How do I plan a paper route? A question asked by many beginning a paper route for the first time, or by a carrier who just got the biggest route they have ever had. Planning a paper route properly can help save time, energy (going green), frustration, stress, and help maximize your profit for your paper route.

First, you need to determine what is most efficient for you and your delivery vehicle. If you have a car for example, you want to minimize your u-turns to save gas and wear and tear on your transmission. If you are on a bike, you want to avoid as much uphill climbing as possible to conserve energy and time. We'll assume you are in a car for the remainder of the entry although many of the tips will work for walkers and bike carriers.

You want to plan your route so each trip down a street delivers as many papers as possible. However, make sure you don't get too greedy and sacrifice your accuracy. Missed deliveries will cost you.

Create a "throw list" which will have all your subscriber's addresses listed, their subscription level, and any special instructions they have left regarding their news paper. Keep the throw list updated and it will help you, your substitutes, and your district manager when you decide to move on and someone else inherits your paper route. Your customers will benefit the most because they won't miss a beat when you have a substitute delivering for you using your accurate throw list.

A sample throw list is attached for you to examine. A few notes about the sample throw list:

• The underlined streets (GENESIS DR) have subscribers while the streets not underlined (SMITH BARNES RD) are intermediate streets on the way to streets with subscribers.
• I used DS, SO, and WE for my subscribers subscription levels. Create your own and be sure to note them in your Legend.
• Include important phone numbers at the end of your list which will be very helpful should you or your substitute encounter any problems while you are delivering papers. This has been very helpful for carriers out who discover they are 2 or 3 papers short.
• The throw list has a line down the middle which is duplicated automatically on the next page. Fold your list down the middle on this line for convenience when delivering your papers.

These are just a few tips and a sample throw list to help you plan your paper route for maximum convenience, efficiency, and profit. Save precious dollars and become more earth-friendly by saving gas with an efficient paper route. Going green is the happening thing and you can do your part with proper planning of your paper route.

Be sure to come back and use the Profit Calculator to calculate your profit after planning your paper route.