Did Kyra Sedgwick have any tricks that made balancing The Closer and her personal life easier?

Anyone who wants to work in film/television must have a true passion to succeed. That drive to be the best, combined with luck, talent, and connections, will get you far. Then comes recognition, awards, big money, houses—you name it.

However, it doesn't happen as quickly as a snap. Actors and the crew spend countless hours on set, preparing for auditions, learning, and writing scripts. It can feel like life is all work and no play.

They have to spend time away from family, missing holiday dinners, birthdays, the first day of school, and more. It's a lot to balance, and no one knows this better than The Closer's Kyra Sedgwick. Working on a popular hour-long series means a demanding schedule. "It's really hard. There's a lot of work involved, the hours are long, and I get tired. It's exhausting," she told Oprah.com.

There has to be some way to balance this, right? There is, but Sedgwick's method doesn't include tricks or simple shortcuts. She makes a list of priorities, including learning lines and spending time with her family.

"How to actually execute that list is challenging for every parent and wife and sister and brother that works. I think that when work is a priority—but it’s definitely below family—then somehow things do fall into place a little easier because you go, 'Okay, if that's first, then that needs to be tended to first.' But it's hard for me. I struggle with it all the time. You know, I should be learning lines and my mother calls. And what do you do? You pick up the phone or you let it go and you keep working on the lines? Now, when my daughter calls, that's a priority and everything stops. But, you know, it's challenging and I don't know, I don’t have a lot of answers. I think it’s a learning experience a day at a time."