Stop procrastinating! Pursue that hobby or skill now, despite a busy life. Set deadlines, start small, and be patient.
From Ordinary to Extraordinary
Immigrant parents to American Dream: Ordinary people creating extraordinary change.
What are you waiting for? That skill you wanted to work on or that hobby you just haven’t started. And please don’t say you’re too busy (read a previous blog, Are You Really That Busy).
We all procrastinate and hesitate to do stuff that we might really enjoy. Who knows, you might end up performing in your underwear in front of a room of strangers!
The first factor is often our day job. In my twenties, when I was working on the morning show at 95.5 PLJ, I was all about my job. Even when I wasn’t sitting in the office or the studio, I was thinking about the show. Like a good standup comedian, I was sitting on the observation deck of my brain 100% of the time. Always on the lookout for content for the next day’s show and constantly stressing about filling up 20 hours of live radio every week.
But then I came to a realization. I had spent the better part of my life worrying about the job I identified with. I was in my late 30s when I discovered there was something I was truly missing—the chance to perform IN FRONT of a live audience, not just through the speakers of their car or their tiny earbuds.
In the 2000s, the improv scene in New York City exploded. You could find actors performing (mostly for free) long-form improvisation comedy in theaters all over Manhattan. The biggest and best performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) Theater, which was located in the basement of a supermarket in Chelsea. It was gritty and real, and it was just a magical place to see live comedy.
To create the next generation of improvisers, UCB offered a curriculum of classes that resembled a higher level of education than you might imagine.
So I made the decision to just sign up for classes while balancing my rigorous schedule of waking up at 3 a.m. every morning, doing radio, taking a nap, and then going to class to become an improviser. It was hard and sometimes exhausting, but I loved every minute of it. I learned so much and fell in love with the craft that I eventually branched off into sketch comedy and became part of a successful troupe called Clip Show that performed all over the country. We had a blast writing and performing outrageous sketches that required all of us to lose our inhibitions and just live in the moment, so I did a sketch in my underwear…multiple times & My Cohost.
And all of it happened because I didn’t want to wait until I had time.
Here are some tips for stopping yourself from waiting and taking action now:
The point of all of this is: don’t put off pursuing your interests and passions just because you’re busy with work or life. Carve out time for the things that excite you and make you come alive, even if it’s just an hour a week. Who knows where it might lead if you start cultivating that skill or hobby now?
You could discover hidden talents and meet amazing people. And who knows? You too, one day, might perform in your underwear.
