In general, trucking can be a lonely job. Think about it: trucking involves sitting in a giant, fortress-like vehicle for many hours at a time. However, some people’s personalities mesh well with the trucking lifestyle precisely because they like a lot of alone time. Others? Not so much.
What can you do to avoid being lonely on the road?
If you have close friends and family, take time to reach out to them daily, whether you’re in your truck chatting with them via phone (hands-free of course) or at a hotel or wherever. Smartphones with “Facetime” and/or “Skype.com” work well because they enable people to see one another when they’re chatting. Even something simplistic like a “text” to a loved one can make all the difference. People just want to know other people are thinking about them sometimes– that’s human nature.
While on the road, take time to develop your acquaintance list, such that you become familiar with cashiers, waitresses, fellow truckers, and gas station attendants. Get to know their names and find out what they like to talk about. It’s nice to see a familiar face when you’re out on the job, and any chance you get to share thoughts, news, opinions or laughs? Go for it! Weather, sports and family are all good conversation topics.
Do you have a pet that travels well? Many truckers combat loneliness by bringing their “companion animals” with them. If the company the trucker works for doesn’t have a problem with taking pets on trips, why not consider doing just that?
Besides pets, consider bringing your spouse along for the ride now and then. More and more companies are allowing spouses to drive together these days.
Finally, make a calendar and fill it out with things to look forward to. That way, when you’re on the road and feeling a bit lonely you can look at the calendar and remember good stuff coming up. It’s always good to have something to look forward to in life– this is true for truckers and everybody else.