400 miles a day. 500 miles a day. 600 or 700 miles. No matter what routes you usually drive, chances are you are carrying your loads for hundreds of miles at a time. Breaks are necessary, sure, but not too often, there is more freight waiting on you. So it’s hours in the driver’s seat, watching the road, the traffic, the sky, the scenery… There has got to be some better way to pass the miles.

 

Maybe some music? Talk on the radio? Play road trip bingo or the license plate game? Sing 99 bottles of beer on the wall? Those are all options, but most drivers have done those to death, or will do so quickly enough. Let’s talk about some other things that might help wile away the miles.

What You Should Be Doing

Pay attention to traffic. This is certainly second nature to most of you, and you don’t need to read it here. However, nothing on this list should be allowed to distract you enough that you stop paying attention. Besides, if your attention is focused on traffic rather than the mile signs or clock, time will slip by without your noticing.

 

Most of you should already know this too, but truck drivers have a lot of health issues. It’s somewhat understandable, the job requires sitting for eight or more hours almost every day. The human body is meant to be more active than most drivers have time or energy to be. Thankfully, there are some things you could be doing that will both help keep you healthy and pass the time.

 

Take your breaks. This may seem backwards, but basic human psychology tells us that people function better at long tasks when they take breaks from them. The best college students study for no more than an hour at a time before taking a short break; this helps them retain information and stay motivated.

 

Breaks can help truck drivers by breaking up the monotony of the drive, refreshing their perspective of the time and distance behind and ahead, as well as giving them new motivation to drive on. If you make sure to move around on your break, whether that’s just walking or stretching or yoga or dropping and doing some push-ups, not only will your mind feel fresher when you return to driving, but your body will stay healthier. With a fresher mind and a body that isn’t stiff or aching, the miles will pass by quickly.

 

Try downloading a Pomodoro timer such as Focus Keeper which schedules timed breaks. Set it to 25-minutes, 45-minutes, an hour, or any interval you’d like and stick to the schedule. As soon as the timer goes off, take the next exit, get a little exercise, and then get back on the road. You’re body will thank you for it.

 

What You Could Be Doing

Technology is your friend. From music applications that can suggest new music based upon what you listen to, to idle games on phones and computers, there is a lot of ways technology can be used to make the miles fly.

 

Everyone loves some kind of music: classic rock, orchestras, electronic dance, opera, there is some kind of music for everyone. And when you find a new song or a new band? Excitement and bliss. Pick a music application you like (Spotify or Pandora are good places to start), listen to the music you already love and see if something new comes up. Searching for and listening to new music can make you forget about the miles ahead. If you really want to get your hands on the newest music from your favorite bands, try SoundCloud, a music listening platform with a social media twist. Keep up with what your friends are listening to as well as what your favorite artists are creating.

 

People shouldn’t play on their phones and drive, and in fact it is illegal to do so in some places. That being said, there is a trend among small game developers at the moment to make so-called “idle” games. Idle games basically play themselves, allowing players to leave the game alone for hours at a time and then come back to look at their progress, make some adjustments, read achievements and then leave it alone again. If you’re looking for something new to look forward between your breaks, try downloading an idle game like SimCity BuildIt. As a throwback for anyone who grew up in the 90’s, you might be surprised how the miles will disappear when you are wondering how happy your citizens are after building a new baseball stadium.

 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly: have something to look forward to. This may be easy enough if you’re on a homeward journey, but it is just as helpful if you are headed out. Don’t just have one big thing at the end of your trip either; find a restaurant along your route that sounds delicious, see if there are any sights you want to see that won’t take you out of your way, plan on calling home at a specific time, find the best coffee in the state, etc. If you really want to get off the beaten path, download Best Road Trip Ever! From hole in the wall eateries to creepy roadside attractions, you’re bound to find something interesting.

 

 

The point of this is to set lots of little goals because the human brain releases a chemical called dopamine whenever we achieve a goal. Dopamine is one of the brains’ “pleasure” chemicals, it makes us feel good. Setting several smaller goals for yourself along your trip will result in repeated doses of dopamine, leaving yourself feeling good more often, and actually wiring your brain to release more dopamine when you achieve later goals.