Rest
On the days we need it most, we do not do it. As a full-time production assistant, freelancer, whatever you want to call it, I have learned one thing. As the notifications on your phone begin to BING and the calls, the emails and the requests (and sometimes demands) begin to pour in, one thing is for certain, you are running up that MOUNTAIN. Your dopamine, your brain chemistry, all of it, is being spiked in ways you cannot even comprehend. With some of these projects, film crew members can be on for weeks and months at a time working 12 hour plus days with limited time to get ready to go to bed and even more limited time to rest and fully recharge for a demanding day on set. So what is one to do when all of a sudden:
The calls stop coming in.
Silence.
There are no more emails.
No needy producers or actors with Little Caesar’s runs and errands to get that specific set of things from that specific store in a specific town during a specific timeframe.
I can tell you what happens, a collapse.
Suddenly, your brain is craving that escalating roller coaster of joy: stuff to do!
But there is none, there is only silence.
The best thing to do is to find ways to cope with the fact that there is nothing to do.
Schedule something, especially on the days you aren’t working
This could be a haircut, an appointment, doing laundry at a laundromat, ice cream, just anything to get out of the house and get out of the valley you have now unfortunately found yourself laying down. I like to do use Todoist for its interface and its system of reminding me that I have some unfinished tasks for the day.
Turn your phone off, become PHONELESS, for a day.
This allows your brain to reset from even seeing the phone for just a little while, sure you can turn it back on, but you won’t keep it on once you have embraced the sweet joy of no bings or dings just sweet silence and maybe a call from a friend.
Read, pray, do something to fill your mind with stuff other than errands.
Avoid doing errands.
This is kind of counter-intuitive to the first remedy, but do not do anything that feels like work, the brain is going to think it is back at work and suddenly your anxiety will spike up, craving that need for work.
Give yourself time to reset.
Check up on your work friends. Make sure they are doing well and that there is no unfinished business on set or anything you might have left at the office. Make sure that the gig is OVER.
Make sure you get plenty of sleep and maybe do something idle like watch a movie or play a video game or something like mental junk food just to give yourself a present for your hard work.
I hope this list helps anyone feeling overwhelmed by this type of workflow and finds it useful for finding peace within their own day-to-day life.
