Welcome to The Admin Day. The day where I reply to e-mails that I have been meaning to reply to for weeks, or sometimes months. We all have these days; outwardly, everyone likes to pretend they are on top of everything, nailing their responses to e-mails within 5 minutes of receiving each one. The reality, though, is that many of us have regular patches of our lives where we struggle to response to an e-mail, or to fill out that form, or to finally upload that document.
It's super easy to beat yourself up for not being on top of everything all of the time, but y'know what? Who is? I think my record length of time it has taken me to respond to an e-mail is something like 10 months; needless to say, it wasn't one that had a deadline, it was a social conversation, but even so, I feel like it's an important thing to publicly acknowledge. This year has started with a lot of stuff going on in my life. I covered a lot of what was happening in January in a previous blog, and it hasn't really slowed down since then! This month, I've performed previews, booked previews, performed a tour show, performed club gigs, applied for club gigs, written new material, applied for new opportunities, had meetings, and managed to shower pretty much every day!
But despite doing all of that, there's always that niggling voice, that constantly reminds you of all the things you haven't done; there's that e-mail from December, the video you meant to record since October, the podcast you haven't edited that was originally recorded over a year ago...in this line of work, it can often feel like we are constantly veering between feeling super productive and accomplished, and then feeling like we are doing fuck all.
I suppose my intention behind this entry is to remind people that we are all not doing enough; and we are also all doing more than we need to do. Especially for people with mental health issues (i.e. 99% of people working in the arts), it can feel like an endless battle to be constantly motivated, to tick boxes...let's be honest, even me writing this blog is me doing so to say "I have done that today, box ticked, 5 points to Ravenclaw". It is important to celebrate those little successes on some days, though, because not every day can be the day where you change the world. Some days, you just have to be happy you changed your clothes.
Today, I replied to e-mails I have been meaning to reply to for weeks. It may not seem like much to some, but to others, it really is something. It's important to remember that.
Thanks for reading,
Tom
It's super easy to beat yourself up for not being on top of everything all of the time, but y'know what? Who is? I think my record length of time it has taken me to respond to an e-mail is something like 10 months; needless to say, it wasn't one that had a deadline, it was a social conversation, but even so, I feel like it's an important thing to publicly acknowledge. This year has started with a lot of stuff going on in my life. I covered a lot of what was happening in January in a previous blog, and it hasn't really slowed down since then! This month, I've performed previews, booked previews, performed a tour show, performed club gigs, applied for club gigs, written new material, applied for new opportunities, had meetings, and managed to shower pretty much every day!
But despite doing all of that, there's always that niggling voice, that constantly reminds you of all the things you haven't done; there's that e-mail from December, the video you meant to record since October, the podcast you haven't edited that was originally recorded over a year ago...in this line of work, it can often feel like we are constantly veering between feeling super productive and accomplished, and then feeling like we are doing fuck all.
I suppose my intention behind this entry is to remind people that we are all not doing enough; and we are also all doing more than we need to do. Especially for people with mental health issues (i.e. 99% of people working in the arts), it can feel like an endless battle to be constantly motivated, to tick boxes...let's be honest, even me writing this blog is me doing so to say "I have done that today, box ticked, 5 points to Ravenclaw". It is important to celebrate those little successes on some days, though, because not every day can be the day where you change the world. Some days, you just have to be happy you changed your clothes.
Today, I replied to e-mails I have been meaning to reply to for weeks. It may not seem like much to some, but to others, it really is something. It's important to remember that.
Thanks for reading,
Tom
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