It's that time of the year again! We are rounding out one season and starting to prepare and fill out our calendars for the next. The excitement and gratitude to have choreography jobs lined up and being able to do something we love is the BEST feeling! On the flip side, we can also begin feeling anxious and uncertain about how we are going to balance the demands of this role with other life priorities.
We pull up our schedules and begin blocking off dates and before we know it almost everyday has something on it. At first glance we think, "this is great!". There are no overlaps or conflicts, I've got the capacity for all of my clients, other work, and personal life. And it's off to the races!
Side note: Something I have come to realize, what looks great on paper, might not always be so great to execute in real life.
So, reality sets in and we have created this back to back to back schedule that leaves us very little time to prepare for jobs, self-care, or other priorities we might have. We soon realize we took on way too much. Why do we do this every season? Well, we love what we do, we love helping others reach their goals, we want to be their for teams and friends that we have always supported and supported us, and if it's your full-time career then we must earn a living. Our intentions are solid, but we almost without knowing it intentionally forget about ourselves.
I can’t tell you the amount of times my non-choreography friends will stop me and say, "Jackie you need a break". "Sit down, take a deep breath". "This is too much". "It’s not normal the amount of work you do without taking a minute for yourself". And this is just them speaking up about my habits as a choreographer let alone the other side of my personal life! How many of you can relate? As choreographers we often just accept the "stress” of this job and keep it moving. We think it's just how it has to be. After all, we signed up for this and created our schedule.
Yes, to a certain extent there are physical, emotional, and mental demands that are required of us. That doesn't mean we can't take a moment to identify what they are and find some solutions to help us live a more balanced life (even when we take on more then we should). If speaking directly to our job, neglecting to think about how some of this is affecting us can cause MAJOR creative block and burnout. I have experienced this a lot. Whether this is a part-time or full-time career for you, it's so important we recognize it's not always fun and easy.
So, what are we going to do about it?! For starters, let's briefly dive into each demand (I expect there will be lots more submitted by you guys that we can discuss) and offer up some initial solutions on how we can handle them better. I also want to be clear, this is about US. I am merely starting these conversation in hopes you will join in. You might have entirely different approaches or ideas as to how you handle some of these pressures that we can all benefit from. So please don't be afraid to share! .
First on the agenda- Preparing for a Job (Click on the PDF below to see our pressures & solutions breakdown)
If you took a moment to look over the PDF I am sure some of the solutions you already think about or even do and maybe some you're thinking, "yeah Jackie, a lot easier said than done". Hear me out! As I am writing and expressing some of these ideas, I am currently going through all of this as well. I decided I wanted to make a big transition within this dance industry (by choice) and continue to help support others, but not just with choreography. So, I am navigating and figuring out what my new habits look like to start working on my new goals. By stopping and taking a look at what you're doing, why you're doing it, and what you are trying to accomplish can be the best thing we can do for ourselves. We can then begin to put together a schedule and life that is conducive to not only our well-being, but also our choreography and business goals. This segment was a quick tangent (which I am working on a separate blog post), but I wanted to bring it in as if we can figure this part out about our work then these pressures will be much less.
In closing, as we continue to prepare for our jobs keep in mind no matter what level of experience you have or what clients you are working with we are all feeling many of the same pressures. The more time we can spend figuring out what OUR goals are, getting organized, and continuing to stay connected to us or other friends in the business will help make this all a little easier. Feel free to leave a comment or email me. Let's keep these conversations going!
Love love love this. All of it.