By Blake Pavey
My daily routine on the road as a stand-up comic consists of waking up, driving multiple hours to a weird town you’ve never been to, getting to a venue and doing a show, then going to your AirBNB at midnight to sleep…
Then you wake up and do it all again.
I don’t think this article is going to be relatable to everyone (unless we have a lot of CF comedians going around the nation stealing my thunder on the comedy circuit), but I think if anyone is struggling with a job that doesn’t give them a stable routine, then there might be something in here for them.
It’s extremely hard to maintain a lifestyle that allows you to keep on top of your meds, eat the foods that you need and so on. I have and still often struggle with it. I’m not about to advocate not taking your meds, however, I have struggled with feeling guilty for missing medications and treatments; it took me a long time to realise that it just isn’t sustainable to keep up with these things at a 100% hit rate.
If you’re constantly travelling day in and day out while working weird hours, it’s okay to get to the end of the day, look at the plethora of meds on the kitchen benchtop and think to yourself, “I just can’t be arsed tonight.” I believe it’s sometimes better for your mental health to just go to bed and tackle it the next day (but obviously, this needs to be all in moderation).
Something that has helped me get on top of things a bit more is setting my morning alarm 30 minutes earlier than usual. Then the first thing I do is make sure all my meds are dealt with and out of the way. CF is, in my experience at least… a 24/7 inconvenience. It affects work, social life, romantic relationships etc. So if the first thing I can do every day is tackle all my treatments, for me it makes not just work… but life 10x easier to deal with.
Looking back I can equate most, if not all of my stress on a day to day basis to something CF-related, so when I finally stopped putting off medications as an “I’ll do it after (insert activity here).” It really skyrocketed my productivity, made me easier to hang around and in the world of stand up, allowed me to have a more relaxed (and therefore funnier) show.
About Blake Pavey
Blake Pavey is an AACTA-nominated comedian who performed to over 11,000 people during the course of his sold-out debut national tour. Alongside his stand-up, Blake is best known for his sketch comedy characters online and boasts over 1.1 million followers online. He also competed as a finalist in the 2022 Raw Comedy competition.
The views, experiences or comments shared on this website are not medical advice and may not reflect opinions or beliefs of Cystic Fibrosis Community Care. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions regarding your health.
