Navigating
Life in the Fast Lane
by Ken Atchity
Reprinted from Fade In Magazine
While most of the world conjures up images of showbiz types lounging poolside
with cellphones all day and schmoozing at star-studded premieres throughout
the night, those of us who actually work in the industry know all too
well the enormous challenge of simply keeping your head above water while
swimming with sharks. In this business, where everything goes by messenger
warrant your full attention, have him meet with someone else and being
"swamped" is the norm, free time is a luxury few can afford
- not to mention a good night's sleep.
So how does the agent return those 123 calls from last week (including
the one from his mother)? How does the creative exec complete her notes
on that script being rushed into production at month's end? How does the
writer have time for pitch meetings, development meetings, phone calls,
treatments, page-one rewrites and that new spec? In short, how does any
Hollywood player have time to even enjoy the wonderful life the rest of
the world assumes we have?
The key to success (and sanity) is to remain flexible while simultaneously
being relentlessly organized. And this doesn't just mean organizing your
workload because, as any assistant will tell you, that work is infinite.
Manage your time and you can manage your life. Knowledge may be power
in Hollywood, but time is the lifeblood of the most successful players.
Here are a few suggestions to make your life a little easier, whether
you're a writer, producer, agent, or executive.
HAVE AN AGENDA Once a week, in an inspiring place far away from
the daily grind, schedule thirty minutes to examine and reschedule your
goals. Write out a list of priorities and give each a deadline. Every
week, revisit this agenda and revise it as necessary to keep your priorities
current. This will keep you in greater control of your time and make the
decision process easier.
THE FINE ART OF DELEGATION Know your limits and maintain them.
Of course you can do it. But are you the only one who can do it? If not,
whatever it is, delegate it and pass it along to someone else- Let that
be the first thought with every task that crosses your path. Otherwise
you'll soon be trapped under an avalanche of self-generated work. The
psychologist Carl Jung had a sign over his desk that read Yes No
Maybe to remind him that every maybe will turn into a yes
if you don't immediately recognize it as a no. The maybes swallow up most
of our time.
PHONES, PHONES, PHONES Be a call-maker. not a call-taker. Call
when you feel like it, and when you need to. It's a simple matter of being
proactive versus reactive. When you've swapped calls more than three times
- assuming you're not just avoiding the caller - schedule that phone conversation.
With interminable ramblers, tolerate the rambling for five minutes, then
beg off the call. They'll get the picture and get to the point the next
time they catch you. Turn your phone off during meetings. If your visitor
isn't important enough to warrant your full attention, have him meet with
someone else - or meet by phone.
MAIL AND E-MAIL Take care of correspondence immediately - with
a note, letter or phone call - and discard junkmail before it even reaches
your desk. Redirect eighty percent of your e-mail to others. Answer e-mall
immediately only if it's shorter than four lines. If it's longer, print
it out and add it to your reading pile, instead of reading it on the screen
and becoming further enslaved to the reactive mode.
MEETINGS Have no meeting until you're clear on what you want to
accomplish. Avoid unnecessary business lunches. Not only do they eat up
hours, they also make the rest of the day less productive. Instead, meet
for drinks, breakfast, or reschedule half of your meetings each week to
take place by telephone instead of in person. If you're the traveller,
you'll likely save almost two hours per meeting in commute lime.
UNPLAN YOUR LIFE Don't let your personal life slip by. As John
Lennon said, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other
plans-" Remind yourself to relax. Take time away from it all. Turn
the phone off for a day. Scheduling time to do nothing, or learning a
new hobby, is like taking out life insurance payable, in advance, to yourself.
MANAGING YOUR MIND Time management for the Type C personality (C
for creative and/or crazy) begins with a practical everyday expression
of mind-management. Continually remind yourself that you are privileged
to be playing on the most exciting gameboard in the world - the one that
everyone back home would give precious body parts to play on.
Winning an Academy Award is a dream. The only way to make dreams come
true (excluding blind luck) is to manage goals (getting the movie out
of development and into pre- production), and focus on objectives (getting
the story straight, finding a director), By reminding yourself of what
you've accomplished, you can keep your head together and succeed in managing
your time. |
