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Have you ever felt overwhelmed with how many things you need to do and there are just not enough hours in a day? Looking at next week hoping it will be an eight-day week rather than seven? Hands up, I am one of those people! Learning how to say no to things has been a bloody hard journey for me. I think learning work load management, how to say no and prioritise yourself is something that applies to both full-timers and freelancers.
Do not get me wrong, I love my job, and I would not have anything different (except for maybe an eighth day in the week), but sometimes I just do not have the time for it all!
Not only do I want to do these other music related things, but I also want to see friends, have fun and exercise as well! Being able to cook food at home, have a day off and just do absolutely nothing. The list goes on.
The truth is, all of these things will not happen. At least not at once. And we need to learn to accept this. I have accepted that there are different things at different times and stages of life! Some weeks I will have time to exercise and time to cook proper food that will nourish me. Other weeks I will eat fast food for a week, and the thought of exercising is just not happening. And that is OK!
Try and stay on top of things, prioritise what is important, what can wait and so on. At university, I was taught the traffic light model. Some of you might be familiar with it, some of you might not be.
With the traffic light model, you put things into categories:
Red is off track and urgent.
Yellow is not incredibly urgent and is relatively on track.
Green is on track and projects that can wait.
When I was taught this in university, everything felt urgent & off track in my life.
I just could not let go of the idea that I needed to do everything and everything at once. But now a couple of years later I truly understand the importance of this and the importance of saying no or “this can wait” to not burn myself out.
Another way to stay in control is to keep lists. But not just a work list. A life list. Things you want to do in your spare time, hikes you want to take, movies you want to watch. Place as much importance on these lists as you do your work. Put these things on your calendar just like you do your work schedule. Doing a life list ensures you don’t just focus on the work to-do’s, but your life to-do’s. Schedule free time if you need to. And make sure you enjoy it guilt free when you take it. (It was on your schedule after all – got to follow the schedule).
Evernote is an excellent App to keep multiple lists, and it can sync across multiple devices so when you see something on the move, or someone gives you a recommendation over lunch, you can just note it in the app and review it later.
There are things in life we need to deal with urgently, whether it is your personal life or work related. And we should deal with these things immediately! Other things can be planned and a better balance can be made between work and play when you take some time to set a path for yourself.
I would say, look at your life as a DJ mixer. Just try to avoid going into the reds. There is nothing good happening there. Try and stay in the greens & yellows.
Evaluate your life, where are you right now? Incorporate an admin hour or two in your day/week, so you can properly sit down and have a look at where things are at. When you take control of things in your life, you are less likely to feel overwhelmed, and you will make time for the essential things in your life. And the most important thing in your life should always be your well-being.
Article by Sound Girl: Olive Olin
The mission of SoundGirls.org is to inspire and empower the next generation of women in audio. Our mission is to create a supportive community for women in audio and music production, providing the tools, knowledge, and support to further their careers. SoundGirls.Org was formed in 2013 by veteran live sound engineers Karrie Keyes and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato and operates under the Fiscal Sponsorship of The California Women’s Music Festival, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. In 2012, Karrie and Michelle participated in the “Women of Professional Concert Sound” panel at the AES Conference in San Francisco. The panel was hosted by the Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) and moderated by WAM founder Terri Winston. Terri brought together five women working in live and broadcast audio. The groundbreaking panel (which also included Jeri Palumbo, Claudia Engelhart and Deanne Franklin), provided young women and men a glimpse into life on the road, tips and advice, and a Q & A with the panelists. More importantly though, was how incredibly powerful the experience was for the panelists. We had all been in the business for 20 years or more, yet most of us had never met before that day and within minutes we bonded like long-lost sisters. We were struck by how similar our experiences, work ethics, and passions were and wondered why our paths had never crossed and how our careers would have been different had we been there to support each other through the years. Each of us are strong on our own, but together we were even stronger and a powerful force. We were empowered. Each of us had been asked hundreds of times in our careers: Are there other women doing sound? How did you get into sound? How would a young woman go about getting into sound? Through creating SoundGirls.Org, we hope to establish a place for women working in professional audio to come for support and advice, to share our success and failures, our joys and frustrations, and for empowerment and inspiration.
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