What distracts you?
I’m not talking about driving distractions, though obviously those can be quite costly -- any little or large mishap impacts insurance premiums, lawsuit potential, provides more ammunition for those who would impose or incentivize driver monitoring systems like in-cab cameras, lane-departure warnings, automatic braking, and the list goes on.
Away from the highway, though, other less-obvious types of distraction yield costs as well.
We all love a good infinite scroll of cat videos, right?
Just as I began writing this the situation in Venezuela and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement incidents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, blanketed mainstream news and social media. Talk about some extraordinarily emotional distractions. Who doesn’t feel compelled to express an opinion?
Yet as with fatal accidents involving non-domiciled CDL holders, I’ll contend big events hold the potential to be so very distracting as to lead to terrible personal -- maybe even business -- decisions.
Comments on social media platforms might be used against you, edited to convey a completely different message than intended, one more possible fraud used to harm you and your career.
Fundamentally, careful small-business and money management are a year-round necessity. Don’t slip into the distraction trap and lose control.
[Related: Could U.S. action in Venezuela bring diesel prices down?]
Listen, ask questions
About six months ago, I was in a personal coaching class for eight weeks -- 16-plus hours of training and practice one-on-one with another participant. We were observed by the educators, who provided feedback and help throughout the sessions.
Participants learn first and foremost to truly listen to the client being coached, to ask questions before offering opinions or succumbing to our natural tendencies to try to convince someone to "do as I say," as it were.
The most wise person in any given room is often the one who resists speaking and is focused on listening. We can’t learn while talking, itself a form of distraction from other tasks. The best example of that -- how talking on a cell phone, even with a hands-free device, can easily be a distraction from driving. Our brains just aren’t wired to do it all at once. Cognitive abilities diminish as distractions override our best intentions.
Find a way to test yourself to better understand just when your attention is most prone to go off the rails. First recognize the importance of your daily decision-making for completion of long-term goals: It's your No. 1 job. Then consider:
- Just as what you eat will show up long-term in physical health, the news and information taken in hugely impacts what we think is important.
- Use a daily notebook for information you want to remember. Come across something important? Write it down, it helps in recall.
- Address crucial decisions as early as possible in the workday, before distractions pile up.
- For particular phone apps that distract you, you might set limits in the apps’ settings.
Overdrive editors and contributors cover all manner of business-related news -- important to stay in touch with, considering conditions can change fast. Yet a look at the most attention-getting stories of 2025 could be educational in a way that might not be obvious. Ask yourself, what topics aren’t covered there?
Take time to read beyond the most attention-grabbing headlines shared around social networks. It’s crucial to determine if a piece of news is something that really needs to be investigated further, holding true import for the business. Only reading the actual story will tell you that, and whether it's important or not is yet another decision only you can make.
Recognize that near all of what we read and hear is about what has already happened, the past, whether recent or more distant. There will never be a crystal ball predicting the future, but you can certainly use your instincts and experience to make informed choices about making that next move, whatever it is.
[Related: Owner-ops, analysts cautiously optimistic for 2026 rates bump]
Set aside specific times to do research around impactful topics. It could help you avoid sliding back into reactive mode online.
Use the time to truly know the sources for the news you read, too -- with the growing use of AI by all manner of outlets, and particularly search engines, it’s getting harder and harder to separate truth from fiction. And unfortunately our personal biases can easily override facts -- behavioral psychology research has proven it time and again.
By learning to slow down my reaction to stories, I feel I better combat that tendency, which is very real in all of us.
[Related: The top 10 trucking stories of 2025 in Overdrive]
On building the first-quarter to-do list
Step away from the distractions for the good of your work, your business management, and ultimately your personal life. Grab the notebook and begin your essential must-do list and consider how to prioritize steps along the way toward achieving the goals. I’ve written about this before -- getting back to the basics in business planning.
Set an appointment with yourself to act on one specific need at a time. Any of these might well be included:
- Get the bookkeeping caught up.
- Contact your tax preparer or tax service to review your situation/income tax changes for the year ahead and prior.
- Review any retirement accounts and your approach to them -- discuss possible adjustments with the preparer as rules and contribution limits may have changed. (There are many certified financial planners who might help here -- ask for a recommendation from the tax preparer, who might be a CFP themselves.)
- Review insurance policies and update equipment value for physical damage.
- Plan for IFTA, IRP, use tax and other essential fillings. If you’re unsure about any of these, I’d recommend the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association for assistance. The previous links, too, go to Overdrive's Partners in Business resource for primer on the basics and some state contacts.
- Reconcile your checking accounts, credit cards and settlement statements -- there can be errors. Never assume balances are always correct.
- Consider an update to or creation of a balance sheet – updating it at least annually if not more frequently. It’s where you can see all of your assets, including account balances (don’t forget escrow balances) – also list the fair value for your equipment or other business-owned assets, and put those up against your debts or bills due, subtracting those from asset to determine your overall business balance, or business’s net worth. I recommend filling a separate balance sheet for the business aside from personal assets and debt. An annual balance sheet may be the best tool to track your financial health and reset annual financial goals. Here’s a free tool that provides a basic template.
Everyone's got a different priority, so any such list will vary. What's on your mind for the year ahead for the business? Send your ideas my way via email -- it might give me somthing new to think about. Or feel free to just reach out with questions. I'm certainly happy to help any way I can.
