The entertainment industry is a feast or famine lifestyle, and over 38-years balancing family and balloon entertainment can be difficult. In this article, I share things I’ve learned walking the tightrope of life and working as a professional entertainer.
Prioritize Your Time
Time management is critical, and defining a work schedule balances life and work. As an entertainer, I live by my CRM calendar, which lists all my show events and is merged into our family calendar. Our family calendar lists days off from school, family vacations, special birthday parties, and family events. Prioritizing my day is the easy part. I defined my day as work or an off day.
We have 24-hours in the day and can easily be broken up into 8-hour segments. These 8-hour blocks can be arranged to fit your schedule. My work schedule varies from family to work back to family, and entertaining. The key for me is to be in the present. When at work I focus on critical tasks, and when with the family, work takes a backseat.
Don’t Overcommitd Yourself
As much as I would like to take every balloon gig offered, I evaluate each event. I consider cost, location, time, whether it interested me, and whether I will enjoy the job, to name a few questions. I use a similar concept for family activities, and the more creative, fun, and exciting the activity, the less chance I book a show on that day. However, downtime is a good thing.
Set Goals
What are your goals for the day? Is it a fun adventure with the family, or are you designing, editing, and setting up social media posts? I find morning goals of emptying or loading the dishwasher, washing a load of laundry, working out, and developing marketing materials. I’m not trying to clean the entire house deeply, wash and dry all the dirty clothes, or schedule a whole year of social medial posts. I break the goals into small achievable goals.
Take Care Of Yourself
Diet, exercise, sleep are all things we have control over. In my mind, the difference between a professional and a hobbyist is just this topic. Professional takes care of themselves and knows the value of good health. Investing in my mind, body, and spiritual values helps keep me focused and improves my life.
Change Your View
“True life is lived when tiny changes occur”, Leo Tolstoy
Balancing life and work is a struggle for many entertainers. However, I learned to change my view on entertainment, that it’s not a seasonal business but a year-round job. I seek opportunities, holidays, and events to further my entertainment career while making time to enjoy family time. I look to make small positive changes in my life that lead to a better me. If I can do it, so can you.
