Tag: time your self

How much time do you spend working?

Recently I discovered I only spend between 5 to 6 hours in my studio working. That “work” can range from auditioning for a job, social networking, direct marketing, writing emails, or writing a blog for my website.

If you’re wondering how I figured out how much time I spent in my studio, it’s simple – I timed myself using a stopwatch on my cell phone.

A while back I wrote a blog about making a schedule and using your time wisely. Do you need to take your kids to school? Schedule it. Do you need to answer emails? Schedule it. Do you need to audition for voice jobs…schedule it. (You get the idea) Of course “life” can get in the way of a perfect schedule. So a few weeks ago I started using my stopwatch on my phone to see how much time I actually spent in my studio working. That’s when I figured out I only spend about 5 – 6 hours in my studio working. Of course, some days are longer than others and some are shorter. I might work 6 – 7 hours on Monday but only 4 – 5 hours on Tuesday. On average I spend around 5 – 6 hours working.

Once you figured out how much time you spend “working” then you need to add that to how much you make. If you spend an hour auditioning for jobs, 2 hours marketing, and the rest of the time doing a voice-over job but only made $50 for the 5 hours you were in your studio, then you made about – $10 an hour that day.

Or you could also look at it this way; Are you getting the most out of your time? I admit I can get distracted sometimes. I go to YouTube to copy my video demos to post on Facebook and then I see the thumbnail of a video I want to see. I tell myself, “It’s only 5 minutes, why not?” Or TikTok is a good time waster too. 60-second short videos can keep us very distracted! Somehow those 5 minutes turned into 30! So for me keeping a stopwatch going while I work has kept me more accountable for the time I spend in my studio when I should be “working” and not looking at cat videos.

Timing yourself while you’re in your studio working will help you figure out if you need to spend more time in your studio doing more work or making more money for the little time you have.