A Voice Actor's Guide to Time Management

Tom Dheere
3 days ago
3 min read

Time Management: The Freelancer's Curse

You ended your day completely exhausted. You answered what felty like a thousand emails, tweaked an audition file seventeen times, chased a new lead on LinkedIn, and put out a fire with a client. You were busy.

But as you look at your to-do list, the big, important items—the ones that actually move your voice over business forward—are still sitting there, staring back at you. Maybe they have grandchildren by now.

If you've ever felt the sting of a day spent sprinting on a hamster wheel, you're not alone.

This is one of the most common cautionary tales in the world of freelancing. We escape the 9-to-5 for freedom, only to find that total control over our time can quickly devolve into total chaos. Effective time management isn't about working harder; it's about working smarter.

an hourglass with coins strewn in front of it

An Autopsy of a "Busy" Day

Let's look a voice actor's typical "busy" day. What does it usually contain?

Reactive Tasks: The day starts with digging out your email inbox, and suddenly, other people's priorities become your priorities. You're reacting, not acting.
Urgent-But-Not-Important Fires: A minor client request that feels like an emergency. A social media debate you just have to weigh in on. These tasks scream for your attention, but their ROI is practically zero.
The "Productivity" Mirage: You spend an hour organizing your file folders or researching a new microphone you don't need yet. It feels like work, but it isn't moving the needle on your income or your client roster.

I’ve had days—more than I’d like to admit—where I was incredibly busy being an unpaid assistant for my own business instead of its CEO. This isn't a moral failing; it's a strategic one.

The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything

For years, I operated under the assumption that the solution was to cram more work into less time. I tried every app, every hack, every system. But the problem wasn't my schedule; it was my decision-making process. I was thinking like an employee, not a CEO.

An employee is given a list of tasks and is expected to complete them. A CEO is given a set of goals and is expected to invest their resources—including time—to achieve them.

Stop asking, "What do I need to do today?" Start asking, "What is the most strategic use of my time right now?"

That single shift from "doing" to "investing" is the foundation of taking back your day. It’s the difference between ending the day with a completed checklist and ending it with a tangible result.

Ready to Stop Being Busy and Start Being Effective?

Recognizing the problem is the first step, but a full-blown strategic framework is what creates lasting change. Commiserating is great, but a plan is better.

I’ve consolidated the exact systems I use to manage my time and priorities into a comprehensive How-To video, "Control Your Time." We go far beyond simple to-do lists and dive into the core of choice management. You’ll learn:

How to apply the 80/20 Rule to your marketing so you're not just making noise.
How to use strategic frameworks like Covey's Quadrants to instantly know what to work on next.
How to allocate your time effectively between the 5 key roles every freelancer must play.

Keep Going - Watch this next:

Control Your Time

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