The Calm Before the Storm
The Calm Before the Storm
You know the feeling. It could be the weekend or the week before prep or the day before shooting. You are about to embark on a new mission that will push you, stretch you, exhaust you and lead you to learn new people and ways of doing things.
The Calm Before the Storm is the idea that you are preparing for battle. The next week or months will not be easy. They could be faced with a number of things....so it's important to take advantage of this calmness.
It's like preparing for a hurricane. You know it's going to hit...you just don't know how bad. Will it be a level 1 or level 5? Will there be flooding, loss of power or will it just be heavy rains for a time period? In preparing for a hurricane you would make sure to have enough food/water at reserve, potentially board up windows and check in on friends or family members.
While the Storm of production is often not as physically destructive as a hurricane/tornado or earth quake... the emotional stress and toll can sometimes feel like you have just been through one.
How do you prepare for the storm?
Anytime I know I may embark on a new project I like to make sure as much as my life is in order because I know the next two+ months will be solely focused on this project.
Refill any medicines.
Change your car's oil, clean it and fill it with gas.
Do a deep clean of your house/apt.
Go shopping for clothes if you might be traveling to a climate that you aren't fully ready for.
Hang out with friends/family you won't be able to see for a while.
Get TSA Pre-check if traveling and want to reduce stress at the airport.
Do something fun you enjoy that you haven't done in a while.
Go grocery shopping and stock your pantry. If traveling consider a food subscription service or an amazon fresh order.
Turn off your phone for an hour or part of the day to meditate/think and not be bothered.
Read a book, watch a movie, see a concert...something to get inspired.
Call/text a friend and share the news of your new mission.
Charge your devices, pay your bills, water the plants...anything that you might forget.
Obviously this list could be expanded to include a variety of things. The important thing to focus on is getting your shit together because it will be almost impossible to take care of personal things on day three of production.