Self-Care

Hello, readers.  Apologies for the late post this week, but I was sick Wednesday and things tend to snowball.  But it actually leads in to what I wanted to talk about this week: the importance or self-care. 

It's sort of a rare experience for me to work myself into exhaustion so badly that I get physically ill, but I didn't take care to devote enough time to rest and I paid the price.  If you're passionate about something, it's easy to throw yourself into it, and especially if you're depressed, anxious, or ADD/ADHD you tend to feel like you're never doing enough or never going fast enough.  And it screws with you. 

I'm 32, and still just getting into this voiceover thing.  So a lot of the time I struggle with feeling like I'm way behind.  So instead of taking the time to relax my body and mind after already spending nine hours at my survival job, I throw myself into research and practice as soon as I get home, too.  If I'm not careful, my health and my relationships suffer.  Fortunately, my wife is also a creative and she can see the signs.  She watches out for me just like I watch out for her, since we can't always see things right in front of our faces.

I think that setting a bit of an elevated pace is a good thing.  It keeps me from getting lazy and falling into old habits.  I'm always concerned with what's next instead of ruminating on what I've already sent out.  But as much as I love this, it's still work.  I'm not slacking off if I also include time to watch a movie with my wife or take an extra long walk with the dog.  Your mind is a muscle, and when you're working out rest is just as important as activity.  I can't be my best if my brain is wrung out and useless.  The same is true for my voice.  If I over-practice or overuse it, trying to stay ahead of the competition I'm going to hurt myself and fall behind anyway.

Taking a break when you need it is also, strangely enough, a great way to stay motivated.  Killing myself with this is the best way to guarantee that I'm not going to want to keep doing it.  Even the best job in the world can end up being a chore if you're not taking care of yourself in your off time. 

So set a healthy pace.  If you deal with mental issues like ADHD, take steps not to hyperfocus.  Have a varied set of hobbies and interests outside of voiceover that can refresh you.  Try to live a healthy social life, because your friends and experiences out there are going to make your performances in the booth much better!  And well...you know what else I'm going to say.  Eat your vegetables, take your meds, and stay in school. 

Mostly what I'm saying here to myself and to you is, you have permission to rest.  You're still going to be great.