Voiceover is a pretty cool job for many reasons. However, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that I had NO IDEA played such a large role in building and maintaining a successful VO business. Sure you need to be a good actor and performer behind the mic, but you also need to have at least a basic understanding of audio engineering skills. You also need to be your own business manager, your own marketing department, accounting, bookkeeping, customer service, human resources, payroll, etc. 

Effectively, every VO talent is a small business unto themselves. A “solo-prenuer” as it were.

For this reason, the most valuable skill for every aspiring as well as working voiceover talent is…time management and/or task management.

Is it sexy? No. Is it absolutely vital? You bet. In fact, speaking sincerely my own time management skill is likely one of the main reasons I’ve enjoyed the successes I have so far in my career.

It’s vital not just for balancing the number of responsibilities of the gig day to day, but it’s also incredibly important to maintain professional growth and development, avoid burnout, and maintain a healthy work/life balance.

So here are some tips from me to you, to improve your own time and task management as the small business owner you are.

Make a List

It’s very easy when you are working for yourself, by yourself to end up sitting at your desk thinking, “Well…what now?” I help myself to eliminate that question, stay organized, and stay accountable by making a short list. Start your day listing all the to-dos, and break them into categories:

• Daily tasks

  • Auditions

  • End of Day/Approaching deadlines

  • Stuff you won’t have time for later in the week

• Weekly/Monthly Tasks

  • Sending invoices

  • Prepping for long-term projects like audiobooks

  • Accounting/Bookkeeping

  • Client outreach/Lead Generation

  • Social Media Presence (if that’s something you’re into)

• Long Term Tasks

  • New Demos

  • Updating Your Website

  • Expanding your skills and training

Set a Schedule

Having a daily and weekly schedule is really helpful for a few reasons:

• Accountability

  • As I said with the list, sometimes it’s easy to find yourself listless, unmotivated, looking for direction, etc. when you are working for yourself and by yourself. By committing myself to rough working hours (10-5, Monday-Friday), I help myself with focus and productivity.

• Work-Life Balance

  • Working hours sets boundaries for the clients you work with and for yourself. I work (roughly) Monday to Friday from about 10-5 (ish). If I’m not going to have time to do something until two days from now, I’m okay with that! It goes on the calendar and I communicate that to the client. Occasionally, a client might ask me to turn around a project in 24 hours or even to work over the weekend. At the beginning of my career, I felt like I had to oblige whatever request or risk failure. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Clients respect that you are a human being and by establishing working hours and sticking to them you not only maintain a better work-life balance for yourself, but you build your credibility as a true professional in the eyes of the people you work with.

• Staying Organized

  • There’s a lot that goes into managing a small business and a VoiceOver business. Having times blocked out for tasks like bookkeeping, accounting, sending invoices, posting to social media for self-promotion, etc. helps to make the mountain of tasks manageable. You move mountains by moving small rocks at a steady pace, not by trying to pick up the whole mountain.

• TAKE BREAKS

  • This goes somewhat hand in hand with work-life balance, but setting regular breaks for yourself (most importantly a REAL lunch break) is huge for avoiding burnout, boosting mental health, and improving the overall quality of the work.

My personal schedule is pretty fluid and changes from week to week, and day to day, but generally I follow a similar flow.

Mornings, 10-1 (ish)

1. Check email for auditions and jobs/projects, 30mins

2. Make Daily List, 5mins

3. Submit Audition Proposals, 30mins-1hr

4. Break, 15mins

5. Work on Jobs/Projects, 2hrs

Lunch, 1-2 (ish)

Afternoons, 2-5 or 6 (ish)

1. Continue Projects, 2-3hrs

2. Tackle any lingering administrative tasks or busy work (i.e. bookkeeping, accounting, invoices, etc.), 1hr

3. Make to-do list for the next day, 5mins

These are just some things that help me in my day to day, and I hope they’re of some use to you on your journey. If you have tips/tricks/cheats that help you I’d love to hear, and best of luck!