Last week was a wash. Literally.
I washed up on the shores of Belize, Isla Roatan, and Cozumel on a cruise ship excursion with my family, and two other families for a week. Yeah. Hate that.
The picture of me there is on the beach at Passion Island North of Cozumel. ‘An afternoon that I kinda remember (open bars are dangerous).
While I was gone, I “sandbagged” 5 blog articles, and scheduled their posting each day so there would be some semblance that all was as it should be at Camp CourVO. I don’t like to FaceBook or Tweet while I’m away. Robbers are savvy, too…and it wouldn’t take much to put our house on the map while we were gone.
Below is a video I put together of some of the best moments of our cruise, but that’s not really why I’m blogging today.
POST-VACATION BLUES
Like clockwork, auditions and VO opportunities tend to pile-up the moment you walk out the door. Immediately catching up to those loose ends is a priority. I also returned to 1875 emails in my primary account. I haven’t even looked at the other two accounts yet.
Do I feel overwhelmed? You betcha!
Will I hit a brick wall of post vay-k depression?…Mmmmm….likely.
Can I possibly recover one week’s worth of Social Media presence in the next week?
Do I want to?
Is it worth it?
TWO VO RULES TO LIVE BY
1) You can’t do it all. Not in a day. Not in a year. There will never be enough time.
2) Check-off your To-Do list by answering the following question: Did I make progress today?
(Honorable mention: force yourself into a rewarding distraction when you feel it’s all too much — even a small diversion is worth it)
So, this week I’m back at it. Much to do…but it’ll get done. Thanks for reading this far, now enjoy the video below.
CourVO
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Hi Dave, I’ve taken that same trip – super fun. Thanks for the tips – especially #1. That’s one that I find myself struggling with often. See ya!
-jm
Thanks for stopping by, John… I’m gonna bring that Senny over one of these days soon!
Dave C
I consider that I’m never really completely on vacation, and I love it that way. I spend time each vacation day taking care of emails, servicing clients, and doing VO…whether it’s from the floor of an apartment in Barcelona, to the middle of a cornfield in Iowa.
I find there’s MUCH less stress when I get back if I’ve kept up with things while I was gone. The amount of stress I save by “cutting loose completely” while I’m on vacation never offsets the feeling of overwhelm when I return, so I just take care of things as they come. My family and friends all understand this about me, so it works quite well. And it’d take more than two hands to count the number of clients’ bacon that I’ve saved by not being completely off the grid for a week…those kinds of “you saved my butt” events really stand out in a client’s mind, and serve to further cement your relationship with them.
i understand this approach won’t work for everyone…but it works for me, and frequently I pay for the vacation with the jobs I do while I’m “on vacation.”
Love your stuff, Dave…thanks for sharing!
-cb
Hey Craig…
Thanks for stopping by to comment. I do much the same… just enough to stay abreast of things, but not linger when I don’t really HAVE to. Still, I leave the heavy lifting for when I get back, and I kinda relish the work by then…My family and friends all understand this about me, too!
warm regards,
Dave C
Welcome back, Dave! You’re a cruisin’ inspiration – we CAN take time off and survive biz.
John
VoiceOverXtra
Thanks, John…you know of what I speak, you…you…Florida-beach-bum-kinda-guy!
CourVO
Welcome back Dave! I was also on vacation last week. You just gotta keep everything in proper perspective. You’ll make yourself crazy if you don’t.
Dan Friedman
http://www.sound4vo.com
http://www.procommvoices.com
Oh so true, Dan…it took me years to figure that out, though…I always just wanted to plow through the work like a pigheaded workaholic. What did it get me? More grey hairs!
Thanks for stopping by!
CourVO