Unpopular opinion: that perfect week I had last August was actually bad for my skills

I had five smooth days in a row removing three big silver maples in Portland with zero equipment failures or surprises. No broken ropes, no twisted ankles, just clean cuts and happy clients. Is anyone else worried that easy jobs make us soft for when the real chaos hits?

2 comments

2 Comments

riley_bell8h ago

Man that sounds like a dream run. Reminds me of a buddy who had a perfect week of removals last fall and then spent the next two days fighting a dying elm that just would NOT fall right. Branches snapping at weird angles and his chipper ate a branch wrong and threw a belt. He was cussing up a storm saying the easy week made him forget how to read bad trees. Your brain gets used to the rhythm and then bam reality check.

the_jordan2h ago

Nah I used to argue the opposite, that a smooth week just meant you were in a good groove and that was fine. But after my last perfect run cutting three pines in a row with zero drama, I walked into the next job and almost put my foot through a rotted out stump I normally would have spotted from ten feet away. My brain was just coasting on autopilot, not reading the signals at all. That's when it clicked for me that easy jobs can actually dull the edge you need for the gritty ones.