Thursday is Now “Headshot Mailing Day”
Thursday is now “headshot mailing day”. The idea is to set aside certain days for certain things. Associate the task with the day and then repeat until it’s a habit. Sending out headshots/resumes is a clear physical “next action” that I can repeat every week. If I repeat this consistently it is bound to yield results. It’s been the “consistent” part that’s been the problem in the past. Putting into the realm of habit should help with that.
I also set up a database this evening to automate the process of going through Backstage notating which projects I want to submit myself for. The process:
- Purchase Backstage every Thursday.
- Go through it that day and quickly mark projects I might be right for. Write “S” next to the ones that use sides. Use a shorthand system to mark items that are coming up this weekend or are email submissions versus mailed submissions versus submissions that are open call.
- Don’t let Backstage sit around, thinking to yourself “I’ll do it tomorrow…” You won’t.
- Open up the database and input all relevant data from Backstage. This allows you to track what projects you’ve submitted yourself for. It also gives you a hardcopy that is easy to access when it comes time for the audition.
- Sort the list: “Open Calls”, then “Email Submissions”, then “Mailed Submissions”.
- Print a copy of that weeks items to submit, using the easy to read “Print Template”.
- Staple together the “Open Calls”. Staple together the “Email Submissions”. Staple together the “Mailed Submissions”.
- Fire up the email and knock out the “Email Submissions”. Use previous cover letters as template, exchanging the names of the various “To:’s” and “Projects”.
- Rinse and repeat for the “Mailed Submissions”.
- Walk out to the mailbox and deposit all “Mailed Submissions” before bed so they go out on Friday.
Hopefully this process will become easier and more streamlined the more I do it. It took a while tonight to do, but I think the extra time working out the process will make it easier to complete down the road. It’s like my teaching schedule. The more I automated the process, the less I had to think about the process. The less I have to think about the process, the more likely I will be to do it. It’ll become a habit.
That’s the idea at least.
Tonight I sent out 7 emails for projects and mailed one. There are also two auditions that are open call that I hope to attend.
We’ll see how this goes. It might be possible to “rinse and repeat” the process for some of my other creative endeavors. More posts on this as I go along.