I'm sitting at a weight scale in Saskatchewan, Canada right now, writing this blog post....
You may be asking yourself, why the heck do I need to know that piece of information?
Good question, let me explain!
So over the past few weeks, I've been getting trained on how to drive a truck for the company that I was hired by. These guys have been a wealth of knowledge and I'm truly grateful for all the help I've received.
One of the main tips they tried to hammer home is how important it is for a long haul trucker to manage their time. I kind of brushed it off, because I'm Mr. Time Management! I've read countless books on the topic and it's been a big part of my businesses over the years.
I like structure, and when I can plan my day, I find myself to be much more efficient. So time management was supposed to be a breeze for this guy....
The way trucking works in North America, is that we have a certain amount of hours we can 'work' which combines, lunch time, driving time, rest time....It's all under one big slice of a 24 hour period.
It's pretty confusing how it all works out, I'm still learning it right now, but today was a huge wake up call for me on how to properly manage my time.
I started my day super early way down in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. That's currently about a 7 hour drive from where I'm currently parked. I can drive / work for a total of 14 hours a day. Of that, I can only drive 11, and the remaining hours must be spent on rests, lunch etc.
Guess who forgot that part and just went off my 'drive time'?
Now here's where the story gets kind of sad. You see, today is my kid's 6th birthday. When I left on Wednesday, he thought he wasn't going to see me until next week. And that's what I thought as well.
Well I looked at my clock this morning and thought I could make it make home to surprise him for his birthday. Unfortunately because of 'un-seen delays' that I never would have anticipated and not properly managing my time....I'm about 2 hours from home and cannot drive anymore.
So I'm stuck lol In a weight scale, and need to wait a full 8 hours before my day can start again.
Good thing is, my kid will still be surprised tomorrow morning when I show up in the truck :)
(I can't wait to see his face when he sees me roll up!)
But also, I learned a valuable lesson today.
Time management is critical for all aspects of life. Being an entrepreneur taught me a lot, but being a truck driver for a few days has taught me so much more about it! You see, you must always account for....The unexpected!
And then how you deal with it, determines the kind of day / success you will get out of it.
Hey, in a perfect world, I would have been home tonight...But in an even 'more perfect' world...I got taught a huge lesson which will help my journey going forward!
