How to Combat Post Project Blues

by Christina Shipp

How many of you have closed a show or finished a shoot and looked toward the coming days with dread? How many of you get maudlin or blue when you come to the end of a project, especially when you have no idea of what’s coming next? No more fun wrap parties, hanging with a tightly-nit group of creative artists you’ve come to love. Suddenly, the show is over. The project wraps. And you are left behind feeling lost, frankly, with no idea about how to navigate your next steps.

I, for one, have found it to be especially useful to have a system to plug into, one that supports you as an artist and as a businessperson. Something that keeps you moving forward proactively when you feel yourself slipping into despair. As artists, we have to deal with the idea of change. Our lives are in constant motion and flux. It can be hard for us as creatives to have routines, because we’re always dealing with shifting schedules. But, the more we have our own rituals and routines locked in, the better we’ll be able to navigate that change.

For example, I just closed a show on Sunday—I knew I’d be grieving. But I also knew that what I like to call my “Marketing Monday” would immediately follow. So I had something to turn my attention to, something I could concentrate and focus on with the same dedication I give to my acting work. It is locked in the framework of my week, and my life, to support me when I need the little extra nudge.

So give yourself a nudge. Find a system that works for you. Maybe organize weekly by giving yourself specific days per week to focus on specific areas of your life. Identify ‘Interest Areas’ in your life that you’d like to work on. Interest Areas could be: Health/Fitness, Acting, Marketing Materials, Correspondence, etc. Think about it and brainstorm on the back of a napkin to get your start of what YOURS are. Then, at the end of the week, organize yourself weekly and schedule in your Interest Areas in your Calendar. It will keep you looking ahead and consistently working for your success. Know thyself, and create a system that you know you can follow.

Another way to stay plugged in by organizing yourself is with a daily system that you plan the night before. Chet Holmes talks about this in his book ‘The Ultimate Sales Machine” – he calls it the Daily 6.

Write down a list of the 6 things you would like to accomplish that day. (If you have a day job or a class, those should be accounted for in your Daily 6.)
Put them in the order of most important first.
Write down the amount of time you will need to complete each task. (Don’t forget your travel time!)
Add two full hours for “reactive time”—time that is spent reacting to the details of the day: showering, eating, answering emails etc.
Add up the amount of time you’ve scheduled.
See if it’s realistic.

This kind of planning will help you see quickly if your priorities match what where you are focusing your attention. A sobering reality check and an awesome system to help you stay track and prioritize!

Systems like these help us to stay plugged in. To our lives and our values and our dreams. They support us long after the show is over and the residuals stop coming in and when we don’t know when the next gig will be. Because the best thing about your system is that it works for you. You are in control of it, and it fits you like a glove. Let that control empower you to feel good about your life and your career. And then take that energy and let it catapult you past your Post Show Blues, and on to the next adventure—whatever it may be.