‘Friday likes the good life. She’ll take you for a ride, now.’
- The Monkees
My name is Claire Friday.
For the past 14 years of my life, I've worked in multiple areas of a large (yet so very small) world called the world of production in live arts, entertainment, and events. I tell people if it isn't a live experience, then I won't do it. From opera, to variety television, theatre, dance, concerts (mainstream and symphonic), live events, experiential marketing, etc, etc, etc. You name it, and I've crammed it into 14 years...so far.
I stage manage, produce, coordinate production logistics, event manage, and basically do anything else that requires hustling to put out fires and make things happen. I work with a lot people and I know a lot of people.
For some of you out there reading this, you know exactly what the production world that I speak of is like because you work in it too.
For others of you out there who don't know what I'm talking about, let me paint a picture for you:
Days consisting of 8-10, and on occasion 20 hours that consist of putting out fires, dealing with a variety of personality types, high blood pressure, poor eating, little sleep, no decent breaks, very little to no contact with the outside world (unless it's a 30 second phone call to your loved one explaining, 'Honey, sorry, I can't talk right now. My technical director is waving his arms in a panic at me and I need to see what's up.')
Doesn't that sound fun?
Now, the above scenario is not ALWAYS typical in a production setting; but, on the big shows, it can be a daily reoccurrence.
The people that do these jobs I speak of are never seen on a stage in front of an audience. They rarely receive a 'thank you' or a pat on the back at the end of their job. And sometimes the wrong people are praised for the jobs that other people did - and those people sometimes don't even get recognized. Production can be a thankless industry. It's a 24-7 world that does not know a weekend or a Friday. Heck, sometimes I don't even know what day it is on a production job!
Allow me to turn the tables for a moment. What if the 24-7 world we live in didn't have to be 24-7, and what if the above scenario that I painted of a day in the life on a live event didn't have to make you grow gray hairs or take you to the edge of burn out?
Do we REALLY need to live in a constant state of feeling like we are juggling too many things only to wake up and find that we don't know what day it is?
Perhaps you're reading this and you don't even work in the field that I do, but you understand the demands I speak of because that is your life, too. You feel like you never have enough time, you can't get organized even if you try, and you're not happy in your job or daily routine. You're always scrambling, and to top it all off, you have to work on the weekend to get ahead of what is to come on that dreaded day called Monday.
Life is a production. Work is a production. Trying to be more productive is a production.
Even if you don't work in the industry that I work in, our worlds collide on many levels. They don't call it 'production' for nothing.
Your daily routine doesn't need to be a production. Your work environment doesn't need to be a production. You have the ability to eliminate the production from your life and I'm here to show you how. That's what the blog is about - and that's why I developed Done By Friday. This is for you.
Done By Friday is a way to approach the work week. Work can mean a variety of things to people. It's a method that I've used in management scenarios, my personal life, and in very stressful situations. I'm here to share it with you, and hopefully it helps you enjoy more of what you do and how you do it.
Even if you don't get to take part in an actual weekend on Saturday and Sunday, it's time to choose your own weekend. It's time to get organized, manage your time, and manage your career. Because you're the only person who can.
I'm writing this blog for you, the reader. Hopefully, you'll follow me on this journey and find something here that helps you.
Some things I will touch on throughout this blogging journey include (but are definitely not limited to!):
How to gain more personal time
Successful and long-lasting time management
Organizing your life (and your job!)
Owning your career (you are actually your own boss!)
Treating the work week like an experience instead of just a work week
Tricks that will help you save time during the day - for work and your personal life
Knowing when to say 'no' (that's a big one - even for me)
Rewarding yourself instead of waiting for someone else to
Showing up for tasks and events on a daily basis (even if you don't feel like it)
Mastering the above sounds great, doesn't it? Well, that's why I'm here.
Give me 5 minutes each Friday, and I'll take you for a ride on the best way to approach your week. Sometimes you'll succeed, and other times you won't. (By the way, I hate the word 'fail.' I'm not going to use that word here.)
You will eventually find yourself being Done By Friday. What could be more satisfying than that?
Happy Friday!
