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So recently Tyler Philbrook posted an article on the Rideshare Guys website about Protecting your mental health while driving and I think as a gig worker, as a business owner and really as a human being, it is vital to protect your mental health.
There have been a few of these conversations going around in the community and I wanted to throw my two cents into this conversation as well as bring up some points from others, because it is often talked about these days, but still grossly overlooked.
So in this video, We are talking about:
Protecting Your Mental Health as a Gig Worker
What is being said in this article
My opinions on it and everything in between
Disclaimer: The content of this video does not contain and is never intended to be legal, business, financial, tax, or health advice of any kind, This video is for entertainment purposes only. It is advised that you conduct your own research and consult with qualified professionals before applying anything you find online.
I also want to be clear that everything we are going to go over is very market dependent, and what applies to me and my market may not apply to you.
Don’t Take Orders That Cause Anxiety
Waiting long periods of time for an order that might be ready soon doesn’t make sense.
First, if you aren’t driving, you aren’t making money. So all that waiting time is unpaid time.
This also goes for orders that you have to have mental gymnastics to make it make sense.
"Well if I can get the order done quickly it is better than waiting around for other orders."
It takes the same amount of time to complete an order for $2 as it is for $10, there is no value in “doing an order quickly”, especially if the order is from a restaurant that goes “oh we just got that order in, it will be like 20 minutes”.
Meanwhile, they were full of it and they were prioritizing everyone else's orders but yours. This will not only give you anxiety, but give you anger where it is unnecessary.
Second, your anxiety is likely going up because you’re waiting and not making money.
To solve this, don’t take orders from places that you know will take a long time.
In my area, that’s Sonic and Popeyes. It does not matter how much those orders are; I don’t take them. I have never had an order from them that didn’t take 20 to 30 minutes to get.
See, this is exactly what I am talking about. It is blatant discrimination, because if you were a customer they would be all over it, but because you are a gig worker, suddenly they add 20-30 minutes to the order? Yeah right.
Another way to make sure you are safe, secure, and not getting orders that cause anxiety is to not drive during times that cause anxiety.
Rush hour traffic is the worst time to drive. Even if orders are coming in, it will take far too long to get to a restaurant and then to the customer’s home.
You’re also more likely to get orders a little bit later anyway, as people don’t order till they get home, and everyone is in your way on the road.
I cannot tell you how often I find this to be true. Everyone who I talk to about this stuff says that after 5 is the best time because that is when people go to the restaurants, but that is not 100% true.
They aren’t accounting for traffic, dumb drivers, commuters, and everything of the sort. You know who orders around 5? People who got home 1-2 hours ago. Like children who haven’t been taught to tip their drivers.
That said, you can use that time to build momentum in the app you are working on but that is a different conversation.
This isn’t a point that was brought up, but another thing to consider about the orders you are receiving is the order type.
Shop and pay orders are inherently going to get done faster at an off-peak time for a store rather than from a store where EVERYONE is shopping at the same time. I have just as much road rage in a grocery store as I do on the road.
Because somehow the oldest woman in the road went from in front of me in the left lane, to in the same aisle as me in the store who can’t hear me say “excuse me, I am trying to get through” while she leaves her cart in the middle of the aisle.
But I am the rude one here for trying to do my shopping.
Take Frequent Breaks
Whether you’re working between jobs, on your way home, or on your 7th 12-hour day in a row, you need to take breaks.
If you had a regular 9 to 5 job, you would not work every single hour of that day. You would have 15-minute breaks, bathroom breaks, smoke breaks, and lunch breaks.
As gig workers, most of the time, we take a “break,” which is when we go into a restaurant, and the order is almost ready or go to the bathroom before we get the order.
This is important especially if you are in business for yourself. I know I have experienced burnout from working too much in succession so don’t just overlook that because you are looking to get another order.
Taking breaks is more than just taking care of physical needs like sleep, food, and water. It’s to help you get some time to relax, calm down, assess the day, take a nap, or do anything else that helps.
Another thing that I think helps is breaking up your work by type and “taking a break” from the work you are doing.
You may be doing gig work for a while and then feel a sense of disgruntlement, so then you switch to a different app or a different project you are working on and move throughout the day that way.
This method, at least for me, keeps me fresh and motivated for all the projects that I am working on.
Imagine each of your tasks almost like Thanksgiving Dinner, all the appetizers come out and you eat a whole bunch of cheese and dip and stuff until you cannot eat anymore.
Dinner comes and you get the turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables and then you until you can’t eat anymore again.
Dessert comes out and suddenly you went from “I cannot eat anymore” to well maybe just a bit more and eat that until you cannot eat anymore!
This method of productivity with the focus of maintaining income while also slowly tackling some of the more important but not urgent goals you have towards your future is a great way to develop habits towards accomplishing your goals.
Most jobs would schedule your break.
You may not choose to have a break at a normal time because that’s when most people are placing orders, but pick a time that gets very few orders and plan for a break.
In my area, at 2 PM, the lunch orders stop, and it isn’t until around four that the dinner orders start again. So, if I drive all day, I will take a break during that time.
This is kind of where you need to be a business owner and make those calls yourself. No one knows your physical, mental and financial needs better than you.
That said, if you have a strong momentum on one of your apps and you want to maintain that while also keeping your head right, make sure you have your goal for the day and keep it on the forefront of your mind.
Don’t take that time to get a few decent orders or relax while waiting for requests. Completely shut off the apps and your brain to help your mental health. Read a book, call a friend, watch TV, play a video game, or do anything that isn’t taxing on your mental health.
Okay to be honest, this is kind of a weak point for me… I am very much like the guy who keeps the apps on waiting for a really good order and even doing some while running errands. The worst part is when you get a really good order but you cannot step away for a second!
Then you have to decline knowing you are losing money on not being able to take orders. Sometimes it is better off not knowing lol.
That said, I would also revisit the point of focusing on other projects in the meantime. I have other businesses and startups I can work on outside of gig work, as well as various forms of content creation.
That said, take breaks with the intention of refreshing your mind.
In addition to scheduling breaks throughout the day and week, you should take entire days off, and you need to plan vacations.
Budget for them by putting money aside each week so that on weeks you are on vacation, you can still “get paid.”
Taking time off may not seem like the best idea for making money, but improving your mental health will allow you to be able to work better, harder, and longer when you return, as long as you don’t burn yourself out again when you get back.
This is where proper budgeting and time management is necessary. I am planning a trip to Orlando in a bit and when I am there, I can do work from my laptop but I am not intending on taking orders.
I am planning to spend Thanksgiving with my family and turn off the other apps, I may do something with other types of projects while I am up there, but that won’t be my day. My goal will be to rest.
This is especially important to my other workaholics, if you are burnt out, that is only going to bog you down and ruin your productivity. So keep in mind, you are resting with the intention of coming back stronger.
Keep Your Car Cleaned and Maintained
There are few things more stressful for a gig worker than a broken-down car.
Not only have you lost your means of transportation, you’ve lost your means to make money.
The first step to maintaining your car is keeping it clean. If your car is regularly vacuumed and washed, especially by you, you’re more likely to notice things going wrong early.
I have been both the guy to maintain a dirty and poorly maintained car, and the guy to keep a maintained car to a T, from clutter free to maintained properly. Let me tell you one of the most annoying noises to me is the clutter noises of the car when it shifts while I am driving.
Keeping a clean car has proven to help with stress relief and gives you a better sense of control. So clean up the floorboard of shame from all the cans and bottles on the floor of your car and keep it clean down there.
Keeping up with regular maintenance like oil changes can make a huge impact on keeping the car in good shape, as well as keeping your gas mileage high.
Taking the time to make sure you have your car in good health will ensure that your mental health is good.
If you have the Maintenance required notification for too long, you are asking for long term problems. That said, you also have to be sure that you are working with qualified mechanics that are treating your car right.
There are plenty of people who will say that it is better to do it yourself and if you want to take that path, go for it. I send it to a mechanic because I have other work I need to do at home, and I don’t have time to handle it myself.
Not to mention, if there is something else they see, they can let me know.
Take Care of Your Physical Health
Drinking water, getting sun, and exercising are the simplest things you can do to maintain and even improve your physical health.
When you’re physically healthy, your mental health improves as well.
This is true, I have been focusing more on my diet as of late and as I am eating healthier I am noticing I have a better sense of focus, I have more energy to work with, and I need less caffeine throughout my day to keep me going.
It will give you more energy to do the things you love or energy to work. You’ll sleep better, which in itself will improve your physical health.
Just like you won’t get six-pack abs the first time you do crunches, your mental health will not improve from doing one thing one time. You need to continue doing things slowly, every day, to improve your mental health.
I am by no means saying you need 6-pack abs, but I would recommend maintaining a decent routine to keep you moving.
I know coming from a guy who has less of a 6 pack and more of a keg, it isn’t going to mean much so I decided to ask someone for a bit of help on this.
Jon Kalle: I used to tell my clients when I trained every day they need to sweat a little bit right we need to move the body your body is a tool it's a resource right and I'm a firm believer of that!
I'm not about the New Year's resolution let's go January 1 and change our body right what I want people to start thinking about is changing your mindset, because if I'm looking at the way long-term success lasts if I train my mind, my body will follow.
If I train just my body my mind will Resort back to bad habits that put me in the physical position I didn't want to be with to begin with.
So I think it starts with taking that first step engaging moving taking the high highest level of self-love and discipline which is movement every day regardless of how you feel.
I think that has been a huge foundation for me when it comes to the fitness industry but also multiple businesses I've opened since then train the mind the body will follow but hold yourself accountable every step of the way.
I love how Jon brought up the point of "not a New Year's resolution" mindset, because if it was really important to you to get your physical fitness right and your mental Fitness right in a sense, you would have started on December 27th, or August 18th or whatever day.
You got to find why it's an important thing to you and commit to that!
Jon Kalle: When it comes to making the change or any changes you're going to make, if we're trying to change physically, mentally, emotionally, socially or financially, we need that why behind it. The why that drives us.
It's not just are you happy looking at yourself naked in the mirror, that's a great why I'm not going to say that's not a good play, but there's it's also the longevity of your health your family your loved ones being strong enough and healthy enough to support where necessary
That's what we have to look at it from, not such a selfish aspect of the way we want to look but also "what else can I provide?"
If I'm working out and I'm physically fit, I'm eating healthy, you're going to sleep better, yes you're going to think more clear, you're going to put yourself in better positions, you're going to attract higher levels of energy, people, opportunities.
There's so much more that will be attracted to you just because of the way you're moving and the energy you're putting out there, so I've always been a huge believer in "train the mind the body will follow", don't do it backwards, you have to make that commitment
The other thing I look at is when you say you're going to do something, you have to put a goal and a timeline together.
A goal without a timeline that's reasonable is nothing but a dream so we can talk about it, think about it, dream about it, it's when we actually make that first step that's what counts.
It's not "I'm gonna wait till January" no it's every day I'm going to do a little something because you're just inching closer and I don't care if you're walking for 3 minutes on a treadmill, you're still running circles around the person sitting on the couch.
Do what's best for you!
The Following Tips come from the members of the Driven Wyld Discord Server! ButterMyMuffin, thank you so much for messaging this on the server and making this part of the video possible!
SET THE VIBE, BEFORE YOU DRIVE
Instead of rushing to get online and hurrying through orders, try something different. Before you go online (or even to another job you may have)
Doing some self-care, making yourself look good and confident is a great start. Some stretches/workouts help a lot. Setting your intention on what you’re trying to achieve will align yourself with said goals. No need to rush into things. Go slower to go faster.
If you go into an order stressed out, you will remain stressed out. This goes for feeling like you don’t look your best, some people really feel a difference in confidence when they feel good about what they are wearing.
I wouldn’t put too much stock into your looks because that can lead to other mental health challenges. That said, putting effort into your look can be beneficial regardless.
We already covered being more physical, but knowing your why is a big one too. Are you in the gig economy for financial reasons, are you doing this until you get a business off the ground, or is this a temporary position until you get another job. The only wrong answer is not having one.
Finally, the point that buttermymuffin said about Going slower to go faster, I mean as long as you are not making customer orders late, then you should be fine. No need to drive dangerously to deliver someone's crap.
LET GO WHAT YOU CAN’T CONTROL
There’s a lot of things out of our hands (long wait times, traffic, construction, poor delivery notes, etc). They’re gonna happen whether you’re in a good mood or not.
But what you can control is how you communicate with the customer, with support, and the restaurant. Also your driving style and other things are in your hands, literally! If you go with the flow, and not rush, you’ll notice things will run smoother.
I am going to push back a bit on this, you can control when you drive, where you drive and more factors of the sort. That said, going into your gig with intention and being properly informed is a big deal.
If you know some areas have huge construction going on and it is affecting your ability to drive, try going to another location.
If you know a location has a big problem with parking, then don’t drive there.
Don’t waste your own time by being uninformed going into your day.
Finally, these final tips are from me.
Block Out the Haters
I was asked this by another one of the members of the Driven Wyld Discord Community, Hyphen, thank you so much for asking about this and making this video possible!
How do you guys deal with people talking trash about you as a gig worker for needing tips?
I constantly get the "GET A REAL OR BETTER JOB NOT MY JOB TO TIP" - arguments which ends up with me just being done
It is funny how people will always hate on you for doing something different than them, because the more you shine the dimmer their light gets on them, or it shines even brighter on all the insecurities they have.
So they will keep you down in hopes to raise themselves up. People are very similar to crabs in a bucket, where they just want to tear you apart the moment you try to step out and do something for yourself.
You will mostly experience these haters online but they can also come from places like friends and family, which can hurt a bit more and can be more discouraging than BJking69 on reddit.
That said, if you pay them more mind than you should, that would lead to you almost getting pre-angry at customers you haven’t even dealt with yet.
This goes back to the point of setting the vibe, don’t let your haters affect your work.
Join a Supportive Community
I know I just said that most of the haters are on the internet and some can interpret that as “don’t be on social media” and while there is some truth to that, in my opinion and based on my experience, not being able to talk to anyone about stuff like this can lead to isolation.
I remember going on a date with someone and talking to her about some of my goals and dreams and she just gave me this look of someone who had no idea of what I was saying. Which is just an uncomfortable feeling.
Some people don’t think the way you think and don’t really get how our business model works. How often do we get mistaken for employees when we are independent contractors.
Now this community can be anywhere, but one community you can join is the Driven Wyld Discord Server!
The Driven Wyld discord community is exclusive for gig workers looking to expand their knowledge and expertise in their self-employment and entrepreneurial journey’s.
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