6:15 PM CST
Every year everyone makes resolutions. Every year I do the same. I'm lucky if they last past the 3rd. Not because I don't have the willpower or because I don't care but because I get distracted with the day to day chores and simply forget. It's so easy to slip back into old schedules and habits with unthinking and mindless behavior.
I'm sure I'll have to set multiple alarms throughout the day to remind me to eat. It sounds rather ridiculous when written down but there are days where I miss eating. Not because I'm not hungry but because I don't feel like I have the time to stop and eat. It's part of being a trucker. That whole 'Freight must be delivered on time no matter what' is a real health killer. As a driver you don't realize how much this attitude can affect you. It takes years for it to show but when it does it shows as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease and other life threatening issues. Not a pretty end to someone who was only trying to do a job.
So now that I'm 45 and have multiple health issues that affect my ability to live a quality life I'm taking steps to reverse 'time' and get my life back. The first step is to design a plan that can fit with my lifestyle. Yes, that's right. Lifestyle. I don't just have a job or a career. I live a certain type of lifestyle. It involves living in a truck for weeks on end. Taking showers in truckstops. Eating in restaurants or figuring out how to prepare food in a truck with no running water or normal appliances or counter space. Just a bed and a couple of closets. Working 80+ hours a week up to 14 hours a day for weeks at a time. Yeah, it's not just a job.
The first step is making sure that I'm reminded to eat at proper intervals and that I have healthy food in the truck. Not only in the truck but within reach so that if I don't have time to stop I can at least have nutritious food and don't have to resort to junk food.
I have an app on my Android phone that allows me to set multiple alarms. It doesn't take into account that each day on the road is different. I get up at different times each day. I go to bed at odd hours. I may have a day of driving from point A to point B or I could have a day of waiting to load or unload or hurry here or there in an effort to get the freight taken care of with no time to stop. And in between all of this I must make sure the alarms are set to proper times. Challenging? Yes! An ongoing challenge and one that if I am to succeed I'm going to have to get a handle on. So what's the plan? Well, what I've got so far is this:
The Plan:
- Set the alarms on the phone for the initial times
- Make sure the diet plan is posted in clear view as a reminder
- Take time to relax each day
Each one of those require focus and a positive attitude. Something can be hard to come by some days. But it's a start and I've read that instead of trying to find a starting point you should just start where you are and go on from there. So that's my starting point. Each day will be a new chance to start from where I am. No excuses, no looking back, no self blame. Only a plan, a goal and the will to succeed.
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