I actually had a pretty good day yesterday.
It was a long day...just a shade under 12 hours....but it was efficient and productive. I left the building in the morning knowing that I could get done, with the only question being how much help I would be able to provide to the peak hire in a blown-out rental on the route next to mine.
My management team has actually done something pretty smart this year; instead of trying to micromanage where and for how long I can use my helper, I have been instructed to use my helper as much as I feel is needed so that I can be as productive as possible. This gives me the freedom to plan ahead and deal with whatever issues occur during the day. I like it. And while we are still getting nagged a little bit in the morning about meeting the "36 stops per helper DIAD" quota, nothing is being said to me about the fact that I ignore the rule and focus on what really matters, which is making service on the packages.
There was one part of the day yesterday that was actually kind of fun. I had a 70-stop cut in a newer residential subdivision with light traffic, well-lit streets, and virtually unlimited parking. All of the houses are close together and less than 30 feet from the curb. 68 of the 70 stops were Driver Release, and almost all of them were obviously Christmas gifts. I have a good helper, and the two of us working together absolutely tore that place up. We did those 70 stops in just over a hour and barely broke a sweat. Its a welcome contrast to the hot summer days I have spent sweating my ass off lumping freight onto docks or eating dust on bumpy washboard gravel roads.