Take a look around
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that." ~ Mark Twain.
That's a nice quote, isn't it? I think it is. I'm really driven off inspirational quotes, and – as most people in the arts should be doing – I'm constantly trying to consume as much about the world around me, to better inform my own world view. Or, at the very least, so you have something to talk about at the wrap party.
At any rate, I'd never heard that quote until I subscribed to the Actors And Crew Twitter feed. While the feed has some interesting quotes every couple days or so, what's more important is that it has casting notices and advice from established actors. Backstage has a Twitter feed too, which should interest the coastal actors more, for sure. I know what you're thinking: big effing deal, what's this mean for me? Well, if you have a Twitter account you can get up-to-the-minute casting notices whenever you're at the computer.
I bet you didn't know they had Twitter feeds, did you? I sure didn't, I just learned about it a couple weeks ago, and they've been wonderful so far.
It's not just Twitter feeds though, sometimes you just want some advice or even just some nudging into the direction that – makes you go – "well, at least I know it's not me out there." Blogs are super handy for that. For example, take http://50in50.wordpress.com. It's a blog created by an actor that's trying to create a new, distinct character every week for 50 weeks. Why? He took a break from auditioning to accept a full-time job, and rather than let his skills diminish,he's using videos of each character to keep him sharp. We all end up in a dreary day job at some point, might as well use what's around you to keep you sharp.
Basically, what I'm saying is this. The Internet has more to offer you than just Facebook and Evite. If you look around, even when you're 'slacking' at work, you'll still be working on your career. After all, us actors are always working, even when we're not.