What’s up everyone? I’m glad you found your way (back) to our blog. My posts Hello, I’m Ronny… and Always on the road, but still at home clearly show that neither in my private nor in my professional life, hardly any day is like the other. Therefore, I highly value certain routines that facilitate my everyday life in various areas and simply do me good – in this post I would like to tell you all about it.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

I’ve always been a sporty type of guy who attaches great importance to exercise in everyday life – whether it’s playing soccer or going to the gym. As a professional driver, however, I mainly do one thing: Sitting behind the wheel. And as we all know, sitting is the new smoking in today’s society. Especially in my line of work, physical impairments are not uncommon; many of my colleagues suffer from recurring herniated discs, for example. I would like to spare myself that! That’s why I try to include enough exercise even when I’m on the road.
To make sure this works, I schedule a fixed time slot for it every day. So, when I’m on the road for work, between three and six in the morning – that is, before I start work – is time for sporting activities. Sure, that’s very early, but I can say from experience that it just doesn’t work for me the other way around. This way, I do something for myself first thing in the morning, start the day fit and can then simply call it a day after work. For me personally, the best solution!

Preparation is the be-all and end-all

In order for me to enjoy such freedoms, appropriate planning of daily routines and tours is necessary. I attach great importance to the self-determined planning of my breaks. This also allows me to take advantage of the fact that the gym I’m registered with belongs to a chain. So, I can train nearly anywhere – at least within Germany. In addition, I can always stop at places that have something to offer me – regardless of whether they are sights or just a nice place to have a cup of coffee. In short: Thanks to appropriate planning, I see a lot more on my tours than gray asphalt and uninviting rest stops!

It is therefore a matter of taking everything that can be planned into account in advance in order to minimize the potential for surprises – and there are always surprises. This is what gives you a certain degree of flexibility and freedom, but of course it can’t work without the appropriate framework from the employer or fleet manager. The haulage company Böhm does its best to make the tours as plannable as possible. The fact that I do a lot of fixed tours and usually only have to refuel every three days at the most, as our trucks are equipped with two tanks, is very helpful. If I still need new fuel on the road, I use an app to display refueling options on my route – but I can usually refuel at Böhm’s yard. So you see, with the right preparation, a lot is possible!

Success through consistency

I can’t imagine my everyday work life any other way – and I wouldn’t want to, if I’m honest. Consistency is very important to me, and I appreciate that my employer offers me these opportunities. That’s also one of the reasons why I’m still working as an employee and not – like other professional drivers – taking the step into self-employment. These hope to be their own boss and independent, to be able to plan freely and thus to have control. However, I also enjoy these benefits at Böhm, but without having to be stressed and overworked – because self-employed professional drivers are above all one thing: driver, dispatcher, or mechanic in one person.
So far, my routines have helped me to master surprises like a long traffic jam with confidence. However, I can well imagine that traveling with an e-truck will bring new or different dimensions of planning relevance – but more about that later here in this blog…

In the course of the #ContiEuropeanRoadshow, there are definitely some (new) challenges waiting for me. That’s why I’m currently working on my English skills. So far, there were hardly any problems with communication on the road; in case of doubt, I used my hands and feet, because the people I talked to on my tours didn’t necessarily speak English themselves. In June, the roadshow taked me to England, and I want to be linguistically fit by then. With the necessary amount of preparation, discipline, and ambition, it will work out. And maybe you have a few tips for me?

See you on the road,
your Ronny