Category: Actors & Artists

While they don't necessarily provide a lot of writing space, photographic calendars such as vintage old Hollywood scenes add inspiring images to your daily agenda items. Click here.

This article is second in an "organizing for the actor" spring series of guest contributor
topics by Kristine Oller, a Los Angeles-based change strategist.  For information on the series featured here on OrganizingLA click here.

John's  note: call them old-school, call them what you want. Paper planners will always be the calendar of choice for many people. While this article talks specifically about the paper version, the rules apply to digital devices too: use the capturing system you want, but be CONSISTENT.

In Los Angeles acting class, your "scene partner" asks if you’ll go to her stand-up gig on Saturday night. Checking the date in your portable planner, you see no notation indicating another commitment, so you promise to go. Later on, you realize that you just gave away your last free Saturday night of the month. Had you known that, you might have thought twice about attending the performance. Then, when you get home, you discover that, according to the calendar on the kitchen wall, you’ve already accepted an invitation to a wedding shower that very same Saturday night. What now?

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Don't let traffic slow your career down. Actors and just about anyone can benefit from setting up a portable office in their car.

This article is first in an "organizing for the actor" spring series of guest contributor topics by Kristine Oller, a Los Angeles-based change strategist.  For more information on the series click here.

Picture this: You are exiting Samuel French (the theater, film and television old school bookshop). Your stomach growls for lunch. Then–  your iPhone rings: You have an audition in forty minutes! You, however, are on the opposite side of town and unsure of how to get to the casting office. The role in the audition is a “corporate office drone”… you, however, are wearing jeans and flip-flops. In addition to needing two headshots, they want to check your availability for several dates… you, however, are down to your last headshot picture and your old-school day planner is sitting on your bed.

Samuel French is an old-school film and theater bookshop in Hollywood. It's been in business on Sunset Blvd. over 65 years.

Hanging up from the call, you check the time and think, “Hmmm… what now?”

Times have changed in Hollywood. There is no way less turn-around for auditions, readings, and recordings. Where you used to have days or a week to prepare for an audition, you now only have hours (or less).

The most predictable aspect of an actor’s workday is how unpredictable it can be. When these unexpected opportunities pop up, time and traffic often prohibit even a quick trip home to raid your closet and utilize your office. Being unprepared for such good fortune increases the odds that you will squander your energy scrambling, worrying and “making do” rather than conserving it for the audition.

"The key is having a lean, mean, portable version of your office with you on the road. In Los Angeles, that means having an office in your car; in New York, that means having one slung over your shoulder."

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Actors and creative performing artists in Los Angeles have a unique set of organizing and productivity challenges. We're introducing a new series to guide them and all creative and mobile professionals.

We're excited to introduce a new series of guest topics for creative and performing artists: Spring Fling Productivity Solutions For Actors & Creative Professionals written by our friend and business colleague Kristine Oller, a notable Los Angeles Change Strategist.

Why feature this Series?

Being based in Los Angeles, many of our organizing clients are (but not exclusively) entertainment professionals including film, commercial and television actors, voiceover talent, fitness models, professional photographers, web series talent, writers, authors, crafts people, casting directors, make-up artists, set decorators, wardrobe consultants, costume and production designers. 

We get many of the same organizing and productivity dilemmas over and over. We thought for a change of pace we would turn to someone who not only coaches creative and performing artists, but who also has a performing and small business background:  Kristine Oller.

Topics Kristine will be covering:

• Set up a top-notch mobile office in your car.
• Sure-fire ways to use a calendar to schedule auditions and meetings.
• Home office paperwork systems that will not kill your free time.
• How to save yourself from tinkering with to-do lists all day long.
• How your home is an important tool for your acting or creative career.

What if you're not an Actor?

You may or may not be a creative professional. However, there are many professionals that live and work out of a car. You may attend meetings, deliver samples, meet with clients, coordinate purchasing and juggle erratic schedule opposite the typical 9-5 job. The tasks you perform, and the continuous pressure you may feel, is much like the challenges facing a working actor or performing creative artist.

Who else can benefit from the series?

• Real Estate Appraisers, inspectors, Notaries;
• Executive Recruiters, Professional Organizers;
• Closet Designers, Interior Designers;
• Power Line Inspectors;
• Mobile Mechanics, Plumbers, Electricians;
• Mobile Pet Groomers, Personal Concierge;
• Mobile Veterinarians;
• Liquor Reps;
• Insurance Claims and Pharmaceutical Reps;
• Amateur Sports Referees;
• Caterers and anyone with food truck;

About Series Author Kristine Oller:

Kirstine Oller, a Los Angeles-based Change Strategist will head up the OrganizingLA "Spring Fling" for creative and professional artists.

Kristine Oller is a Los Angeles-based change strategist who specializes in
guiding successful people as they transition to their next Big Dream, particularly creative and performing artists. A graduate of Linfield College in Oregon, Kristine was a working actress (SAG-Equity-AFTRA) for a decade. As a successful small business owner, Kristine operated an award-winning professional organizing company for 15 years before "retiring" in 2011 to pursue offering her strategic guidance to individuals and groups full time. Visit Kristine's websites for more information visit KristineOller.com and TheActorsLibrary.com.

Kristine's series is used with permission and originally appeared in Backstage Magazine. The series is edited by John Trosko.

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