Holiday Survival Tips for Starving Artists Part 1: My Holiday Card Spreadsheet

It’s December and we are well into the “Festive Season.” Besides all the mayhem that this time of year may or may not entail with your loved ones, it also brings with it various work-related obligations and anxieties.

You know what I’m talking about... agency parties, work drinks, the panic when that colleague you don’t know that well but admire has invited you to their carolling thing and you want to go but are scared that you won’t know anyone, etcetera etcetera ad infinitum.

Today’s post is all about how to handle this time of year in regards to your freelance work-life, so you come into the new year feeling calm, rested and pleased with your choices (*ahem*, shame-free).

AND I've got a Holiday Card Spreadsheet for you if you're feeling super keen this year -- consider it your stocking stuffer from me!

Some DOs and DON'Ts from the ghosts of my own Christmas (parties) past...

  • 🍺DO employ the seasonal golden ratio: 1 part booze to 1 part h2o.  Especially when there’s an open bar.
     

  • 💳DON’T buy into capitalism. Remember the amount you spend doesn’t equal the amount you love or appreciate someone.
     

  • 😭DON’T confront your agent or colleagues about why you aren’t working more.  
     

  • ✉️ DO send holiday cards to people you’ve worked with this year, especially those who've paid you. Show your appreciation for them and stay in their minds as we head into 2020. 
    More on Holiday Cards + Free Download to help with this below.
     

  • 💀DO keep skeletons IN the closet. Avoid the temptation to gossip.
     

  • 🕙DO prioritise your routines throughout the season. Meditate if that’s your thing. Yoga/gym/walk/whatever/however you like to move your body -- move it. Insist on making time for your daily creative practice. Your routines will keep your grounded and make new year’s resolutions feel less dire.
     

  • 🎅DO go to parties you want to, even if you don’t know anyone and you feel shy.
     

  • 🍾 DON'T go to parties ONLY because there’s an open bar.
     

  • 🎶 Do festive stuff that YOU ACTUALLY ENJOY! I love doing my tree (see pic below). I will also be enjoying this mulled wine, baking these chocolate peppermint cookies.  And I cannot wait to see Sh!t Actually at Camden People's Theatre.
     

  • 🛍️ DO organise your gifts/cards early on. It will help to curve the likelihood of an on-your-way-to-party panic splurge or the shame spiral of showing up empty handed.

✍️ Holiday Cards: a feel-good business-savvy tradition!

I started sending cards to my various employers and colleagues a few years ago. It’s a relatively cost effective way to do something that feels good and thoughtful and fxxxing classy. 

If you're a crafty, stationary nerd like me, this can be fun. Don't do it if it's not fun! 

If this sounds enjoyable to you, download my handy Holiday Card Spreadsheet

I try to get started on my cards on 1 December and workaway at them over the next week or so.  Here's my recommended workflow.

  1. Download the spreadsheet. 

  2. Put everyone you worked with over the last year on it. Sift through your emails or calendar, think about what jobs you did, month by month. Find the names and work addresses of the people you worked with (that can take a bit of googling). Enter all that in the spreadsheet. 

    * Don’t forget your agents or  producers!  And maybe a few faves from 2018?! 

  3. Get your cards and stamps.  

  4. Write your cards. Bang 'em out quick & dirty.

  5. Post them!  ✉️ 

My wish for the holidays this year is that we all protect our routines, health, confidence, livers and bank accounts...