I don’t know about you but as soon as September 1st rolls around I get that ‘back to school’ feeling, even though it’s been a few decades now since I left. In fact for the first time since 2006 I don’t even have a child going back to school this year which is a very odd!
I often find that voiceover work slows down over the summer. Many of my clients take holidays, or have children at home to deal with, so there is less work coming my way. I really noticed a difference last week – suddenly I was getting lots of enquires again and work that had been promised for several weeks, or even months, suddenly came to fruition.
As a freelancer it can be difficult sometimes to deal with this ‘feast or famine’ work pattern, but in general the times when less work comes in (over the Christmas/New Year period, and in the summer) are the exact times I want to be less busy anyway!
September always heralds (for me anyway) a time to look at my business and get things back on track where they may have drifted off over the summer months. Tasks that have been put off for several weeks (like writing this blog!) are taken off the back burner and dealt with at long last.
I’ve also signed up to a few things that will hopefully help me be more productive.
One of the things I’ve joined is Richard Burridge’s accountability programme. He is running this for free at the moment, and encouraging business owners to stay on track by keeping them accountable to what they say they will do. In my case I have stated that I want to connect with a certain number of businesses every day that may need my services. It’s working! The thought that Richard is monitoring my spreadsheet to see if I am completing my tasks, makes me more likely to do them. He also sends little messages of encouragement periodically which is very helpful too.
I’ve also handed over a chunk of money to Action Coach John McHale to attend his next 90 day planning workshop. At this I will plan and prepare for the last quarter of 2022. I’ve done these workshops a few times and they are always super helpful – and I know I will be kept accountable here too.
Finally, today I have signed up for Nic Redman’s ‘Know it, Own it, Speak it’ masterclass series. This is a series of three short workshops for people who use their voices in their profession. Nic is a great vocal coach who really knows her away around the vocal anatomy and how to use the voice correctly and safely. I thought this would be a good opportunity to re-set, and remind myself of how to use my instrument effectively to avoid vocal fatigue as things start to get busy again. It will also be a lot of fun if Nic’s previous courses are anything to go by!
So what are you doing this autumn? Have you got ‘back to school’ activities on your agenda too?