A Rested Development

A Rested Development

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog post, and I truly hope it hasn’t negatively impacted your life! (The 2 of you that may be reading this.)

The truth is that it has been a crazy busy past few weeks and I just haven’t taken time to make a comedy/entertainment related blog post. The plan is to start posting an article every Sunday.

The fact that I’ve been to busy to write actually is a great lead in to what this article is about, and that is the importance of RESTING in every which way that your body, mind, and heart needs.

We live in a “Go, go, go!” culture. Or perhaps you’ve heard it called a “Grind mentality.” The idea is to get anywhere, you need to work all the time constantly because if you don’t,, somebody who wants it just as badly who is willing to work more, will end up getting your spot, award, recognition, job, etc.

If you are working to build a career as an entertainer, you are building something from nothing…and it’s so tempting to keep pushing until that “nothing” is “something huge and successful” .

We have to be careful, though, because if you’re always pushing, you may be pushing yourself into an early grave before that “thing” becomes what you want it to be. And what’s the point of working so hard to achieve your goal if you’re half dead (or more) by the time you get there?

So let this blog post be a reminder for you to rest and breathe, not just every once in a while…but regularly, in a way where you can keep in good health as you work to achieve your goals.

Here are some ideas for how to rest and stay fresh to be the best possible version of yourself as a comedian.

Give Yourself a Night Off

I’ll be honest, 2 years ago I would had advised you against this piece of advice. If you go to my instagram right now and look at my first pinned post, it’s called “Drew’s 4 Comedy Rules” and rule number one is “Comedy Comes First.”

There was a time where I’d tell you that as a rising comedian you should do your best to perform as much as possible. I used to try to get a show every night, and if I didn’t have a show, I’d be at an open mic working out. If I didn’t have a show or open mic, I’d be going to someone else’s comedy show to show support or network with comedians. (This is a business of relationships after all.) My friends and family would tell you it’s almost impossible to hang out with me at night time, because I’m going to something comedy related.

I’ll be honest and say I still subscribe to the importance of all of this, but I’ve added an addendum. Now, I recognize that sometimes to put Comedy First, it means you need to take time to physically rest and not go out. Stay in and catch up on your favorite TV show and let your brain rest. Or go out and have a “not comedy related night” with friends or family.

I suggest giving yourself one night a week of “Not comedy”. It’ll help you not burn out as quickly, and hopefully make the nights you go out continue to be enjoyable. A word of warning if you are like me….Sometimes on those nights that you are staying in your brain will keep telling you that you SHOULD be out…don’t listen to it….you’re getting much needed rest so that you can keep killing it for the rest of the week!

Take A Social Media Break

Will you judge me if I admit right now that I HATE social media? I hate promoting shows, I hate creating reels, I hate how much care about how many likes/comments/views I get from content, and I hate that as a standup comedian part of my job requires knowing how to “social media” correctly. I hate how many hours I’ve had to stress about the best hashtags and times of day to post.

Before I was a comedian I loved social media, and now when I think about it I think “Well, every career has those parts of the job that we don’t like.”

Maybe you love all of it, and that’s wonderful…but I think if left unchecked, building an online presence, while necessary, can get “Hella toxic” as the kids in Gen Z may say. For the rest of us, I mean that it can really mess with your emotional health and it’s something to keep in mind.

So I allow myself one day where I don’t post, and don’t care about social media. I plan out my posts every week so that I don’t feel like I’m skipping something important, but you better believe there is one day that I don’t social media….or I post very little. And if I do post on my “social media Sabbath”, frequently I don’t check back with how it’s going.

This gives my brain a break mostly from worrying about what everyone else thinks about me, and I highly suggest it. Also, if you’re wondering what day might works best I highly suggest Sunday because as a whole ,that’s the day where posts seem to do the least well.

But honestly, pick whatever day works best for you!

Give yourself Grace
when you need it

Here’s your friendly reminder that you are not a robot. You cannot function at 100% operation all day every day. Some days you’re going through a lot of crap, and you still are expected to perform in some kind of function. The truth is, your best today may be different then your best last week or your best tomorrow depending on any number of circumstances.

This past month (June 2024) has been a whirlwind of things collapsing for me in my work world. I have told myself multiple times this month “I’m only a failure if I quit, so I’m going to keep going.” I think that’s true, but I also think at different times this month, me “keeping going” looked different. Sometimes I was pushing through the issues and doing amazing. Other times I found myself pushing through and only really giving 10% of what I usually can give. At the time though, that was the best I have to give.

When you are knee deep in a shitstorm of a day, week, or month, I think it’s important to give yourself grace to acknowledge, “This is the best I have for today.”

This is another form of rest because you are choosing not to beat yourself up for something you cannot currently give. And just know, when you are in these moments of “crappiness”…it will not last forever, you will get through it, and you’ll be back at 100% eventually!

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These are just some ideas about how you can rest as a comedian and entertainer but I wonder if you have other thoughts? What works best for you? Feel free to comment below and share your wisdom with the rest of us! As always, thanks for reading and I hope you have a great rest of the day or night.