Two years is a lot of cuts, so the hours clearly paid off. Being honest here, the skill that snuck up on me was small talk with strangers. Sounds dumb, but you can't be awkward while someone sits in a chair for an hour. You learn to read a room fast and know when to shut up. That one took way longer than any hand skill.

Cheap things often cost more later, same as bargain shoes that wreck your feet.

Take the trust thing a step further, the binder was slow on purpose. All that sitting at your kitchen table rewriting stuff every night, that was your brain going over every job twice. Once at the house, once again with a pen. The photos skip that second pass, so the info is better but it never really sinks in the same way. Your gut picks up on that gap even if you can't name it. Maybe try saying the job out loud while you snap the pic, just a quick run down of what you saw, so the photo still gets that second pass built in. Sounds dumb but it might settle your head.