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I had a life changing experience in high school when I volunteered as a camp “rover”. A rover was like a counselor, only we weren’t responsible for babysitting the kids. We were the entertainers for the camp. Each day, the rovers got together to plan skits and songs for the evenings’ campfire entertainment. For an hour or two in the afternoons, we subbed in for the counselors, doing outdoor activities with the kids. We performed our campfire shows each night. By the end of the week I felt more clarity in my life ambition than I ever had before. But it wasn’t about what exactly I wanted to do, but instead, in the ideal structure of my days.
Most of us aspire to have a certain career because we are attracted to the thing itself. However, we spend eight hours each day in most jobs. That means we better be realistic about what a work day in that job is actually like. Bakers usually begin their day at 4am. TV and film actors typically work from 7am until question mark. If you want an 8-5 job, being an accountant is a good bet, except during tax season, when you may be working crazy overtime hours.
I’ve performed at theme parks, in theaters, on screen, and on cruise ships. I’ve always been a night owl, and my favorite gigs were the ones where I could lay low and work behind the scenes in the daytime, building up anticipation for the evening’s performance. There is something about that kind of schedule that puts me in “the zone”. As a young adult, I tried out many different performing arts careers, always knowing that I wanted to end up in one where I could rehearse during the day for an evening performance. Getting to see daylight has always been important too, as I’m from far up north where office workers in my town are basically vampires during the winter. Now, as an audiobook narrator, I’m able to structure my day as I want. I do admin and script prep in the late morning, take a walk after lunch, and record in the afternoon and evening. Being able to work in this fashion is likely a major reason I haven’t burned out on audiobook narration after almost eleven years. Most jobs don’t allow this much flexibility in their schedules- especially performing jobs. I’m lucky to have found one that did. I had to give up doing other performing jobs to maintain this schedule, but being able to work in “the zone” every day makes it well worth the sacrifice.
Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, take that into consideration before investing in a career path. We spend a huge percentage of our lives working, so work in a field you are not only interested in, but that works with your preferred lifestyle.
Thanks for reading!
Rebecca H. Lee
Visit my website at becksvoice.com!
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