I’ve recently been coming to terms with that all-too-common issue for anyone self-employed or freelance – the juggling of feast and famine. While I’ve been steadily busy over the last few months, any placement or University-related work has been unpaid, which obviously leaves me in a difficult position when the bills still need to be paid! This recently left me with a real priority of getting some paid work in, and FAST. Cue the mad rush of CVs leaving my inbox, and thankfully a few acceptances coming back in return! More on these exciting new projects later…
However, what do you do when you have multiple jobs lined up, and not enough hours in the day? Can you afford to say ‘no’ to work when there might be another dry spell coming up? Is it worth your reputation to spread yourself too thin and not give your best self? These are all questions I’ve been wrestling with recently, and after some soul-searching decided to take a break on a passion project I’ve been working on over the last few months. It’s the happy medium that allows me to keep doing my best work without sacrificing my well-being.
This issue is much too common in the arts – where regular 9-to-5 contracts are unheard of and people are always chasing the funding for their next project, while working on the current one. That’s why I was so pleased to see the theatre industry taking these issues more seriously, with the launch of the 24-hour helpline for theatre professionals to discuss anything affecting their health and wellbeing. We need to see more commitments like this to healthier working practices in the arts, before we all burn ourselves out.