It’s nearly three years since I started my property development company and in that short time I have learnt a lot of things, things I thought that my previous forty four years in construction had already taught me. It turns out I am seeing things completely differently from being a joiner to being a developer and I’m 100% sure that both experiences are bonding well to create a new and better life. The mentality of being a developer has replaced the physicality of being a contractor and losing the physicality was one of my main goals in the change from contractor to developer. In my later days as a contractor I was having to take more time off to rest and recharge. However, turns out as a developer I’m doing the same. The thing is I think it’s the most important thing I have built in to my new life. I take regular days, weekends, weeks and even recently a month away from work (some of you may have noticed my absence). This is not because I am lazy or mega rich it’s because I want to step back and enjoy what I am working for. So, my advice for what it’s worth is to take them breaks you deserve, whether it be an afternoon at the park or a month on a Greek island and you will actually reap the benefits. Now when I say take a break I mean take a break! I now have one day a week where I will leave my phone in the office the night before and spend the day incommunicado. Some of you will now be thinking that’s ridiculous as the key to successful business is communication, I agree it is, so communicate to those who matter that your having the time off and you will enjoy it even more. Plan this time off well and you will not be missed, needless to say disappearing to the Maldives for a fortnight whilst your in the middle of a full blown restoration with twelve different contractors running around a site is not a good idea unless you have a trusted team to deal with it (look out for a post on that!) I have a investor who made a remark to another potential investor “Jim is laid back with everything under control, he’s not one of these developers flying around in a Porsche with a phone in each hand” That quite tickled me but I was also quite flattered, the potential investor is now an investor. So as a wee gift to you all I’m going to share a tip on what I do to achieve this great mental health boost. I will do it every Sunday with my morning coffee so look out for it. You might take it on board and use it, you might adapt it to suit you, you might dismiss it as total bollocks, you might even send me some replies telling me how good they are or how rubbish they are. Have a great week ahead and remember “They won’t read out your CV at your funeral” Jim

Posted by Jimbrand at 2026-06-07 06:08:00 UTC