Jumping off the Content Treadmill – Year In Review
Last year, the lead up to the holidays crept up on me at frightening speed. I was stuck on the content treadmill, barely got to enjoy the holidays, or had any time off at all before I was back on the grind with work. The auditions didn’t stop — in fact, there were several posted on Christmas Eve that were due on New Years’ Day. Gee willickers! Did anyone have any time to refect on the previous twelve months?
This year I’m prepared! At the beginning of 2025 I gave myself a challenge: to unplug from the internet, and plug in to my human experience. Simple. And sustainable.
Back in January, I blocked time for myself to review what I thought was important to me, and even wrote this intro to kick-start myself when the time comes. Thanks, Past Me! You’re welcome, Future Me.
Let’s take a look at how this whirlwind year went, shall we?
1. Do I feel calmer?
Have I stopped doomscrolling? No. Absolutely not.
I’m, however, better at catching myself mid-doomscroll and redirecting. Better at getting bored with it. Finding something else to do. I’ve improved my discipline, my ability to push on and start a thing, which inevitably gets me launched into hyperfocus mode.
And honestly? Some days I’m stressed to my teeth, to the point of tears. Our family was faced with a real trial that is ongoing. But in spite of that, I am actually calm, and I am happy. At peace, maybe? Because I know we will cope. We have a plan. We have support. We always cope.
The flexibility I’ve built into my business has become essential, and I’m so grateful I was able to secure that for myself with passion and grit.
I’m finding joy in little things. Despite taking on much more around the house to support my parents, I love working with Buddy and seeing his growth.
I want to read, write, play my piano, draw, paint, laugh, cry, talk and play with real life human beings that also love these things. ~ Me – Jan 2025
My creative spark is lighting again, slowly. I started playing piano and doodling consistently! After reconnecting with a friend over the Twilight movie re-release, she was kind enough to offer me her Lord of the Rings sheet music book for piano. We agreed to learn Gollum’s song together. It’s beautiful. Sounds small, but it’s HUGE for my creativity and peace — something I’d been telling myself I’d do all year.
✅ Big tick on this one! (Fuck cancer — if you’d like to donate to Cure Cancer I’m participating in the Fundraiser for Cure Cancer’s Holiday Spectacular until December 15th)
2. Has my work as a performer improved?
Hell yes.
Another little thing that I didn’t mention is that I specifically challenged myself to do things that made me feel uncomfortable, and it has paid off in spades!
Acting practice has been consistent throughout 2025 since I started training with Hollywood Actor Lab in January. And I’ve somehow balanced it with my family priorities — barely. I’ve been attending weekly classes, working on scenes from The Big C, Fisk, American Hustle, and more. When I compared footage from February to October of the same scene, the growth was undeniable. I feel so much more freedom in my performance as an actor both in and outside of the booth.
Weekly sessions with my vocal coach, Tamara at Vocal Essence, has bounced me back from COVID, a horrid flu and the dreaded post-Pax Pox. While improving my singing, vocal flexibility and stamina.
Cool acting milestones from 2025:
- Narrated New Year’s Eve by Sarah Todman and Swept Up In You by Rian Birch — two beautiful contemporary romance titles by two wonderful Australian indie authors that I’m thoroughly proud of.
- Voiced multiple characters for the acclaimed RPG adventure video game Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, including Kjell, Ast, Seonag, and many more.
- Built repeat business with corporate/elearning clients and IVR work week to week.
- Accepted to several new rosters, expanding my reach for opportunities to work with new businesses and creators.
- Shot two short films!
Clients are happier than ever, I’m being challenged, and there’s money in the bank.
✅ Ticks across the board! And I feel like I’m just getting started.
3. Where did I stumble?
Making sucky business stuff less sucky
At some point, it felt like marketing was becoming my business, and that I was spending more energy on keeping up with a content treadmill than saving my energy for my craft. I left my job in marketing because I’d found it wasn’t my thing. And now it has to be my thing, so that I can earn the right to do my real job? Yuck!
Marketing is a huge part of being a creative freelancer. My previous blog posts can attest to that. However, the exhaustion wasn’t from the work itself — it was from maintaining the illusion of being everywhere, all the time, on top of the physical and mental drain that happens while performing. Like when I have to conjure the will to horseshoe content out of my busy days, when I’d much rather be enjoying the ride.
It’s making an AIss out of me
Trying to balance my relationship with AI as much as possible (I’m writing these words to you right now), I had to get real with the fact that my lifestyle has changed. Recent demands on my time to care for my family mean I require a helping hand. Someone to organise or update my spaghetti of Notion pages, or be real with me when I’m tempted to focus on less important things.
If I could spot myself a live-in personal assistant like a celebrity, or clone myself, I would. Instead, AVA, my Notion assistant, has helped me redirect my focus and keep my CRM workflow more effectively than I could on my own.
Thanks, Ava.
Moving along the funnel
I’ve certainly tried to slow down on content. I pushed for between 1-4 posts per month, per channel. Alas, I still have a huge backlog of announcements, vlogs and reel ideas that I simply have not had the time to execute. Or when I do have the time, I only have the energy for tip-tapping at the keyboard like this. At least I have these blogs. I will say, I’m doing what I said I would — kicking and screaming. I do prioritise reaching out to people one-on-one to introduce myself, follow up on direct marketing, or have a catch-up chat, over posting to social media… my feeds might say otherwise? 😳
You know what? I’m calling this one a big, fat ✅ tick. I pulled myself up by my bootstraps during what is one of the scariest times of my life. I’m proud of myself for that.
4. What were the highlights?
In-person podcast interview debut
I did my first long-form podcast interview with Amra Pajalic. What a wonderful conversation that spanned an hour before and after the actual podcast chat! It was even a catalyst for a blog post about the creative freelancing grind, which apparently struck a few chords with people.
Turning point at PAX Aus
I thought I’d been “inconsistent” with content, and was surprised that people still saw me as a creator. Since the pandemic, I’ve maintained my brand as a gaming creator, just barely. But at PAX in October, brands and developers still wanted to work with me. People I’d never met in person told me they’d been quietly following my work for years, from content to voiceover!
Streaming became an outlet for my mental health and creativity again. I took a hard look at why I was personally spending time on Twitch as a viewer; the types of creators I enjoyed, what drew me to them, what kinds of games I loved watching. It made me realise how important it can be for some people not to feel alone. At the time, I was spending hours on end listening back to and editing a book I had narrated — Kim Dalton’s deeply personal memoir about her fight with cancer — while processing my father’s diagnosis.
This lit my fire again to reconnect with the gaming space, and why I felt it to be my second home so strongly all these years. Over a decade at the time of writing, in fact!
Oh no, more marketing
In addition to this, I shifted how I approach interpersonal connection and my direct marketing practice. Letting go a little. Coming to terms with the fact that for every person who might not feel interested to carry on a conversation with me, there are also many people who are, if I were only to try.
There are more important things to worry about in life than if I’m going to potentially annoy someone with my e-mail asking for more information about their work. If my style fits a project, we’ll figure it out. If not, I just met someone doing cool work I want to see more of, and might have a friend to recommend if they need one. No worries, if not! 😅
What I’m Taking Forward
Simple and sustainable is working for me.
Clients are happier than ever, and there’s money in the bank. Not because I’m posting more or hustling harder, but because I’m present when it counts, by protecting my energy and finding fulfillment.
By taking things in stride and chipping away at Big Picture areas of my life, I hope to ✨ manifest ✨ a few things:
- A crime thriller audiobook — in addition to my cosy romances, of course!
- More video game characters with epic personalities
- Live directed sessions in a real, live, in-person studio — in addition to the 7AM and 7PM sessions with NYC, London, Warsaw, Spain…
- Few hours a week to finish my playthroughs of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and World of Warcraft’s upcoming release of Midnight… and all the gorgeous cosy and horrific indie games in my queue
With Dad’s surgery at the top of the new year, it’s hard to plan beyond that. For now, we stay the course. We cope. And we find joy in the little things.
Let’s Yap
If you got this far, I couldn’t be more thankful for your time. Wow!
Want to work together or chat about anything that resonated here? I’d love to hear from you.
Email me: nina@voicesofnina.com