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Easy Free 15 minutes

How to Optimize Your Routes and Save Drive Time

Cut fuel costs and fit more jobs per day with smarter route planning.

What You'll Need

Steps

1

Use Google Maps for simple route planning

For 2-3 stops, Google Maps handles it well.

  • Open Google Maps
  • Enter your first destination
  • Tap the three dots → 'Add stop'
  • Add up to 9 additional stops
  • Google automatically optimizes the order
Tip: Drag stops to manually reorder if you have time constraints.
2

Try a free route optimizer for more stops

When you have 5+ stops, specialized tools work better.

  • Free options: Circuit (free tier), RouteXL (free for 20 stops)
  • Go to routexl.com
  • Import your addresses (copy-paste or upload)
  • Click 'Find Route' and it optimizes the order
  • Export to Google Maps for turn-by-turn navigation
3

Group jobs by area

The easiest optimization is geographic clustering.

  • When scheduling, ask: 'What else is near this job?'
  • Try to book same-area jobs on the same day
  • Label jobs by zone in your calendar/CRM
  • Mondays: North side, Tuesdays: South side, etc.
Tip: Even rough geographic grouping can cut drive time by 20-30%.
4

Consider traffic patterns

When you drive matters as much as where.

  • Schedule far jobs for early morning (before rush hour)
  • Midday: Focus on the area you're already in
  • Avoid crossing town during rush hour (7-9am, 4-6pm)
  • Google Maps' 'Depart at' feature shows predicted traffic
5

Review and improve weekly

Learn from what worked and what didn't.

  • Friday: Look at how much you drove this week
  • Could any jobs have been grouped better?
  • Track: Jobs per day, total miles driven
  • Goal: More jobs per day with fewer miles

You're Done!

You're now planning smarter routes! Less driving means more jobs and lower costs.

Pro Tips

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