The Accidental Creative

As a creative pro, it's your job to advocate for your client, your company, or your audience. That means refusing to settle for less than the best, and pushing until you get the results that you're striving for. On this episode, Jordan Harbinger, host of the Jordan Harbinger Show, shares his thoughts about how to ask questions that get quickly to the heart of the matter and how to be an advocate for the people you serve. == Today’s episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 2 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

A time chunk is simply a dedicated amount of time, an hour or two if possible, to immerse yourself in the important, but not urgent work on your plate. Rather than relying on the non-time-committal nature of a task list, time chunks ensure that you will spend a certain amount of focused effort making progress each week. You know that interruptions or other distractions won’t get in the way, because you’ve built a bulwark against them. On this episode, we share 6 simple rules for establishing (and keeping) time chunks on your calendar so that you make progress on your critical creative work. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Meetings are necessary to a healthy team, but when you spend most of your day in meetings, it makes it challenging to accomplish any of the real work for which you’re accountable. Worse, when meetings are stacked one after the other, it sometimes means little time to think or be strategic about them. On this episode, we share five quick tips from Herding Tigers about how to make the most of your meetings. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

In many ways, the quality of your work is defined by the questions you ask. Those who ask the best questions ultimately get closest to the heart of the situation, and in many cases ultimately win. However, you are also defined by the questions that you choose to avoid. If you run away from important questions because they're uncomfortable to address, then you might compromise your body of work and never fully achieve your potential. On this episode, we share three important questions that many people choose to avoid rather than ask: What's not working? What am I really trying to do? What do I suspect, but don't want to know? ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

When you are growing a business, it's tempting to allow yourself to get pulled into the million little things that demand your time. However, there is something that your business needs from you that only you can do, and you're the only one who knows what it is. On today's episode, Jen Gotch (co-founder of Bando), shares her thoughts about social media, growing a business, leading creative teams, and how to keep yourself inspired and focused when your business is too big to be small, and too small to be big. == Thanks to RXBAR for supporting The Accidental Creative. Get 25% off your first order at RXbar.com/ac promo code ac. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. Remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Have you ever been in a business pitch, a conversation with a peer, or an argument and thought "I wonder what that person is really thinking?" On this episode, Mark Bowden, author of Truth and Lies: What People Are Really Thinking, will offer advice for how to apply critical thinking to how you interpret body language so that you can better discern what's going on inside someone's head. == Today’s episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 2 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.  

No matter how talented and driven you are, sooner or later you're bound to feel stuck. When you'e at a standstill, the worst thing you can do is to keep staring at the problem and digging yourself deeper into a rut. On this episode, Todd Henry shares 25 simple, but effective questions to help you get out of your creative rut and get moving on your work. Download a worksheet with all of the questions below. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

If you want to accomplish much of anything, you need to focus. You have a finite amount of attention to allocate to problems that matter. However, many creative pros struggle with questions about what they should focus on, when they should focus on it, and whether the thing they're doing is even the right thing. On this episode, Todd Henry shares three questions you can ask each week to help you allocate your finite attention in the best places, and get more of the right things done. == Thanks to Slack for supporting the podcast. Slack: Where work happens. Find out why at slack.com. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Who is your ideal customer? If you're a freelancer, a small business owner, or even someone designing or writing within an organization, this is a critical question. But you can't stop by identifying that customer, you also need to understand how to communicate in a way that will resonate deeply. In other words, you need to uncover their "secret language". On this episode, Jeffrey Shaw shares insights from his new book Lingo about how to uncover your ideal customer's secret language, and how it can unleash your business. == Today’s episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 3 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative99. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Jonathan Willis is a globe-traveling photographer. His work has been featured by some of the biggest brands in the world, and he's dedicated himself to becoming a true master of his craft. However, over the past few years he's also engaged in a number of "passion projects" as a way to stoke his creative juices and to challenge himself. Today's episode features an informal conversation with Willis about these projects, why they matter, and what he's learned from them. And, how every creative pro can benefit from a passion project. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

You've probably heard them before. You might even believe them. However, the myths that exist about creative people in the marketplace can affect your ability to engage in and do your work effectively. On today's episode, I share five common myths about creative people, how they limit our ability to bring value to our clients and organization, and what we can do about them. == Today’s episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 3 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative99. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

When you create for a living, you might find yourself frustrated with your management or client and not even know why. When you can't articulate what you need, it's really difficult to thrive. On today's episode, I share the few things that creative people need in order to do their best work, and how you can ask for them so that you can be prolific, brilliant, and healthy. == Thanks to Slack for supporting the podcast. Slack: Where work happens. Find out why at slack.com. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

How do you make decisions in your work, about your career, or for your life as a whole? If you don't have a clear framework for making those decisions ahead of time, then you'll be tempted to compromise your values in the moment. On today's show, I share a simple framework for identifying some of your core drivers so that you are prepared to make decisions before you get into those high pressure situations. == Today’s episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 3 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative99. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

If you do creative work for a living, trust is your currency. It's impossible to do great, collaborative, creative work without it. However, there are a number of ways in which we can lose trust and never even know it. On this episode, I share a small way we breach trust and how that can affect us at the worst possible moment. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

It's a new year, and that means many of us are thinking about how we want to make 2018 our best year yet. Last year, I introduced four questions that you can ask to help you gain better clarity and establish more meaningful goals. On this episode, I re-visit those questions and share how I'm answering them for the upcoming year. == Today's episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 3 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative99. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.