Do You Have Too Much On Your Plate?

VO work can be the greatest job in the world. Given that I'm my own employer, though, it also comes with some real drawbacks. There isn't a boss somewhere out there assigning me work. I have to go find it myself, and that can sometimes lead to too much of a good thing. More often than not, I've found myself with far too many jobs to handle. When I reach that point, I get overwhelmed and frustrated pretty easily.

Fortunately, I know I'm not alone in this situation. Many entrepreneurs across industry lines find themselves in the same position. Not sure if you're there yet? Here are a few of the most common symptoms.

·         You're not sure where to begin. If you have so many tasks on your to-do list that you're not even sure where to start, you probably have too much on your plate. Feeling overwhelmed is the key sign of a burnout.

·         You can't turn it off. If you're waking up in the middle of the night and all you can think about is work, you have far too much going. Constantly working late or getting up early means you can't separate your home life from your work life, and it's really just best to slow down if you're in that situation.

·         You begin making simple mistakes. If your VO work isn't what it should be or you're missing important deadlines, you're probably trying to do too much.

So, what can you do? Start by turning a few projects away. If they won't go away, that's a pretty good sign that you're the VO artist for them, but let them know how long it's going to take before you can begin to approach their project. They may even be willing to wait. You can also triage your projects. Decide which ones need your attention immediately, then work with those.