When you’re on the road for days or weeks at a time, it can be hard to stay in touch with what’s going on back home. You may occasionally find yourself unable to attend birthday parties, graduations, dance recitals, school plays, sitting together watching your favorite TV show, etc. Being on the road and far away doesn’t mean that you can’t stay close to those you love. While staying in touch might take a little effort, we believe it is worth it.
Bay and Bay Transportation is a Minnesota-based commercial trucking company that values families. We want our employees to feel connected to home wherever their long-hauls take them, whether it be within Minnesota or nationwide.
Truck driving can be lonely. Without proper care, it can lead to increased risks in your physical and mental health. Studies among both adults and children have shown that connectedness (or staying in touch with a community of support) builds more resilient people.
When you are able to fulfill your basic needs for community, you are better prepared to handle both the ups and inevitable downs of life.
While on the road:
Phone calls have become the standard for drivers to stay connected to friends and family back home. Instead of relying on your memory to make sure you call, consider scheduling regular phone or conference calls. Apps such as Skype, Facetime, and Google Hangouts, provide free video and chat services. If making phone or video chat calls make sure you have invested in a reliable hands-free device. Wait on the chat services until you are safely parked.
At the Rest (or another) Stop:
Now is the time you can safely use messaging and chat services provided by different apps (some described above). If you have kids back at home, why not make a game out of it? Send intriguing pictures that act as clues for them to guess where you are. Include fun facts about the various places you visit for extra fun!
Speaking of apps, there are several varieties out there that let you “check-in” to your location. One of these most commonly used apps is Swarm created by Foursquare. This kind of app will not only let your loved ones know where you are, but you can also notify them that you have arrived safely at your destination.
Start a blog. Upload pictures and write about your many adventures out on the road. Different blog sites provide varying services, such as the ability to post via text message. Many are free to setup but may require a small monthly fee to maintain. Here are a few tried and true blog host sites:
You really can’t go wrong with email these days. Most people have an email account, and if they don’t, can sign up and get one for free in less than 2 minutes. Try putting a twist on your back-and-forth email conversations by commenting on different portions of the other person’s email using different font colors. This can help the conversation not seem so segmented since you are actively commenting on different parts of their message.
For example: Today Johnny decided to show mommy how to open the flour. He was quite proud of himself, and the mess he made. That’s hilarious! I’m sure he was trying to tell mommy he wanted to bake a cake. J
Last but not least, sometimes you just have to do things the “old-fashioned” way. People rarely send letters, cards, and postcards via snail mail anymore. That also means that receiving a handwritten note will feel even more special to the recipient. Many gas stations and truck stops have quite the collection of postcards to choose from. Just make sure that you stock up on stamps as well.
Now that you have some ideas to get you started, we want to hear from you! Any tips for how you stay connected to friends and family while you are on the road?
Bay and Bay Transportation is currently hiring experienced company drivers, lease purchase drivers, and owner operators across the United States. We offer competitive pay, benefits packages, and bonus opportunities. Get in touch with us to find out how you can become part of the Bay and Bay family.