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Advice about neighbor trying to be helpful

Posted: Sep 20, 2016

I am looking for a way to let him know that I am very grateful for his help, but having that kind of noise around is distracting while I am working. I have actually told him this before, but I am not sure he understood that I meant for all time. To top it off, when he's mowing he makes my dogs bark, and of course that is worse than the mowing itself. I usually try to mow before he has a chance to get to it, but with all the rain we've had it is hard to do. I work for a company where I am paid by the line and am supposed to get so much done or I get in trouble, and I am already struggling in that area.

;

Please don't hurt his feelings. Find ways to work around it - adb

[ In Reply To ..]
The poor guy is obviously doing it because he wants to feel good about helping someone out, so don't tell him not to do it. Give him the satisfaction of doing a good deed.

His mowing can't last too long. Even if you have a huge yard, he would only be near your office/work area for a short period of time. Take a break during that time, do some housekeeping, work on dinner, check emails, run errands, etc.

My advice would be to keep a good attitude about the fact that you are getting free yard work done and find a way for both he and you to get some enjoyment out of the situation.

help - 1shopper

[ In Reply To ..]
I totally agree. I wish I had someone to mow and do yard work! Try to do as much as you can to isolate yourself from the noise by closing everything up and turning up your volume...

Noise-reducing headset. - Know what you mean. sm

[ In Reply To ..]
My bro tries to help me out on his weekends. My office/basement window is at ground level, so no escaping the noise. I bought an over-ear noise-reducing headset for this purpose, which makes it tolerable. If that is not acceptable, you could somehow use the excuse that you are worried your dogs' toys and/or messes will damage his mower. That's what my neighbor used when another neighbor mowed the lawn because she thought it was too long (it wasn't, she's just a fussbucket).

Don't Understand - Jellybean

[ In Reply To ..]
...what the problem is exactly based on what you stated. It seems that it shouldn't be a problem telling it like it is, which is that you do APPRECIATE the neighbor's kindness towards you, yet you don't want him mowing (a specific activity) because it just makes too much noise and you have a job where you have to be able to listen to audio. You could then suggest another kind of specific activity in which you'd like to have done instead and, again, express your APPRECIATION for how nice he is towards you. And that activity which you need to get done would make him feel useful AND would, in fact, truly be useful to you. IMO, there's no need to beat around the bush.

Hmmm - see msg

[ In Reply To ..]
If he lives right next door, it's possible he wants the lawn to look even with his. If that's not the case, then I would thank him profusely, but unfortunately, you get penalized on the job if you can't hear through your headset...from there, I would blame the dogs! Those darn dogs bark when the lawn is being mowed, and I can't get any work done!

If he's the type to help a damsel in distress, I would suggest another "favor" he could do for you, like weeding or sweeping the driveway.

Good luck, that's a tough one!

You could try a noise-cancelling/reducing headset.

Not really seeing the problem - here

[ In Reply To ..]
Surely he is not mowing all day, every day. How long can it take to mow your lawn once a week or so? Do you really want to discourage someone who wants to mow your lawn for you?

If he doesn't do it, you'd have to pay someone to do it or do it yourself. If you pay someone to do it, that's still going to make noise, and it is not likely you can dictate the time it is done. If you have to do it yourself, that is time and effort you could be spending on paying work or something fun.

Turn up the volume for the 20 minutes it takes someone to do you the kindness of mowing your lawn and try to be thankful for your good fortune.

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