Its Time to Break Up With Your Job

Its Time to Break Up With Your Job Its Time to Break Up With Your Job Happy Valentines DayIts time to end that toxic eight-hour-a-day relationship. You wouldnt put up with all the negativity in a romantic partner. Why are you putting up with it at work?Every February, I write a column about why its important to love your job. This year, however, Ive decided to take a different approach. Im going to encourage you to break it off with your job - provided, of course, you dont love it anymora.I know, its a hard decision to make.Your job has been so reliable, sostable. You dont want to be left in the cold with no job to your name. Butis holding onto this gig worth it?Are you really happy? Does your job put you first? Or does your jobsap your strength, drain your energy, and even take money out of your wallet?You may spend more time at work than you do with your spouse, so its important your job be one you love. If its not, now is the time to make a change - and I do mean right nowThe job market is the best it has been in a generation. Many economists say it hasnt been this great since the late 1960s. New jobs are showing up every day. Do yourself a favor Look and see whats new in your field. You might be surprised.Make a list of all the things you want in a job. What would make you really love your work? Do you want a great boss?A great team?A product you can get behind? Are you looking for a company with integrity?Write down your list of goals, and then use it to guide your search. What youre hoping for is out there. Dont stay committed to a company that is not committed to you. Look for something better, something more fulfilling. Make your happiness a priority.Breaking up with your job isnt as hard as it sounds. Just follow a few simple tipsDont tell anyone youre leaving until youve secured a new job.Once youve found a new job, wait until youve accepted it in writing to tell your company.Start with your boss. Thank them for the opportunity and let them know y ouve found something new. Give at least two weeks of notice, but no more than four. Things can get stressful if you give too much notice. After youve shared your news verbally, confirm it in an email to your boss.Come up with a plan for how and when youll share the great news with the larger team.Before long, the breakup will be complete, and youll be off to a bigger and better opportunity you truly loveA version of this article originally appeared onCopeland Coaching.Angela Copeland is a career coach and CEO atCopeland Coaching.

Tips for Becoming a Comedy TV Writer

Tips for Becoming a Comedy TV WriterTips for Becoming a Comedy TV WriterThe job of a TV comedy writer can be quite lucrative and entertaining. To some, it might be a bit lacking creatively, because as a part of your job you will mimic the voices of pre-established characters or personas. Youre also working every day with a group of talented and funny people. So, it is likely also one of the most fun jobs youll ever have. Study the TV Format If you havent already, the first thing you need to do is to make sure you understand the structure of TV comedy. Whether its a sit-com like Two and a Half Men or a drama day like Sex in the City, half-hour or hour in length, you need to get clear on how the show is broken down. Determine if it is a two- or three-act structure and if it has a clear A- or B-story. You may want to departure by reading a few books on script and story structure. This will help you to understand the basics of scriptwriting. You should also start to learn about how a television show is produced. You will need to understand the roles of the executive producer down to the showrunner. Understanding how a television show goes from an idea to your television set is good knowledge for you to have. Once you have a sense of how a show is produced, how a TV script is written and what the basic structure of your favorite show is, youre ready to move on to the next phase. Write a Spec Now, you need to show the industry that you can actually write by writing a spec script. The same way an artist or photographer has a portfolio, a writer has a collection of samples that he or she can show a potential employer. Technically, a spec refers to a speculative script. Youre writing it for free and speculating that someone will read it and hire you. Its essentially a sample script that is either of an existing and popular TV comedy or a piece of original material that highlights your ability to create voice, situations, characters, and, ultimately, tell a story . Keep in mind, that if you want to be a comedy writer, then whatever piece you use as your spec script should at the very least be funny. Write a spec of a popular show. After all, it wont do you much good to write an episode of a TV comedy that only a handful of people are aware of. Changes in the Industry Now, it used to be that if you wanted to be a TV comedy writer, you would simply write up a spec or two of your favorite shows, send them to an agent and hopefully impress them enough to inspire them to go out and find you a writing job. Things have changed a bit since then- and, actually, it was never quite that easy. The industry (meaning potential employers) is mora open to reading different types of material. A lot of the shift has to do with the fact that there just arent as many comedies on the air as there used to be. That said, its recommended that you write at least two spec scripts. One script should be of a popular TV comedy and one original pilot concept. Its a b it mora work, but it gives people the chance to see that you can not only recreate the character voices and story dynamics of an existing show, but that you can create your own voices, characters, and storylines that are unique to you, as well. Some writers balk at the notion of having to write an episode of an existing show but consider that the job youre going after is exactly that. So, if you show people you can do it, youll dramatically help your chances of getting to do it. Get Usable Notes on Your Spec Script Before you show your hot off the pressspec scriptsaround town, you need to make sure theyre as good as you think they are. Find a minimum of three people who can give you usable notes. Usable notes are notes that help you address problems in the script. This is also referred to as constructive criticism. A Note About Notes A note from your mother telling you how much she enjoyed the script is not a note. That is an opinion (ofcourse your mother is going to like it ). Frankly, opinions are useless. You need someone to read it who is a bit more qualified and who can give you specifics on whats not working and why. If you dont have any friends who are in the biz then consider giving it to another comedy writer. You want them to be brutally honest with you. If the story doesnt seem feasible, or they say the character voices are way off, or your jokes arent funny enough, take heed. These are usable notes that will help you to create a better script on your journey to becoming a better writer. Tip on Notes It can be trying to hear someone tear your work apart. But if you can learn to remove any emotional attachment to your work and simply listen to the notes that are being given, youll be able to calmly discern which notes will help you to improve your script. Dont justify why you did something. In fact, dont say anything at all. Just listen to the notes as theyre being given use what works for you and filter out what doesnt. But remember that, if something isnt coming across to your reader, it wont help you to explain what you meant. If its not working, its not working, so consider fixing what might be broken. Pack up Your Specs and Move to Los Angeles Unfortunately, Los Angeles is really the only distributionspolitik to be aTV comedy writer. Ofcourse, there are similar jobs in England and in Canada, but to work on 99% of all comedies on U.S. television, Los Angeles is where you need to be. Unlike writing for movies, your options for living anywhere other than Los Angeles are nil. Network Most TV writing jobs are found through personal connections. Rare is the occasion that someone lands in Los Angeles with a script tucked under their arm and suddenly starts working in the TV biz. So, you need to start networking. Here are a few suggestions Go to Writers Events There are a number of events in Hollywood that are geared toward aspiring television and screenwriters. Whether its a screening, lecture, or social event, you can find many of them advertised online or in thetrade magazines. Take a Class UCLA Extension,AFI, and USC all offerhigh-qualitywriting classesthat will not only help you toimprove your writing skills, but theyll group you together with a number oflike-mindedindividuals. Theyre also often taught by professional writers. Start a Writers Group Through Craigslist.com, online chat rooms, or even through local newspapers, you can identify other writers whom you might want to start meeting with on a regular basis.A writers groupis not just a great networking tool, but it can help you get a host of constructive criticism on your writing. Take an Assistant Job Find a job working at one of the networks, studios, or agencies as alow-levelstaffer. By working as an assistant to a development executive, agent, or producer, youre not only learning valuable information about the business as a whole, but youre developing relationships with people who have the power to help your budding writing career. Consider Working as a Writers Assistant Work as a writers assistant jobs are not easy to find, but many television writers began their careers as a writers assistant. The job is exactly that- working as an assistant to the writers. It will not only familiarize you with the process of writing for television, but you will be working directly with the writers on staff. You will be in direct communication with the people that might one day hire you as a writer. Get an Agent Now heres the big catch-22 of Hollywood- to get an agent, you need to be a working writer, and to become a working writer, you need an agent. Frustrating as that may seem, its not impossible to get an agent. Randomly submitting your spec scripts to agencies has been known to work for some people, but it is bothtime-consumingand expensive. Besides, most agencies have a policy against people blindly submitting material and infact, may either return the package to you or simply throw it away and never respo nd (this way they can say it was simply never received). So, the easiest and most productive way to go aboutgetting an agentis to focus a lot of your attention on steps 2, 3, and 5 above. Make sure you have spec scripts that are of the highest quality possible and that yourenetworkingany time youre not writing. More than likely, you will soon come across someone who is in a position to help you. Let us repeat the importance of having your spec scripts in tip-top shape. When the opportunity to have someone of importance read your scripts comes along, youll want them to be so impressed by your writing that they cant possibly pass you up. Career Advice If you remember nothing else, remember these three tips Always be Writing Remember, writing is a craft and the only way to get better at it is to keep doing it. So, just because you have your twospec scriptsready and in hand, dont think thats all you have to do. Youll want to start creating a body of work that you can use to enhance your career and yourskillset. If you dont want to write another script, then practice writing scenes from your favorite TV shows. Practice mimicking the voices (on paper) of your favorite TV characters. Develop new ideas. The point is never, ever stop writing. Youll only get better and better with each passing day. Writing Is Rewriting Your first draft is most likely not your best draft. You will perform an infinite number of rewrites over the course of your writing career. Dont let this discourage you. After you complete most rewrites youll soon discover that what you wrote was much better than what was there previously. Story pieces, jokes, characterarcs, and dialogue that werent working suddenly work better than you ever imagined. Be open to this possibility and dont let yourself get married to something youve written. Be willing to change whatever you need to change to make your scripts as good as they can possibly be. Personally, I prefer rewriting, because at least I have so mething other than a blank page staring back at me. Have Patience From the moment you first start writing, assume it will take you anywhere from six months to three years (or longer) to get your first TV comedy writing job. Just like anything, its a process. Not only in learning the craft itself, but in meeting those people that can help you achieve your career goals. Look at it this way, if you dreamt of becoming a surgeon, you wouldnt pick up a scalpel on Monday and expect to be operating on people on Tuesday, right? You have to learn the skills, you have to practice them, and then you have to surround yourself with the right people who can help you achieve your dream. Final Thoughts Becoming a TV comedy writeris an admirable career goal. Its a great job and can, in time, be quite lucrative. Dont get discouraged by those lucky few who get hired right out of college or after only two weeks of living in Los Angeles for most people, its a long, hard road. If you stay focused, sta y driven, and keep writing, you will eventually get where you want to go. The job is well worth the wait.

People willing to lose 2.4 hours of sleep per night for $25,000 raise

People willing to lose 2.4 hours of sleep per night for $25,000 raisePeople willing to lose 2.4 hours of sleep per night for $25,000 raiseCan you sleep your way to the top? Actually, many people think you have to sacrifice sleep to get there. While many people lose sleep at night over work stress, many are willing to give up sleep for success or a major raise at work, a new survey found.Mattress Advisor surveyed over 1,000 working professionals,from entry-level to executives, about their sleep habits and how their ideas of success.The most surprising, if slightly disturbing finding Respondents would be willing to lose almost 2.5 hours of sleep per night for a $25,000 pay raise.How well theyd perform on that amount of sleep is up for debate the people surveyed said that the least amount of sleep they could really function on was 5.5 hours. Even losing just 2 hours of sleep can effect your mood, and one recent study says missing just a couple of hours of sleep over two days was enough to cause significant anger.Sleep, money powerThe less money offered, the less sleep respondents said theyd be willing to sacrifice. People said they would give up 1.6 hours for a $10,000 raise, and one single hour of sleep for a $5,000 raise.And then theres power Men would choose more success (50.8%) over sleep, but 55.6% of women would choose sleep over success.Men said theyd be willing to give up an average of 30 minutes more sleep than women each night (1.9 hours vs. 1.4 hours) to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company.When it comes to perks, men and women agree each would give up an hour of sleep for an extra week of paid vacation, or the privilege of working from home once a week.Execs do it less?Who prioritizes sleep in the hierarchy? Not those at the top of the chain. 54% of executive said they thought it was necessary to give up some to be successful. Only 42.9% of entry-level workers felt the same way.42% of execs also felt it was worth being sleep deprived for success. That feeling trended down by hierarchy 32% of middle management felt the same way, and approximately 25% of both intermediate and entry-level workers agreed.Curiously, 54% of executives reported getting an average of 6.6 hours of sleep every night. Only 39% of middle management only received that much, and 35% of entry-level workers.That last point is a good thing for execs weve just seen the latest example of sleepless CEOs with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose sleep-deprived ramblings filled the media until Arianna Huffington and Richard Branson both have had to tell him to get some sleep.