Waffling? Do Something.

untitled by minato - flickr

Do you ever find that you have so many options for the same thing that you don't choose any of them?

You have an afternoon free, so rather than choose to spend an hour of it drawing, or acting, or writing, you start checking your email and suddenly you've spent the entire day doing nothing.

Or, as I recently ran into, you're so worried about what "type" you should be in your headshots that you don't make any choices and come out in a sort of bland wash?

Waffling, putzing, killing time - I find that the easiest way to cut through that mire of bull is to do something. Even if it's only for five minutes. Set a timer or an alarm, and tell yourself that you're going to make the bed. Do your laundry. Choose which shirt to wear for headshots. Go through a monologue - on your feet, not in your head. Stretch. Get out a piece of paper and draw for five minutes. It may not be a masterpiece in that amount of time, but at the end of the day you'll have done something.

(And, if you really want to spice it up, spend those five minutes doing something you've never done before.)

I find that the fear of not choosing the right thing to do can hold me back from doing anything.

Lucas Calhoun Photography

I was looking at headshot websites prior to a shoot I did with my friend Lucas (Lucas Calhoun Photography), and I came across one girl who said she printed out her headshots as 4x6 cards and asked people to look through her pictures as hard copies. She was able to note which ones made people stop and look, even if they weren't the ones that people said that they liked. She ended up going with a shot that was much moodier than she comes across, but she got "so many auditions that she doesn't even send out the other [happier] shot anymore." Even if it's not "right" - it was an attitude, a point of view that drew people in. A headshot is just an opportunity to get in the room.

So, in choosing my own headshots, I went with something that is less "I guess that's a nice picture of me." and more "Huh. What's going on there?" It may not represent every version of myself, every aspect of my personality, but it says something.

And - it leaves you with the opportunity to surprise them in the room.

So, go out, do something. Today, I'm going to the gym, I'm rehearsing a scene, and I'm practicing songs. Hopefully I'll be doing more than five minutes of each.