There’s the Hard Way, the Easy Way, and the Stoner Way

Load-in is never going to be easy. It’s early, it’s heavy, it’s loud, and somehow the ramp always feels steeper than it did yesterday. You’re pushing cases that weigh more than your car, coiling cable that refuses to cooperate, and answering questions before your brain has fully turned on. That part isn’t negotiable. The work is the work. But the attitude? That’s optional.

There’s a hard way, an easy way, and the stoner way.

The hard way is obvious. Complaining the whole time. Dragging your feet. Making every case feel heavier by announcing how much it sucks. You still do the same amount of work, but now everyone’s miserable and time somehow moves slower. Nothing gets done better. It just gets done louder.

The easy way is just rushing through it. Cut corners. Miss details. Get it “good enough” so you can be done faster. That works until it doesn’t. Then you’re fixing mistakes later, usually when the pressure’s higher and the clock is less forgiving.

Then there’s the stoner way.

The stoner way is, at its core, the easiest. Not because you’re lazy, but because you’re intentional. You move with purpose. You notice things. You label the cable right the first time because you don’t want to deal with it later. You stack cases clean because chaos stresses you out. You’d rather take ten extra seconds now than ten extra minutes during doors.

Being a little high doesn’t make you careless. It makes you aware. You see the crooked truss. You hear the buzz in the line. You notice the thing that’s slightly off, and you fix it before it becomes a problem. You don’t want to work harder than you have to, so you work smarter without making a big deal about it.

And here’s the thing no one talks about enough: if you’re doing this job, it’s probably because you love it. You like the gear. You like the room before it fills up. You like the moment when the lights finally come on and everything works. So why not enjoy the process that gets you there?

Laugh while you’re pushing cases. Crack jokes while you’re wrapping cable. Get it done because it needs to be done, not because you’re mad about it. Hard work doesn’t have to be miserable. It just has to be honest.

Stop bitching. Start moving. Do it right. Have fun along the way. That’s the stoner way.