ExposedNYC

If there is one thing in this world you can never buy enough of it’s time. One of the reasons I’ve always been so adamant about finding something I love to do with my life is the limited amount of time we’re given, and the amount most of us spend working so that we can enjoy our free time.

Sadly, most of my passions tend to be artistic pursuits on the slightly less profitable side. I’ve become caught in this perpetual cycle of taking the time to focus on establishing a writing career, running out of money, returning to the service industry to make the money to pursue my interests, and then not having the time to write so I feel I have to quit to give it a more full-time commitment.

This is a vicious trend that I’ve seen capture many actors/performers/etc. To get ahead in the arts you’ve got to work on your craft, often before anyone pays you to do it. Unless you come from a privileged background, you end up having a job that pays the bills, and then a job that you hope will someday pay the bills.

And the service industry is a seductive temptress. You’re surrounded by people out having a good time, which makes you feel resentful that you’re not out having a good time. Then on your nights off, you feel compelled to go out and have a good time just to reassure yourself that you deserve to be waited on and carefree just as much as those you wait on.

But where does one find the time? I’ve been hit especially hard in the past week adjusting to the hours of working not just in a restaurant, but in a bar open until the New York limit of 4:00am. On a night out, I relish the fact that nothing in this city closes, but as an insider it throws you into an out-of-whack schedule. Try getting anything done the next day if you have to sleep until 2:00pm just to get a full eight hours!

So, it’s a constant battle. How do I devote more time to writing, a social life and, oh yeah, dating when I spend my non-working hours exhausted? I’m sure there’s a happy medium out there somewhere (this article is a good start), but I definitely haven’t found it yet.

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