I present to you the algorithm called Shitsort; it’s mathematically proven to be the best way to sort packages in your car while doing Flex.

Advantages:

• No unnecessary digging through packages, no waste of time
• Most of the time, your next package to deliver is the closest package to you on the front passenger seat
• Save 20 minutes of your time per 4-hour block

Disadvantages:

• Not suitable for people with OCD
• Only suitable for driver aid stickers that look like 1-1, 1-2, 2-3, not those other ones that look like UP1234E

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Sorting at delivery station

No surprise here, most of you are already doing this.

Scan every package and as you do it, put them into three piles by stop number or package number: 1-10 go into one pile, 11-30 go into another pile, 31-50 go into a third pile.

Do not load packages into your car as you scan! It’s much more efficient to scan all packages first, then load all of the at once.

Aim for 7 minutes total scanning and loading time for 48 packages, from the moment you get out of the car to the moment you get back in. Time it on your phone.

1-10 go into your front passenger seat, 11-30 go into the back seat, 31-50 into the trunk.

Do not bother sorting them by stop number yet.

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Shitsorting while delivering

Your next package to deliver must always be in the front passenger seat closest to you. When you exit the car, just grab that package and go. No need to search for it, no need to open other doors or trunk. This saves a lot of time; multiply it by 50 packages and you realize you can go home a lot earlier.

When you arrive to stop 1, look for the package closest to you. Suppose you see package 9-9; that’s not what you want. Put it to the furthest end of the passenger seat. Take the next package, suppose it’s 7-7. Put it next to 9-9. Next one is 8-8. Put it between 7-7 and 9-9. The next package is 1-1. Great! Stop sorting and deliver 1-1.

In other words, you only keep sorting until you find the package you want. After that, stop sorting. A few stops later, all your packages on the front seat will magically align in the exact order of delivery. You just have to grab it and go deliver.

After you finish delivering the first 10 stops, stay in the driver’s seat and start pulling packages 11-30 from the back seats to your front seat and sort them by stop number. 21-30 go to the floor, 11-20 go the seat. Again, only continue pulling packages from the back into the front until you find the package needed for your current stop, i.e. stop 11. Roughly by your 15th stop, you will again have all the packages magically sorted in the right order in your front seat.

You can also sort packages while stopped at the traffic light. Even putting 3-4 packages in the right order while waiting already saves a lot of time.

Exceptions

The obvious exception is (L) boxes. Leave large boxes where they are and pick them when you arrive to the stop.

Conclusion

Shitsort saves you time because you only need to sort each package just-in-time; there’s no unnecessary sorting, no unnecessary opening of doors or trunk, and you can lazy-sort while wasting time in busy traffic or at a light.

By saving 3-5 minutes when loading and 20-30 seconds for each stop, you can easily shave off 20 minutes from your typical 4-hour route.