With this short review, I’ll be covering the importance of Rideshare drivers taking breaks and the importance of meditation. You ever went to work and felt like you lost your mind after you got off? How about while you’re at work or as soon as you arrived lol? All of us come close to losing our sanity sometimes right? Well luckily in the Rideshare industry, we get to control our time to the fullest. We get to drive when we want and go home when we want. We also get to take pauses or breaks when we want, which is a well needed benefit..
Especially since a lot of stress comes with doing this type of “on the road” job. But you have to have a game plan to accomplish this! That being said, what if you knew how to take advantage of these breaks and could use these breaks to get your thoughts back together. Would having or exercising this ability make your life and your job a little easier? I don’t know about you, but I know for sure it would for me and it has been for me for the past 6 plus years. Doing this has allowed me to maintain the person I am without losing my cool, my patience and more importantly, my sanity!
Here at #1RideShareDoc, I’m all about sharing my story and my personal experiences with you concerning Rideshare driving and the Rideshare driving industry. I feel like it’s nothing like getting that first-hand experience from a person who actually has done whatever that is you’re looking to learn about. 6 plus years and 35,000 rides worth! Let’s talk about the things that these Rideshare companies like Uber, Lyft, Via, and Sidecar don’t talk about. Let’s share and support each other’s experiences and opinions so we all can grow together as one. Let my website prepare future drivers as well as passengers for what’s going to be in front of you and for what’s going to be behind you..
For a better understanding of what I’ll be covering today, this review will be broken down into the following sections:
What‘s A Break?
If you ask me, a “break” is when you stop everything that you’re doing and relax yourself! No more worrying about who you’re picking up, who you’re dropping off or what direction you’re going to drive in next. In other words, mentally “break” all of the things that have nothing to do with you, and focus 100% on you. During this time if you feel hungry, tired or need to make a phone call for example, this would be the time to please those needs. Set an alarm on your phone and take a 10 minute nap, grab your phone and make that lovely call or go into your lunch bag and pull out that tasty sandwich. Look at this moment as taking a mental break, before you actually break lol!
What’s Meditation?
If you ask me, meditation is when you block out all outside entities and focus on the inner thoughts you may be having and inner feelings your body may be experiencing. Whatever those thoughts or feelings might be that you’ve noticed, you become aware of them. You then choose how you want to feel and what you want to think, which should be good thoughts and good feelings! The main reason for this exercise is to accomplish a clear, mental, calm emotional, stable state. You’ll need to accomplish this way of being if you ever plan on maintaining your sanity or peace of mind. Especially when running into these random, crazy, ghetto, unstable strangers.
Why Are Breaks And Meditation Important For All Rideshare Drivers?
Isn’t this an easy question to answer lol? Breaks and meditation are and should be important to all professional Rideshare drivers. Especially if you want to maintain the person you are and not forget about who you are, what you’re about and why you joined Rideshare driving in the first place. It’s easy to forget these things, especially when faced with a troubled passenger, lots of driving, bad weather or just simple heavy consistent traffic. You’ll start to think of every reason to quit (I know I did at first!), when you don’t have a game plan, take constant breaks or meditate regularly.
It’ll be harder for you to execute your game plan when choosing the areas you would like to drive in and harder for you to reach your goals that you might have set up for yourself. So having a way to remind yourself of these things is key in maintaining a good, solid, mental state. When you maintain your mental state, you’re also maintaining your purpose!
How Many Breaks Should A Rideshare Driver Take Per Day?
To be honest with you guys, it depends on how many hours of driving you do per day. So only you would know how many breaks you would need to take, to aid you in maintaining your sanity lol. I personally drive from 10 to 12 hours a day. So I need a lot of breaks and a lot of meditation time to help me get through all of the ups and downs that I tend to experience. That being said, taking at least 8-10 breaks a day (roughly one 5-10 minute break every 45 minutes!) is about what it takes to help me maintain a positive attitude and my focus on my passengers. Especially my focus on the road.
I actually use my writing during some of these breaks to help bring myself back. It’s a really good way to help remind me of why I’m doing what I’m doing. Writing is a good way for me to practice my self-awareness and mindfulness of others, which both go hand in hand. That being said, you have to find what will help you relax or focus on you more! During your short break time, you could meditate or take a nap (recommended!), listen to a positive audiobook or music, watch something happy on your phone or talk to someone who makes you feel loved. Anything that will help bring back your natural self and who you are should do the trick.
Do Rideshare Companies Care About How Many Breaks A Driver Takes?
I honestly think that if these Rideshare companies cared about how many breaks their drivers were taking, they would have set limitations on when you can clock out. In other words they would have made some sort of requirement where the driver would have to drive a certain amount of hours first before clocking out (for whatever reason!). But if Uber or Lyft for example did decide to do something like this, wouldn’t they be going against what they brag about the most, which is people having the flexibility to do what they want, when they want, as Rideshare drivers?
That being said, since this type of stipulation wasn’t put in place (thank God right lol!), I think it would be very safe to say that it’s okay for a driver to clock out after every completed ride, if a driver chooses to do so. So why not take this perk to your advantage by making sure your sanity is intact after every ride if need be? Think about this for a sec.. People who work regular everyday 9:00 to 5:00 jobs, would love to have the option to take breaks not just whenever they feel like it, but as many times as they see fit! I’m just saying..
What Can Happen When Drivers Don’t Take Breaks Or Meditate?
When a driver isn’t taking regular breaks or meditating, they tend to snap a little easier like a rubber band, when being pulled too hard a certain direction. Encountering something difficult just might push them over the edge, when regular breaks aren’t taken. It might even cause the driver to have a little bit of road rage or worse. Something difficult like a car accident or a passenger cursing at you is all it would take for you to snap. You know, normal cases where anyone would act out of character or out of the normal. But when you exercise the option to turn yourself off for a minute or so every so often, handling situations like these tend to go a lot easier.
Signs Of Needing A Break Or Meditation!
I think I’ve made it clear how important it is for every professional Rideshare driver to take a break! Especially when it comes to meditation and bringing back that piece of mind. That being said, there are some definite signs that a Rideshare driver might experience, when needing a short break or just some good old meditation or me time.
1.) Easily Becoming Frustrated: If you start to notice yourself becoming easily frustrated over the smallest things including allowing a squirrel to cross the street, then you might be due for a 5-10 minute break and a moment of meditation.
2.) Easily Becoming Irritated/Moody: When you start to notice small things like the passengers smell or a passenger talking irritating you, then this also could be a definite sign of you needing to take a break and/or meditate.
3.) Becoming Sleepy: When you start feeling drowsy or drunk behind the wheel, take this as a big sign that you might be due for a short break and/or meditation!
4.) Becoming Careless: When you start not caring about things like using turn signals, stopping fully for stop signs, or taking directions from passengers (which is where I fit in lol!), it’s time to take a break. Especially if it starts to turn into road rage!
My Professional Conclusion For Taking Breaks/Meditation
In conclusion, I would like to say that we’re all human at the end of the day, which means we all get overwhelmed, exhausted, tired and worn out over time. It doesn’t matter how strong of a Rideshare driver you think you are or how many miles you think you can drive without taking a break. Every living creature on this planet has a breaking point! But wouldn’t it be nice if you could take a short, simple pause, regroup your thoughts, your game plan and the person you are before getting to that snapping point? That being said, this is why I like to group taking breaks and meditating together!
Taking a break alone or a short pause in the middle of work, sometimes isn’t good enough. You have to actually tap into your inner self, recognize the stressful feelings and/or thoughts your having, then bring yourself back to your true self and the way that you want to feel. Sometimes without doing this, I can’t even enjoy my little break that I’m giving myself. Especially if I had a bad encounter with an angry passenger or motorist. It’ll feel like my whole day is ruined. At least until I gather my thoughts and feelings back to where they should be. Practicing self-awareness can be extremely powerful!
Now that I’m bringing this review to a close, would any of my readers happen to have something on their mind that they would like to say? How about something to add to my review, that wasn’t mentioned? If so, please feel free to post those thoughts, comments or concerns at the bottom of this review and I will be sure to respond back as soon as possible!
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If you’re not interested in driving strangers around in the backseat of your car, but interested in having a flexible lifestyle, you could always start a business working from home! If you’re interested, please don’t hesitate to read my review on Wealthy Affiliate. Thank you so much again for reading..
