S2 E12: January self-care package

01/06/22 • 36 min

New year, same dressing room, and this week Alex and Helen have a double bill for you.

To start, they discuss the seasonal nature of the career as a performer and how it often involves intense periods of work (like Christmas!) followed by intense periods of quiet (did someone say January blues?). They suggest using your off-season to reflect, plan and work on personal development as well as managing your on-season in order to avoid three months of chaotic work without a break.

Following that, they offer you a January self-care package. With the seasonal nature of the career in mind they understand that January can be a difficult time for many performers and so they suggest:

Let the Christmas cheer spill over!

Why does all the fun have to stop as soon as we hit January 1st? January can often be cold, dark and difficult, why not warm it up with a nice cheese board and mulled wine with friends? Use the January downtime for things you won’t be able to do in the busier months, whether that be visiting family, reading or cooking.

Let yourself cocoon

Christmas can be an intense period for performers so recognise if your body needs to rest and LISTEN! Give yourself the time to recover that you deserve. Others may be setting intense goals and attempting to follow resolutions but it’s important not to compare. The seasonal nature of the performing career is unique, let your body tell you what it needs.

Manifest 2022

Alex and Helen like manifesting because it isn’t goal-bound or time-bound. It uses your imagination and gives you a creative opportunity to consider your future. Ask yourself where you’d like to be at the end of 2022 and see what your brain throws up! Do you like what you see? Can you make decisions which align with that manifestation in order to help bring you closer to that ideal?

Episode edited and produced by Daisy Grant Productions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New year, same dressing room, and this week Alex and Helen have a double bill for you.

Let the Christmas cheer spill over!

Let yourself cocoon

Manifest 2022

Episode edited and produced by Daisy Grant Productions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

S2 Episode 11: Time to hit the refresh button

It's our last episode of the year so we decided to take a look back at the New Year's Resolutions we made back in series 1 on the pod in January and see whether we stuck to any of them or just totally ignored them.

Before we get started don’t forget to tag us on social media #AlexSimpsonFail and tell us whether you think Alex passed his driving test this week!

Resolution 1: Let it Go

Helen: 'I feel like I'm a lot better at letting go of bad rehearsal experiences, and even on a smaller scale bad notes or bars of music when I'm performing. I understand better now that there's no point getting hung up on those things, you just have to let them go. Having said that I still have massive issues with posting on social media so I didn't do so well there.'

Alex: 'I got a lot better at letting go of my worries in the rehearsal room. I was always so concerned about what my colleagues thought of me but over the course of the last year I've been able to let go of that worry and focus more on being in the actual moment.'

Resolution 2: Get It Done

Alex and Helen: 'As two people that love to control things, we both nailed this one. We love to plan our days, to schedule and organise our time and be as productive as possible.'

Helen: 'HOWEVER, that can have some set backs. You can get so used to creating your own ideal schedule that when someone else asks you to rehearse at a date/time you dislike, you really struggle to adapt. The scheduling has to be flexible.'

Resolution 3: Feed Yourself

Helen: 'Too easy. Just kidding! If I'm honest I don't think I was as successful with this as I wanted to be. It's been a really unusual year and so although I've found time for things I love such as reading, running, cooking, theatre, I haven't given myself to these things as mindfully as I probably should.'

Alex: I approached this resolution slightly differently - seeing it as making sure to make time for myself. I know now that in the morning I hate being in a rush to get the day started. I like to take my time when enjoying my breakfast and morning coffee. I see that process as a little ritual, something that I keep for myself and in that time I have the headspace to think, plan, consider. Making time for myself is really important.'

Alex and Helen: 'This resolution did make us both think about the fact that singing simply isn't the be all and end all for us. Yes, we absolutely love it and yes, we are passionate about this career but there are so many other things that are important to us and it's about being able to find the balance of those things.'

Resolution 4: Don't Make Resolutions

Helen: 'Har har. We're such losers. Having said that, I think this is something really important which I will take into 2022. The world is so unpredictable right now and your life can change overnight (I would know!) so try and adopt flexible goals that you can change and adapt as you see fit, rather than unrelenting resolutions.'

Alex: 'Resolutions don't have to be about looking at the bad things of 2021 and going into 2022 and saying I MUST FIX THESE. Resolutions can be celebrating things that went well and aiming to continue on that path, or making a commitment to try something new or different. We should see resolutions as a positive thing.'

This episode we're encouraging you to 'Hit the Refresh button' as we draw a line under 2021. Let's celebrate the end of the year and get ready to rock for 2022. We've got lots of exciting plans on the way so watch this space!

Episode edited and produced by Daisy Grant Productions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

S2 Episode 13: Money. There. We said it.

Nobody likes talking about it, Alex and Helen certainly don't like talking about it, but in this episode they get into the uncomfortable topic of money.

Money is hard to come by in the arts. From the start of education to attempting to make a stable living, we all know how it feels to worry about paying the next round of exam fees/audition fees/rent(!!!). Alex and Helen discuss how money affects every area of a singer's life and offer a range of ideas on how to create greater financial security in his industry:

Ask. If there's a programme you want to take part in, or an audition you want to travel to, contact the organisation and ask if they have any ways of supporting those with less financial means. If you don't ask, you never know what they might be able to do in order to help you.
Trusts and Foundations. The United Kingdom is blessed with a wealth of trusts and foundations, many of whose aim are to support those in the arts. To search for ones which might be able to help you there are a number of tools at your disposal:

Help Musicians Funding Wizard

The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding

Directory of Social Change database - you can make an appointment to search their trust and foundation database in their Highbury offices.

The Power of Zoom. Post-pandemic we're seeing many institutions and programmes carry out their first round auditions via Zoom which has the potential to save you numerous accommodation and travel costs. With more auditions happening via Zoom, might that encourage you as an artist to apply for an opportunity that you would never have considered before?
Building Relationships. If an application to a scholarship, competition or trust and foundation is successful, build that relationship. Let the board of trustees know how the scholarship/competition/grant has helped you, update them on your progress and, when possible, invite them to a live performance. In building that relationship, this scholarship/competition/trust and foundation can be an immediate go-to should you need financial assistance in the future.
The Portfolio Career. Pair the unpredictable nature of the creative career with something a little more stable which you also find fulfilling. Love this idea? Want to know more? Check out our episode on The Portfolio Career!
Invoice Hack. We all know the feeling of chasing late invoices. To try and avoid that, make sure to include in your invoice, as stated on the Musicians Union website: ‘Strictly 30 days net. I/we reserve the right to claim statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate at the date the debt becomes overdue, in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.’
Let's talk about it. The more we don't talk about it, the harder it is to support one another and also, the easier it is for artists to be paid poorly.

Episode edited and produced by Daisy Grant Productions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.