Planning Your 2024 - Producer Edition
Whew! Another year! And the same thing is on everyone’s mind - goals! plans! fears! anticipation!
Particularly for producers, it’s an interesting time. We’re a couple of years out of covid but we still bear the scars. It feels like resources across the industry are scarce. And striving for success can seem like an exhausting battle - financially, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically. But never fear! It’s all about perspective and it’s time we sorted yours so you can get the most out of your year as a producer.
The first thing I need to tell you is what I tell everyone I work with. You are a whole damn human being with multiple facets and not everything is about work. You’re worthy as you are right now. Take a minute to let that sink into your bones.
Once you’ve done that and you’re feeling BANANAS good, google “The Wheel Of Life”. There are myriad versions online but the basic concept is a diagram, split into different areas of your life.
You go round the circle, giving each area of your life a score out of ten and marking it on the circle, with a score of 1 being the centre of the circle and 10 being the outside edge. Once you’ve completed the sections, you can join the dots and see a little (probably wonky) shape appear on top of your diagram.
Fill this in for yourself and take a look at your shape. Now imagine attaching four tyres in this exact shape to a car or two wheels in this exact shape to a bike. How smooth is your ride?
This exercise makes a really crucial point that I want to hammer home to you at the start of this brand new year. Success in different areas of your life is only worth anything if the majority of areas are improving together. If you’re breaking your back to push your career forward but neglecting everything else around you, imagine the shape of your wheel of life. You wanna drive on that? I sure don’t.
What I mean is, the pushing you’re doing in one particular area of your life will not result in you feeling positive, fulfilled, happy or contented if it’s unbalanced. It’s really, really important that you understand that having a movie night with your friends/partner, cooking really lovely food for yourself or getting out for a walk twice a week is JUST as crucial for you as striving for success in your work. None of these things, or anything else that’s important to you, is less worthy than another.
Also, you are going to achieve your career goals with SO MUCH MORE ease, flow, enjoyment and prosperity if the rest of your life is balanced, fulfilling and enjoyable. Everything will be so much easier, I promise.
I know what you’re thinking now. “So Hannah, you want me to improve everything, all at once, in equal measure, how exactly?? I’m overwhelmed af.”
I hear you. And don’t worry, I didn’t bring you all the way down here to let you go without a magic pill.
Yes! A magic pill! The thing everyone tells you doesn’t exist! Well, ya girl has ADHD and we loooooove a shortcut so here it is. The magic pill to improve everything at once is this book - The Magic by Rhonda Byrne.
It’s a 28 day gratitude practice that will totally revolutionise your life. I know you’re rolling your eyes, but I just want you to believe me. This book has done things for me that I would have told you were impossible. Do yourself a favour and spend £7.99 on the paperback version, even if you’re an audiobook person. This is a practical, to-do list kind of book (that’s super easy to do) and you’ll need to see it written down.
Also, once you’ve completed your Wheel Of Life exercise, go round the edge of your circle/diagram and write down three goals for each area of your life. Make sure you do every single one, writing down at least something you want to achieve in that area. It’s the easiest, laziest and most effective way to set balanced, personalised goals that will feel important and fulfilling for you. And who knows! When you start your gratitude practice, you might even find you’ve unknowingly achieved some of them already!
Those are my words of love and inspiration for you this week, my darlings. Make sure you’re subscribed for more blog updates because I’ve got some GREAT stuff coming up for you including….
How to diversify your income streams as a producer WITHOUT increasing your workload
How to identify your transferable skills and sell them to create more stability for yourself
A producer’s guide to your self assessment tax return
A look inside our very own Edinburgh Fringe calendar - exactly what you need to do and when
The secrets to a WINNING money mindset as a producer
How to really find investors for your work - a practical guide
Personal Development 101 for producers
My favourite books, courses and podcasts for producing success
Industry dates for your diary
And so much more!
Finally, if you followed my advice above (you totally should) and ended up with a brand new goal list and a copy of The Magic by Rhonda Byrne in your hands, why not tell me about it?? I’d love to hear from you and hear what your new goals are for 2024! Drop us a message on socials or email us at hello@thistleandrosearts.co.uk.
Big hugs!!
Hannah x
