It can feel difficult as an actor to manage your schedule and figure out how you should be planning your days and weeks. Luckily, there are some simple things you can do in order to make this a lot easier to achieve. That’s why I’ve written this guide to the actor’s schedule and how to plan your day as an actor.
Here you will find advice on how to prioritise, working around your day job, setting goals, scheduling, and a wonderful resource to actually help you get everything set on paper.
Factor In Must-dos
One of the first things you need to do is consider what the things are in your calendar that have a set time that you wouldn’t change unless absolutely necessary (e.g., sickness, death, you get cast in the next Spielberg production, etc.). These may include
- Work
- Filming
- Audition Deadlines
- Meetings
It is best to put these in your calendar first so you know what time you definitely DON’T have to work on your acting.
What Jobs Fit In With Your Schedule?
While we’re on the topics of our must-dos, it is a fact that all us actors needs to earn a living. It is one of our must-dos. So, we need to somehow work and fit an acting career around it.
I’m a big advocate for making your job work for you, not the other way around. So, one of the best ways to go about this is to think about what kinds of jobs fit in with your schedule.
This may work differently for different people depending on your personal preferences. However, in general, actors will need work that is as flexible as possible. That means remote, freelance or shift work is a fantastic idea.
Have a think about your work and how you can make it fit more comfortably into your overall schedule.
Have Specific Goals
In the Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron talks about thinking about what you can do to work towards your creative goals each year, each month, each week and each day. I love this, as it always means your working towards your big goal.
So, write down the things you want to achieve in your acting career this year. Then, what would you like to achieve this month to work towards those goals?
When it comes to planning your week, try to make one or two specific goals to work towards. Perhaps it’s working on and filming a monologue. Perhaps it’s learning more about Chekhov’s techniques. Whatever it is, try not to overwhelm yourself – there are only seven days in a week.
Also, remember to think about your weekly routine – the things you do every week. This may be acting class or yoga. Remember to make a note of these.
Write a list of your weekly commitments and goals. These will become the basis of your actor’s schedule.
Then, think about the things you need to do to achieve your goal. These might include learning lines, working on an accent, researching, character work, or reading acting techniques.
Consider How Much Time You Need
Think about how much time you will need to achieve your weekly goals in your ator’s schedule. Perhaps you will need 5 hours of character work – or ten! Perhaps you need an hour to learn lines. It all depends on the work and how much time you want or need to spend on doing that.
Write down some rough guidelines as estimates for how much time you will need to achieve your goals.
Plan Your Days!
Now, it’s time to get planning your actor’s schedule.
I love to use a weekly planner, with each day set out in a separate column, as it helps me to see my whole day at once. You can work with whatever planning system works for you, though.
First, put in your deadlines and commitments that are non-negotiable.
The rest of the time is yours to plan.
The first thing it may help to consider is when you’re most productive. Some people work best in the morning, and others in the afternoon or evening. Try to prioritise this time when planning.
It can also help to think about your rising and sleeping times. Could you get up an hour earlier or go to bed an hour later? Remember, your health is extremely important, and well-being needs to come first. Plus, you won’t be able to work well if you’re too tired.
The thing is that oversleeping can make us feel tired, too, ironically. So if you tend to sleep more than 7-8 hours, try to start setting alarms so you can get into the habit of having a regular sleep schedule. You will be amazed at how much more energy you have, as well as how much more you can fit in!
Finally, be aware that you may have to shift things. Plans may change when a last-minute audition pops up. You may need to shift things around as you go.
My biggest recommendation here is to try to stick to the commitment you’ve made for yourself. This is your work. If you’ve made a commitment to do something, then treat that with the respect it deserves. That is a commitment to yourself and your future success. If you need to reschedule things, try to fit them in elsewhere in your plan rather than scrapping them altogether. Sometimes, these things can’t be avoided, but we can do our best to give our practice the respect it deserves.
Example Daily Schedule
Here is a common overall daily schedule I use to fit my personal acting practice around my day job.
8am-12pm – Freelance Writing work
12pm- 1pm – Lunch
1pm-2.30pm – Freelance Tutoring
2.30 – 6pm – Acting Practice
I am very fortunate to have freelance jobs, which means this can all be shifted around for rehearsals, filming or auditions.
In my acting practice, I may focus on a number of things depending on the day. I believe the actor’s practice should include a variety of exercises to keep the body, voice, imagination and emotional availability in shape.
I follow the Actor’s Personal Practice Planner in order to make sure my practice sessions are balanced and actually helpful in my craft.
Use The Actor’s Personal Practice Planner To Help
I have created an Actor’s Personal Practice Planner Kit in order to help actors plan their schedules.
Originally, I made it for me so I could have a clear way to lay out my personal practice. I was struggling to find a variety of balanced exercises that I should be doing in my actor’s schedule, so I made this kit in order to help me plan my personal acting schedule.
Since I started sharing it with others on here, it has been able to help a bunch of fellow actors find their ideal personal practice, too. It is one of my proudest achievements for that reason alone.
Now, I’d like to share it with you, and I hope it helps you just as much as it has helped everyone else.
In the Actor’s Personal Practice Kit, you will get the following:
- How-to guide
- Acting exercise guide
- Personal Practice Checklist
- Acting Practice Schedule
- Role Work Checklists
All of these things will come together to help you make your acting practice and schedule clear and actionable so that you actually stick to it.
Conclusion on the Actor’s Schedule: How To Plan Your Day As An Actor
As you can see, there are tons of ways to organise an actor’s schedule. The best one is the one that works for you. No two people will have the same schedule, so there really is no right and wrong.
One of the things that Personal Practice Kit will help with is helping you figure out how to set a practice that is actually actionable so you are able to do it, without feeling guilty about not doing enough. I’m of the attitude little and often helps more than throwing yourself in all and getting burnt out.
In fact, I’m all about individuality as a whole here, whether that’s through the way you live your life, or the way you act your characters.
Check out my post on Why Your Individuality As An Actor Is Important here.
Thank you for reading and break a leg with planning your perfect actor’s schedule.
