I was on a film shoot this past weekend. It was a volunteer project through the New Brunswick Film Co-op, so I was working on this for free with a large group of people who were also all doing this for free. Doing free work can be a great thing. For one thing, stress is cut down way more. Everyone was there because we wanted to be. Everyone was having fun. We still worked hard, but we seemed to enjoy it a lot more. I've been on a few film shoots where people were being paid, and some of these have been less organized and people were a lot more stressed out. I was there to support the community of film-makers we have in NB and to support my fellow artists in creating something meaningful. We weren't doing it for a paycheck. We were doing it to share in the joy of creating art.
This film shoot also interrupted my routine. I typically go to bed around 9 or 10 PM (sometimes I'll stay up until 11 or even 12 on an odd night) and get up around 5 or 6 AM (I'll sleep in with my girlfriend on weekends - she is not as much a morning person as me). The shoot this past weekend was scheduled on Saturday night to run from 6PM until 6AM overnight. Obviously, this is in clear opposition to my usual sleep schedule.
One of my biggest things I have been focusing on to simplify my life is the development of a routine. I establish a routine of meditating daily to cultivate mindfulness. I exercise daily, I eat healthier, I do my dishes as soon as I finish eating (or I try to at least). But every now and then we have something that comes up that throws off our routine.
This isn't always a bad thing though. The film shoot was a great way to spend my weekend. Sure I lost sleep, but I gained so much more in return. I developed stronger relationships with friends, made new friends, and contributed to a meaningful project. I left the shoot feeling like I had done something worth my time and really connected with other people. I did something I find personally fulfilling and had a lot of fun in the process. Routines are great, and I think it is important to set up rules for how we live our lives. But sometimes we have to break our own rules to accomplish something great.