I’ve always been in a rush. So much so that when I started writing this, I misread the word ‘proactivity’ in the prompt and wrote about productivity. Here are the draft notes for that:
1. It’s nice to get sh*t done. Feels better idk?
2. It’s also a huge waste of time and a capitalist hamster wheel of death stop saying yes to stupid things.
And that’s as far as I got. Which is funny because my biggest fear is not getting far enough. I was kicked out of drama school at 18 for not having enough life experience. I was then immediately in a house fire and wound up in hospital learning to walk again. When I got out, my dad was diagnosed with cancer and died a week later. Soon after that, my brother died of a similar cancer, and now I find myself swimming in life experience with my own looming genetic threat of a shortened life span. Because of this, I don’t waste a second (except all that time rewatching Ally McBeal but that’s more of a religious experience).
It’s been 10 years since all of this happened, and in that time a lot of my childhood dreams have come true through a combination of luck and busting my absolute a**ehole. I haven’t had a day off sans Christmas in years and I used to wear this as a badge of honour, which is, say it with me… stupid and unsustainable!
I’m proud of the work I do, but I’m always exhausted because I make everything a priority, which makes nothing a priority. I take every opportunity that comes my way because it was drilled into me (hello drama school!) to say yes to all of it. I’m also trying desperately not to obsess over my health, to catch the cancer before it takes me but to not have a panic attack every time I forget to rinse the broccoli for pesticides. I want to be a hedonist, down in the muck enjoying my short life. At the same time, I want to be a saint, working incredibly hard on my career and eating only organic vials of turmeric.
These two wants are equally important to me. Here are the rules I follow in pursuit of balance:
Before doing anything, whether it’s work, socialising or opening Instagram, ask yourself: Will this be fun? Is it good for you? Is it good for someone you care about? Is it good for the world? Is it going to get you somewhere better? If it’s not going to be fun or lead to fun or steer you from disaster (no fun!), don’t do it.
It is so important to do your yoga and get your eight hours of sleep, but every now and then, stay up late throwing your body around a dance floor or wake up early to watch the sunrise. So many of us are working so hard to pay for entry to the gallery that we are too exhausted or time-poor to look at the paintings.
Another question to ask yourself before doing something is, “Will this be helpful, or will it just make me stressed?” I think about this before every elective health test or before speaking up in a group. Recently, it helped me avoid taking the ‘real age’ test at my new gym, which felt like it could only hurt me and be used against me by my enemies (personal trainer).
You cannot be all the people you wish you were at once. That’s okay. You wear different hats for different parties. If I walk past a face mask on the ground, I don’t pick it up because in my line of work, if I get sick, production shuts down. But I do use my feet to break the ear loops because I also don’t want to walk past knowing that string could strangle a turtle.
And I guess that’s the main takeaway: do what you can without getting in harm’s way. Take a second, even if you don’t have one to take. You never know what might be offered up by the world in exchange for that second.
Michelle Brasier is an award-winning actor, singer, writer and comedian whose sold-out shows have won standing ovations across Australia and the UK. On the small screen, Michelle has been featured on Aunty Donna’s Coffee Cafe, Stories From Oz, Thank God You’re Here, The 100 with Andy Lee, The Project, Koala Man and Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell.
Michelle’s first book, My Brother’s Ashes are in a Sandwich Bag, is available now.
Work In Progress is an FW series in which people we admire turn their specialist knowledge and leadership wisdom into practical, accessible advice that you can tap into.
If you’re not a member, sign up to our newsletter to get the best of Future Women in your inbox.
