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It still strikes me as funny when people ask if I ever get bored while riding full time in the semi with Devin. So today, I’m going to answer the curious questions that a lot of people have had for me. This is daily routine as a full time passenger, freelance writer, and blogger.

If you’ll notice, I don’t have specific times, that’s because our schedule rolls and frequently changes to get our freight delivered on time. Some days we get up at 5 am, and some days we get up at 5 pm.

Wake up

• Devin’s alarm goes off, and he jumps out of bed. Within five minutes or less, he’s fully dressed.
• After he’s sitting up front in his driver’s seat, I stand up, close the privacy curtain behind him, and get quickly dressed (because I really need to pee!!).
• I then make the bed quickly, and throw the ‘dog sheet’ over the entire bed and the pillows. This keeps all things ‘dog’ (especially dog hair) out of the bed. I then lay a long body pillow and throw pillows on the bed, to keep the sheet stationary.
• I slip shoes on, and we go into the truck stop or rest area.
• When we come back out to the truck, I open the privacy curtain, and the sleeper window curtains.
• I take Blair (our dog) for a walk. This is usually a quick one, that’s 5-10 minutes long.
• I brush my teeth in the truck, and (try!) to do something with my hair. Messy buns and hats are a blessing.
• We either grab food from a truck stop, or we eat snacks we keep in the truck for breakfast. Sometimes I fix full breakfasts (sausage, bacon, eggs, toast, etc) depending on how hungry we are.

Get Moving

• Devin starts driving. Blair lays on the bed and occupies himself by looking out the windows or (loudly) squeaking toys or chewing on bones. I get my iPad, HP laptop, and iPhone and sit in the passenger seat.
• I turn my hotspot on from my phone or tablet, open my laptop, and begin my day.
• Occasionally, I’ll stop what I’m doing to play with Blair (a game of fetch that is basically him jumping on & off the bed).
• I get up once or twice to feed and water him and the guinea pigs.
• I also have my iPad ready for pictures of scenery. About every one out of every ten pictures I take and edit ends up on my Instagram.

Working Online

• I usually start my day by checking the Quora finance section, this has no purpose but I love seeing all the creative Q & A ‘s, and it’s a pleasant way to begin my morning.
• I then check my email and reply when necessary.

The Blog

• Next, I start work on my blog. I keep a running list of 10-15 blog post ideas, so writer’s block is (usually) not an issue.
• I do a quick Google search on whatever my topic is to make sure it’s not too similar, or the topic isn’t overly saturated.
• If it’s appropriate, I find reputable facts and statistics, and tidbits of information to include in the post.
• I start writing! Even the shorter blog posts take a minimum of two hours to write.
• After I finish the post,  I optimize it for search engines. I also insert my affiliate links when appropriate.
• I then use my own photos, or download free, non-copyrighted pictures. These typically come from PicJumbo, or the public section of Flickr. I create graphics from those pictures, and insert them into the post. That usually takes a half hour to do.
• When I publish the post, I then share it to my email list, my Facebook page, my personal Facebook profile, Twitter, and Pinterest.
• I then browse Pinterest. I find one or two small blog improvements and put those into place. This week in particular, I’m working on updating my Pinterest Pins that I made for the blog, and using better keywords in the descriptions. Last week I joined a few collaboration boards to help boost my reach. If you’d like to join a collaboration board, contact me here!

Taking a Break

• I check my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Twitter is hands down my favorite platform and I interact the most on there.
• Sometimes I grab a snack or a drink from the back in our refrigerator or pantry.
• Devin and I talk a lot, usually about what we want to do when we take our week long breaks every month, politics, current events, or terrible puns and/or speculations about roadside attractions. We also talk about long term goals and how we want to pull those off.
• Somewhere in the middle of our day, we stop for a mandatory half hour break. If we have a lot of time to kill, we may turn our half hour break into a full hour. During this time I either make lunch, or we buy it from a truck stop or restaurant.
• I walk the dog for a full half hour. If we don’t have a lot of time, Devin cooks / eats while I walk, and I eat once we get moving again. If we do have time, or we’re in a bad neighborhood Devin walks with us.
• If I’m feeling bored or burned out, I log onto Pinterest and look at my secret ‘Sarah’s Goals’ board. It’s outlined with goals I have that are short term, long term, and really long term. It makes me feel better, and usually helps me get my motivation back.
• At some point or another, I step back into the sleeper and do my squats, crunches, and planks. I might be sitting or laying down 22-23 hours a day, but I’m still working on losing fat and gaining muscle. In five weeks alone, I’ve lost fifteen pounds with minimal effort, thanks to the free ‘LoseIt!’ app. I’m sure I’ll write more on this topic later on.
• I sweep the floor, and shake out the rugs at least once, if not two or three times a day. Blair is a mutt with really sleek, shiny fur, but he sheds an unbelievable amount. Being in a small space seems to really amplify that.
• Our guinea pigs ride on the top bunk, but I sometimes put their cage on the bottom bed. They love the extra sunshine, and Blair loves to watch them play. They’re really social, so we get them out to run around on longer breaks.
• At some point or another while going down the road, I put my laptop away and Blair sleeps in my lap like a cat.

Going Back Online

• Now I do the boring part of my day. Some people argue that you should do the worst part of your day first, but I disagree. My blog is ultimately the most important thing I work on. If I get ‘burned out’ I want it to be on other’s work that is optional, not my own.
• I log into Fiver, UpWork, IZEA, and my freelance email account.
• On Fiver, I proofread and edit papers, or write blog posts. If work is slow, I apply to new tasks (such as answering company emails, or making logos for other bloggers).
• On Upwork I do the same, except I sometimes assist with social media marketing / building strong social media accounts.
• With IZEA, I get paid to share certain articles, links, or promotions on my facebook, twitter, and my blog.
• With my email (services I offer on my blog), I do a smaller combination of the above tasks. So far, this is the least busy platform, but I’m still working on growing it.
• I’m currently writing my book that will be released in July. I reach out to other authors for advice. I reach out to other proofreaders and editors for help, and I reach out to people I’d like to interview for the book.
• I also write for about one hour a day on my book. Sometimes it’s more, sometimes less, and sometimes it’s just building my graphics for it.

Shutting Down

• We either stop and sleep at the receiver’s, a truck stop, or a rest area.
• If we’re at a truck stop, we fuel up, shower, and sometimes get the truck washed.
• Blair gets to go outside for another walk, for anywhere between 10 minutes to 30 minutes. He’s out of shape like I am, so a half hour walk always tires him out.
• We fix or buy dinner.
• If we’re tired, we change into our night clothes and go to bed. If not, we read books, watch pre-recorded TV,  Netflix, play xBox, or game on the same laptop I blog from.

Emergencies

• Sometimes we run into road closures, high wind, or storms. If that happens, we find a safe place to park and we wait it out. We always have a minimum of 8 days food in the truck, if not more. We always carry a few gallons of water with us as well, not to mention food and cleaning supplies for our pets.
• Our truck has a generator built into it, so the truck doesn’t even have to run to keep our gadgets, heat and AC going.
• We have an electric skillet, a microwave, a refrigerator, and a croc-pot to fix food with.
• We have plenty of entertainment options, ranging from satellite TV, the xBox One, books, ebooks, Netflix, the laptop, and not to mention both of our smart phones. We also have lots of toys for Blair, and walking him keeps us busy.
• We’ve been stuck for four days one time, and three days another. The four days happened in Wyoming at the Abe Lincoln rest area due to excessive wind (it was also bitter cold and snowing), and the three days happened when we got snowed in at an onion / potato farm in Washington. Both times were relatively enjoyable because we had access to restrooms, and plenty of entertainment.
• The only draw back to times like those, is the lack of showers. We do keep soap, water, and baby wipes stock piled just in case to make those non-showering periods bearable.



Mini Vacations

We don’t get the weekends off, we work every day. Once a month, we take a week off. This is typically done in Indiana (so we can be with our families) or Montana (so we can property hunt, kayak, drive, and hike). The cool part about this is that we aren’t limited to one place or another! For my 21st birthday, we’re still trying to decide if we want a week in Las Vegas, a week in Canada, or a week camping and trail riding in the Grand Canyon. So far, we’ve stayed at our house in Indiana, or the Days Inn Hotel (which is cheap, clean, AND pet friendly!) in Wye, Montana. If we stay elsewhere, we sleep in the truck, or we can get an AirBnB (if you click this link, you get $40 off your stay!). The opportunities that our jobs have presented us with is absolutely amazing.

Surprised?

Are you a little shocked? It’s surprisingly comfortable as a full time passenger, and I thoroughly enjoy the experience.

If you’d like to see the inside of our truck, click here.

Want to see the ugly side of what I do? Click here.

To make money like I do online, click here.

If you want to see my services, or even order them, click here.

To travel full time, and get paid to do it, click here (and no, you don’t have to become a truck driver, or marry one, to travel).

Want to help a truck driver out? Click here to see the ten things that every trucker wishes you knew.

If you are a truck driver, or you want to be one, click here to see everything you should keep in your truck.

If you already travel a lot, click here to learn about rewards perks and the best truck stop.

If you’d like to learn more about what it’s like to be a truck driver, or if you’d like to see what a $12-17 truck stop shower looks like, check out my post about that.

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What are your thoughts on full time traveling, online money making, and riding as a passenger? Would you like to do what I do? Let’s hear your thoughts down in the comments section below! If you liked this article, don’t be shy, and share it with your friends using the social buttons below. As always, thank you for reading!