The Great Acting Blog: “Simplify The Task With An End Date”

The Great Acting Blog: “Simplify The Task With An End Date”

Putting an end date on a goal avoids overwhelm – it gives clarity and focus and enables us to relax and function better. Why? Because by the assigned date we will have accomplished our goal or not, there are no vagaries,  if we do accomplish it then all’s well, and if we don’t, well, we can always reset ourselves, work-out why we haven’t achieved our goal, and then go again, with a new end date. If we don’t have an end date, we are likely to suffer from overwhelm, thrashing around what can seem like an endless rolling snowball of work. Especially if we are working on something big and complex, something which is difficult to accomplish, we are apt to become mired in it if we are not careful.

I think this is true when trying to get acting work or get a production off the ground, much of which can seem out of our control – we feel as though we are working hard without getting closer to accomplishing our objective. Giving ourselves an end date simplifies our view of the task, and, ironically, despite the deadline, it relieves the pressure. We either will accomplish the goal or not.

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