The Illusionist

As part of making money on the road, time management plays a very vital role in helping boost your bottom line. Whether it is less time spent fueling, less time spent stopping to eat, or less time sitting on a customer dock, getting more done safely in less time will always save you money in the end.  Taking notes along the way from my love of the art of illusionists, One way I make more money and save time on the road is to try and be in two places at the same time.
 
Throughout my typical day I happen to see many more different customers than your average driver due to being local.  However, this does not mean I am exempt from the frustration caused by sitting on their dock for hours on end.  So giving into the true "multi-tasker" that I try to be, I see my sitting time as an opportunity to get time-draining activities completed.  One thing I happen to do all the time that lends itself to this practice is fueling while I am being unloaded.  I happen to have a lot of customers where I have you unhook my trailer when it's in the dock and go park in a bobtail section while unloading, which makes fitting in fueling as easy as asking permission to leave the property for an hour.  Not only does this lessen my frustration from dealing with sitting at a customer I might already know will take forever to unload me, but it allows me to effectively use that time in another manner.
 
As long as you were not responsible for a driver count unload, many things such as fueling and eating and be done in this manner.  With the growing importance of watching your hours and making sure your workday fits within the 14-hour rule, it is likewise becoming that much more important to be able to utilize your time effectively.  Just like the saying goes "A penny saved is a penny earned!", so true is my saying, "A minute saved is a minute earned!"