Feels Good To Be Home!

Man with all those challenges on the road it feels great to be home for a few days. This job takes a toll on me mentally. Some days I'm about to lose my S***! The some days I'm loving it. Man one thing I absolutely hate is getting a load that is already late & having to deliver it. Or getting a load that has to go 8 hours away but have an appt time 3 hours later...like HOW am I supposed to do that? (Takes deep breath). Ok I'm good now. But anyways glad I can get away from it for a few days & gather my nerves together. As some of you know I'm from & live in Baton Rouge & man must I say it is CRAZY down here. So much going on right now, but I won't go into details with that since it's not trucking related. But other than that I've been great! Also one thing I have noticed as well when the miles are good I need to save my $$ for those weeks where the miles or not so good or even worse a breakdown!(which I've had). I had an $1100 gross week last week but this week looks like I'll only gross about $400. I know I know it's trucking. I just have to learn to manage my money better. Thanks for listening guys!

Always good to get home for a few days, though yesterday got home about 5 pm and there was a birthday party going on with about 30 people over to our house. Took a few minutes to kind of unwind and get caught up in the middle of the festivities. One of my buddies brought over some cigars, we cracked open a few Guinness and life was good. Enjoy your break!

As time goes on things will become less stressful. In the beginning you're facing a lot of new situations and you're having to think about every little detail of everything you're doing. Soon enough a lot of these situations will be commonplace and a lot of the details will become second nature. It will reduce the stress level significantly.

When you're driving, try to think about conserving your mental energy. For instance, if you have three hours to get somewhere but the load was already late, don't waste your energy worrying about what will happen when you get there. Relax, clear your mind, and enjoy your driving time as often as possible. And when you get time away from the truck or you're off duty, try to take your mind completely off trucking. Read a good book, watch a good movie, go do some jogging and enjoy the scenery - think about anything except trucking, even if it's only for 20 - 30 minutes. It helps.

Finally, when you're going down the road try to limit the amount of time you spend cranking the tunes. Many experienced drivers just keep the CB on low and keep their radio off much of the time. They just try to relax and enjoy the scenery. Turn on the tunes or a talk show sometimes to liven things up a bit but overall try to keep your mind clear and relaxed.

Thanks a lot! Some real good tips here especially the one about if the load is already late just drive & not to worry about it. That was my biggest stress was wondering what will happen once I get there or if this will fall on me some kind of way. I'll just let things go & take my mind off of it from now on. Once I let dispatch know it's already late or I won't be able to make the time slot I'll leave my worries at that.

Thanks a lot! Some real good tips here especially the one about if the load is already late just drive & not to worry about it. That was my biggest stress was wondering what will happen once I get there or if this will fall on me some kind of way. I'll just let things go & take my mind off of it from now on. Once I let dispatch know it's already late or I won't be able to make the time slot I'll leave my worries at that.

I drive on a regional dedicated account. My ribs average around 500-600 for the most part, and I'm pre-planned tightly several trips ahead. So if I'm late once, I'll be late for the rest of the week. I found that as long as my DM knows what's going on, it's OK! But I still don't like it. That's why said you have a charmed life: if that's all you have to worry about, that's not really a problem.

Thanks a lot Errol! Yes this is the only problem I'm having so other than that things are going great for me!

Mr T says:

Thanks a lot Errol! Yes this is the only problem I'm having so other than that things are going great for me!

That sounds like one of the closing lines of The Most Interesting Man In The World (Dos Equis beer):

The only regret I have is that I have nothing to regret.

Mr T says:

Thanks a lot Errol! Yes this is the only problem I'm having so other than that things are going great for me!

That sounds like one of the closing lines of The Most Interesting Man In The World (Dos Equis beer):

The only regret I have is that I have nothing to regret.

Been following your travels since the beginning there Mr. T.

Looks like you're doing just fine.

Be safe at home this weekend, it's a little nuts down there. Despite what you may be feeling, stay out of the mix - it has a good chance of getting ugly real quick. Have an exit strategy and be prepared to bug out if necessary and get back on the road - so you don't get stuck in some "state of emergency" situation.

Prayers for you and yours down there, in this time of struggle and tribulation.

Rick

Been following your travels since the beginning there Mr. T.

Looks like you're doing just fine.

Be safe at home this weekend, it's a little nuts down there. Despite what you may be feeling, stay out of the mix - it has a good chance of getting ugly real quick. Have an exit strategy and be prepared to bug out if necessary and get back on the road - so you don't get stuck in some "state of emergency" situation.

Prayers for you and yours down there, in this time of struggle and tribulation.

Rick

Thanks a lot Rick! Definitely appreciate it. I don't plan on putting myself in any situation with all these crazy things going on down here. I'm for the movement & all but people down here don't listen nor are they organized. It's just like a bunch of people just flooding the streets with signs & drinking & smoking & shutting down roads it's Choas. I'm not going to go out there I'll just show my support with prayer.

After my first long load to washington last month, I was so stressed thinking I was looking bad for being late. Looked at the kiosk the other day to see my on time percentage is 100%. Always let dispatch know what is going on, it has kept me from being service failed.