Day jobs, side hustles, family life, social life, self-care, and the list goes on. There are so many things that we need to take care of daily. And if we do it wrong, burnout is waiting for us right around the corner. I may have finally cracked the code – mainly through trial and error – on how to bring that work-life balance into being. So let me share three quick strategies for having a VO side hustle and still taking time to rest.
The first thing you have to do is to set healthy boundaries.
Let me repeat this: if you want to succeed and not burn out, you must set up healthy boundaries. I know even hearing the word “boundary” can sound a bit scary and harsh because we generally want to be free to do whatever we want, but try not to look at it like that. Boundaries help us do what we honestly want to do and stay away from what we don’t.
Boundaries are like guardrails on a dangerous road. You don’t notice a guardrail on a good day as they are not needed. However, if you’re going fast around a curb and there’s a cliff on the other side, and suddenly you crash into that guardrail, you begin to thank your lucky stars it was there. Now when you bump the guardrail, yes, it is rough and abrasive, and it may even cause a scratch, but it saved your car; it may have saved your life.
The same thing is true when you set up healthy work boundaries. Of course, you don’t need them on a non-stressful day. But these boundaries are set in a safe place before you start feeling overwhelmed, begin having panic attacks, or feel wholly burned out.
Here’s are some healthy boundaries to consider:
1) Take one full day (24 hours) off from anything you do for work each week. Our bodies were made to rest. Our bodies need weekly time to rest, rejuvenate, and recreate. When you are well-rested, you will get more done. And if you need a nap, take one!
2) Schedule your side hustle (VO) hours, and do your best to keep them. Know what days and which hours each week you are going to spend on sending marketing emails, doing auditions, researching coaches, etc. This boundary may seem restrictive at first, but it will allow you to get more done, which will enable you to rest on your day off.
3) Schedule 20-30 minute windows to do email and or social media scrolling. These are time vampires that suck the life out of your work day. You know this is true. You just picked up your phone to look at your social media feed, and then 100 cat Tik Toks later, you wonder, “Where did my time go?” Attempt to set the alarm on your phone for 20 minutes, then put the phone down!
The second thing you need to do once you have set these boundaries up is to guard them fiercely.
People will not understand them. In our society, rest is not rewarded. Instead, we wear business like a badge of honor – but you have to keep the boundary anyway. Listen, if you are the boss at work, you create the culture.
And the third tip I have for you is to schedule margin in your daily and weekly routine.
We set up meetings all the time with other people. So why not set up an unbreakable appointment with yourself daily? It’s so important to take time to be creative or simply stop and think for a moment. If we don’t take time to reflect, we can’t grow and learn from our mistakes. And most of us will not stop unless we put it in our calendars to do so.
Have you heard the phrase work hard, play hard? It’s so true, especially if you have a side hustle. Do your jobs well. Work hard. But when it’s time to rest and play, put down the phone, shut down the VO booth equipment and spend quality time with the people you are working so hard for in the first place.
Check out our free PDF with pro-tips from real working voice-over actors here!
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