It goes without saying that since March 2020, our lives have been thrown into turmoil in one way or another! Every single person, in every single country of the world has in some way been affected by the impact of Covid19-Coronavirus.
I’ve been a driving instructor since 2010. Being self-employed always brings it’s ups and downs but on the whole it’s been an exciting journey and I have a real love for the career path that I have chosen. I always find myself trying to improve and be the best I can be, for myself, as a professional but mostly so that the people I teach get the best out of me! I want their experience to be a wholesome and good one!
So, when covid hit in 2020, my immediate thoughts were about my business! How were we going to cope? How long would this go on for? And how will it affect my students? They were all progressing so well, we had goals, targets and ambitions on our driving lessons, all of this was putting a massive roadblock in our way! Excuse the pun! At the time I had 27 students on my books, all ringing, texting and emailing to find out what was going on… I felt completely lost! I had no answers for them and little did we know at the time that it would go on at that time for as long as it did.
The point of this blog post is to say, my thoughts, feelings and emotions at that time were all over the place! I was trying to protect my family, run my house, keep my business going and help and support my colleagues and students as best as I could, albeit from afar! The way I looked at it was, I have two choices here, I sit, and I worry, and I let my anxiety rise (don’t get me wrong, that did happen on more than a few days of lockdown life) or I do something with this unexpected time! I turned my anxiety and emotions into a driver to get some things done that I have wanted to do for such a long time! This website, blog and the Learner Driver Logbook, all being a part of it. I’ve worked really hard with the extra time off I have had, it’s been really tough at times, but good things come to those who work hard.
The Learner Driver Logbook is a product of my thoughts, feelings and emotions. It’s been a way for me to express all the knowledge I have gained over my career and create something that learner drivers can now use to reach their goals and achieve their dreams!
It’s a really tough time at the moment for our industry. The backlogs are huge, test waiting times are months and months ahead of us. For most people, they can’t even find a driving instructor because we are all booked up trying to catch up ourselves with our existing students. Emotions are running high, anger from test cancellations and put backs, frustration at not being able to get a driving instructor, upset because theory tests have expired, and we must re-sit them! We are seeing it all daily. We totally get it, we understand but you too have a choice, like I did at the start of the pandemic….do we sit back and get upset at the things we can’t change, or do we do all we can to help the situation? Lots of learning to drive can be done away from driving lessons. Planning, setting goals, topic reflection and preparing in theory can all go a long way to help us achieve that driving licence we so desire. So, whilst we try to work with backlogs and delays at the test centre, think about what you could be doing today to reach your goals!
The Learner Driver Logbook can help change those negative emotions to positive ones! My inbox is always open if you want to chat about the benefits to you! emma@thelearnerdriverlogbook.co.uk