new schedule with my employer to let me work fewer hours.

Nice!

We had/have two regular locksmiths we used at the property. Until recently both were Boomer owned. One of the Boomers closed up shop because he could find no one willing to buy the business, which was nearly impossible to sell because he (along with a few tools) was the business. The other owner handed the business over to his only employee.

This same dynamic has played out with our floor refinisher, appliance repair guy, window repair shop and a small contractor we use. I had to pay a fire escape inspector to come down from Los Angeles because all of the inspectors in town have closed up. All of these businesses were small time operations with either one employee or none. My guess is that all but the floor refinisher netted the owner $150K+.

Now is the time to get into one of these businesses... or maybe more than one, if they are complimentary. Pay attention to the backend. How do the clients find the locksmith? What program does the company use to invoice? What is the gap between what they bill you at and what they pay you? How do they access parts/supplies? Which supplies do you need to keep on hand? Do you need an account with the supplier? Which tools are used most often and which can be rented? What certifications do you need? Which calls produce the most profit and which have the most risk. Which areas of the business are you weakest?

In other words, imagine yourself the owner because chances are good that with the exit of so many Boomers from these industries, you could easily start a business like this on your own and be successful.

I also happen to have a good friend who is a locksmith. He works part-time doing odd jobs for a few small property management companies (not mine). He drives to the jobs in a regular car and uses second-hand supplies he picks up at the swap meet, which he then charges to his clients. From my perspective, he has a pretty good, low-stress life.

Good luck!

[delay]

Basically, I traded a time-abundant money-poor lifestyle for a time-poor money-abundant lifestyle. And I want my goddamn time back.

Thanks for your journal update!

When you want more free time many options come to mind. Seasonal jobs like tourism or farming leave you with a long and free off-season. A shipping job often comes with large blocks of free time, like some seamen have a 3 months on board then 3 months off schedule. Stand-in as a temporary replacement for a permanent worker or to absorb peak business. Administrative jobs are often just copying values between Excel sheets and can be done in little time.

Why not make a list of job opportunities and order them by free time abundance?

[shaz]

If you move into a van now and park it near your job, could that gain you back 20 hours per week?