The Hidden Cost of Doing Everything Yourself in Film & TV

Alex Jordan
Dec 17, 2025
3 min read

Why crew burnout isn’t about the long hours — it’s about the mental load you’re carrying outside of them.

If you work in film or TV long enough, you learn to function on minimal sleep, unpredictable call sheets, constant schedule changes, and the kind of multitasking most industries would consider superhuman. You adapt. You cope. You get on with it.

But the real strain for most crew doesn’t come from the job itself.It comes from everything the job pushes out of your life.

And when you’re trying to run a career, maintain your personal life, keep your admin under control and still get up at 4:30am for a unit call… something eventually gives.

That “something” is usually you.

Production culture normalises doing it all

On set, wearing multiple hats is the norm. You’re expected to pivot, cover gaps, and find solutions before there’s even time to discuss them. But that same mindset follows crew home — and that’s where the hidden cost creeps in.

You end up doing things like:

Replying to personal emails during your 10-minute lunch window
Booking travel at midnight because you forgot earlier
Managing bills, appointments, renewals and life admin from the car park
Trying to update your CV or apply for the next job after a 14-hour day
Keeping track of birthdays, childcare, pet care, home repairs… all in your head

When you’re constantly in “production mode,” even your personal time becomes a spreadsheet of unassigned tasks.

The mental load steals more than just time

Crew often assume they’re coping because they’re technically keeping up. But the truth is, the mental load is costing you:

1. Sleep

Your brain never gets to clock off. You go to bed thinking about tomorrow’s schedule and the dentist appointment you still haven’t booked.

2. Bandwidth

When half your attention is on life admin, the job feels twice as heavy as it needs to be.

3. Earning potential

If you’re missing opportunities, delaying applications, or letting professional tasks slide, it affects your next gig.

4. Wellbeing

Short temper, constant overwhelm, emotional fatigue — all classic signs that life admin has exceeded capacity.

5. Relationships

It’s not that you don’t care. It’s that your job leaves you with no space to remember anything else.

And the industry rarely talks about this side of the chaos — because everyone assumes it’s just part of the deal.

You're not meant to do all of it alone

Here’s the industry truth: the higher the pressure on set, the more you need support off set.

That’s exactly why My Set PA exists. It was created by someone who’s worked in AD, Locations, Production… someone who understands that a freelancer’s life is a constant cycle of:

prepping
shooting
recovering
trying to catch up

My Set PA steps in to take the mental load off your plate — the same way a great coordinator or runner takes tasks off yours during a heavy day on set.

Where outsourcing makes an immediate difference

Clients see instant relief when they hand over:

inbox management
diary organisation
travel & accommodation bookings
CV updates & job applications
invoice chasing & admin
personal appointments
reminders for renewals, birthdays, deadlines
home-life admin (deliveries, maintenance, moves, bills)

These aren’t luxuries — they’re the tasks that make the difference between functioning and actually living.

The value isn’t in the hours — it’s in the headspace

When crew outsource even a small part of their personal load, they report:

better sleep
more patience
improved focus on set
smoother job transitions
feeling "caught up" for the first time in years
more time for relationships, hobbies, and just… breathing

Because when you stop running two full-time jobs — your production role and your life admin — you finally get your bandwidth back.

You handle the set. Let us handle the rest.

The industry will always be demanding. But burning yourself out trying to do everything is no longer a badge of honour — it’s a risk.

If you’re a freelancer, coordinator, HOD, or supplier trying to keep life running alongside production, the smartest move you can make is to stop doing it all yourself.

That’s where My Set PA gives you your time and your sanity — back.