7 Things I Learned About the World From DoorDashing For 7 Days

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As I mentioned last week, for now at least, I ran out of time to ramp my writing up to something profitable enough to do full time. This Substack nets me less than a thousand dollars a month — not even enough to make both of our car payments — and I needed a stopgap to pay down some things that are overdue.

Because we do own businesses that require time, effort, and attention, and because we have 7 kids at home, I needed flexibility. I couldn’t just get a normal 9-5, even if I hadn’t essentially suicided my career by being a highly-cancellable culture warrior for the past decade or two. I stopped climbing the career ladder somewhere around 2013. Now I’m a gray-haired (if still fairly young) grandfather trying to re-insert myself in an already competitive workforce, with no idea what kind of jobs to even look for if I could fit one into my life.

So I went with gig work. I chose food delivery, in this city of a thousand restaurants. On paper, it looks like a good deal. I’ve spent about 40 hours doing deliveries for DoorDash and Uber Eats, and I’ve brought in a little over $800 in that time.

But that’s 1099 income. It will be taxed at a higher rate. I’ve spent half of what I’ve taken in on fuel. My tires are taking a beating, and I’ll need a full synthetic oil change again soon. I’ve driven over 800 miles in 7 days. And I’m absolutely exhausted. Late nights, early mornings, trying to find the best times to maximize my earnings.

But I’ve had a ton of fun, and I’ve learned a bunch, so I’m not sorry I’ve done it.

Will it work out long term? I don’t think so. Is it worth doing if you need to supplement your income? Yes, I think it can be, but circumstances vary.

In the 7 days I’ve been doing this, I’ve figured out (or remembered) some things that I want to share that I think are useful information for anyone.

#7 - Hard Work Is Good For You

It’s not like I don’t know this. I put in nearly a decade at highly physical jobs, starting with being part of a crew that regularly mowed a big parish cemetery on a hill when I was 15. I’ve worked in a hardware store, hauling 100-pound bags of cement, stocking shelves, sharpening chainsaw chains, mixing paint, mopping floors, the works. I worked in a lumber yard, keeping all the piles stocked and sorted and organized in the summer heat. I worked construction, carrying heavy supplies, mixing buckets of stucco, and climbing scaffolding with them. I spent a whole summer putting pumps in water wells in Idaho, and let me tell you, those suckers are deep up in the mountains, the pumps are heavy, and pulling hundreds of feet of flex pipe by hand or wrenching 10 foot segments of galvanized together as a hoist drops them 1500 feet into the ground will get you in fighting shape very quickly.

Those are just a few of the jobs I did that had me physically exhausted at the end of every day.

But I’ve been riding a desk for 20 years, and I’ve expanded to fill that role!

This job is easier than the ones I did when I was young, inasmuch as I spend a good portion of the time sitting behind the steering wheel, but in five and a half hours today I got in 4,000 steps. I’m in and out of the car every few minutes, up and down stairs, running around apartment complexes, and always moving.

My mood has drastically improved. I’m getting far more exercise than I expected. I don’t even need to get on the treadmill, because I’m doing the same amount of work at work. In fact, after a long plateau, I’m finally losing weight again.

When I’m driving, the old evening urge to have a drink or three and unwind pretty much goes away, and when I am at home or out to dinner I now have less alcohol when I have it at all.

I feel energized and happy more often than not. I go to bed tired enough to fall asleep quickly. In fact, I could go to sleep right now if I just let myself lie down.

My problems haven’t gone away, but I feel better overall, and that’s not nothing. I did not expect to feel this way because of this job.

I’m pleasantly surprised at the effect.

#6 - People Have a Surprising Amount of Disposable Income

I have never used DoorDash or Uber Eats in my life.

I don’t get a lot of takeout anyway, but I won’t pay for the convenience fee when I can just go pick it up myself. I’m kind of a cheap bastard.

But every day, I marvel at the number of orders that come in, one after another. I’m hardly the only driver on the road. There are tons of us. I almost never have to wait for long before something comes across the transom, and I’m heading to pick up coffee, fast food, a salad, a pizza, tacos, or some kind of delicious-smelling breakfast.

And honestly, I’m glad. It makes work for people like me. And I hope it means that people are doing better than I am. I don’t have extra cash to burn right now, but I’m grateful that others do. Many of these people are working in offices, or taking care of new babies (I know, because they always ask me not to ring the doorbell and wake the little sleepers), or are shut ins of some kind who can’t go get food or groceries themselves.

At a time when everything is becoming ridiculously expensive, I’d much rather see a bunch of folks doing OK.

#5 - Working For Yourself Is Still Best If You Can Swing It

I have never played well with others.

I prefer to work alone most of the time.

I hate meetings. I especially hate meetings that could have been an email.

I love being able to control how much I can earn based on how hard I’m willing to work. It’s demoralizing to be in a job where you know that no matter how much extra effort you put in, your paycheck is going to be the same.

When I get in the car and hit, “Dash Now,” I am my own boss. I don’t have any meetings. I can listen to whatever I want. I decide which areas to work. I decide which orders to take. I manage my own customer service procedures. I handle the way I interact with the vendors. I choose the hours I want, and I can have as many of them as I have time and energy for.

Being in the driver’s seat both literally and figuratively feels fantastic. Knowing that busting my butt to hit the numbers I set is totally on me is incredibly motivating. Going above and beyond and hitting a standard of excellence that earns an extra tip from a customer is satisfying.

The pay is less than I’m used to, but better than expected. I average right around $20/hour (and sometimes more), which is better than I’d get working in retail or for a restaurant. It’s less than I’d get as a full-time office employee, but I’m not looking to start a new career filling out the cover sheets on TPS reports. I’m looking to fill in the gaps in income that writing can’t cover at the moment until writing can.

Either way, I’m still my own boss, and the feeling of control that comes with that is liberating.