Big Girl Job

Hi everyone,

I know I’ve been absent for the last few months (and that absence has been felt the most by my number one fan Stephen Fox) and I decided to write this blog as an explanation 

I’ve been working in the Film & TV sector for a few years now, initially part time whilst studying and in short burst full time over summers between Uni terms.

Now that I’ve graduated and into the big bad world of full-time work for the first time, I’ve found it really hard to get the work-life balance right. 

Now, before anyone comments ‘wah wah imagine having to work full time’ I just want to point out that ‘full time hours’ in the film & TV industry and ‘full-time’ in a lot of other jobs are 2 completely different beasts.

I know what I do isn’t rocket science, and long stressful hours are tenfold for doctors, nurses and plenty of other jobs with stakes far higher than ✨making movies ✨. But I also want to say that ✨making movies ✨ isn’t a floaty, easy gig either and no one really preps you for it. I’ve genuinely no idea how anyone in my industry manages to do it with young families, when I’m just about managing to take care of myself?

More commonly, full-time usually means 9:00 – 17:00, Monday to Friday, with a lunch hour to eat, shop or run errands in. 

My official office hours are 8:00 – 18:30, with a 💫theoretical 💫 lunch hour that I don’t usually get to take. 

8:00 – 18:30 is an extra 2½ hours a day I work more than the nine-to-five’ers, which adds up to an extra 12½ hours a week overall, and I often work 8:00 – 19:00 or 8:00 – 20:00 (So a 10½ hour workday only happens on GOOD days, let me complain a little 😂)

I’ve found that having this demanding schedule has really eaten up into the time I usually spend keeping on top of normal, everyday tasks that adults need to do to keep their lives running.

I’ve found that 10 – 12-hour days don’t leave a lot of time to keep on top of your washing/ironing, grocery shopping, house cleaning and, yes, blogging. 

By the time I get home most days around 7 or 8pm, I only have 3 hours in the evening to cook, eat, wash my dishes and maybe watch a bit of TV before I hit the hay at a reasonable time for my 6am alarm clock.

Finding the motivation to try and squeeze in my ironing or cleaning the bathroom into this 3-hour window Monday – Friday is something I’ve found really difficult, never mind writing a blog or recording and editing a new YouTube video every week.

As a result, these ‘life-maintenance’ tasks get pushed to the weekend, and that’s how other activities like exercise, hobbies, Zoom calls with friends and maintaining the blog/YouTube channel slide to the bottom of the to do list.

What I’ve learned from this crazy busy period of time is that I need to include self-care and life maintenance in my diary. I’ve recently been pencilling in specific times to iron, go to Tesco and, today, I’d scheduled out some time to write this blog.

I’ve also learned to be kinder to myself if I leave a couple of boxes on each day’s to do list unticked. If my ironing gets done on Sunday afternoon instead of Friday, or I have a microwave meal for dinner 3 days in a row, or don’t write a blog in a while, instead of beating myself up about it and losing motivation, I should just cut myself some slack.

So, to any other young people in demanding jobs (Film & TV or any other sector) who’re having a tough time keeping their personal lives and life maintenance in order, just remember to take care of yourself, and you can always clean the bathroom tomorrow.