The Accidental Creative

There are two types of creative pros and idea generators, and knowing which kind you are can make a significant impact on your contribution to projects, and even on your career path. On this episode, we share how to know which you are, and how to leverage it for the most impact. This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. Try it free for 30 days – no catch and no credit card required – at freshbooks.com/accidental, Just enter “Accidental Creative” in the how did you hear about us section.

You (and I, and everyone else) have 168 hours a week. Yet often, we get to the end and wonder "where did it all go?" On this episode, Jake Knapp shares insights into how to make time for what matters most from his book Make Time. Thanks to Away for supporting The Accidental Creative podcast. Go to awaytravel.com/ac and use the promo code ac to get $20 off a suitcase!

As a creative pro, you have a lot of ideas. Those ideas are bouncing around in your head, and it's sometimes difficult to control when and where they rise to the top. On this episode, David Allen is back to discuss principles for getting things done, and for appropriately engaging with the creative work in your world. He also discusses his upcoming GTD Summit, which happens in June in Amsterdam. Watch the Epipheo / David Allen + Todd Henry video below: This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. Try it free for 30 days - no catch and no credit card required - at freshbooks.com/accidental, Just enter "Accidental Creative" in the how did you hear about us section.

What are the common characteristics of extremely high performers? How do talented people take their craft to the next level? On this episode, Alan Stein, Jr. shares how he's helped some of the world's most elite athletes elevate their performance and master their craft with insights from his new book Raise Your Game. This episode is sponsored by RXBAR. To get 25% off your first order, visit RXbar.com/ac and use promo code ac.  

What are the common attributes of disruptors and changemakers? On this episode, Chair of the National Geographic Society Jean Case shares insights from her book Be Fearless, which shares stories and research highlighting the commonalities among disruptors. Today's episode is sponsored by Skillshare. Get two months of free access to over 25,000 classes at Skillshare.com/ac.

Do you have a framework for making decisions? How do you know which opportunities to take and which to pass on? Can someone take a look at your work – how you lead, write, talk, collaborate – and see what matters to you? In Louder Than Words, I wrote about the value of having a personal manifesto (or team manifesto) that can guide your work and help you do work that is personally meaningful and uniquely valuable. It’s not supposed to be an in-depth playbook, but is more of a set of guiding principles by which you make decisions and invest yourself in your work. On this episode, I share my manifesto and offer some tips for creating your own. Today's episode is sponsored by Slack. Slack is where work happens. Find out more a Slack.com.

Creative paralysis, or “block”, is often the result of inattention in a few key areas. “Stuckness” is just a part of doing hard things. However, just plowing through is not necessarily the answer. Internal work does not always equate to external progress. Instead, it can sometimes be helpful to step back and consider the particular source of your stagnancy. There are three that I encounter all the time. On this episode, I share how to break through them. == This episode is sponsored by Skillshare. To get two months of access to over 25000 classes, visit Skillshare.com/ac.

One of the challenges of doing creative work – working with your mind – is that you are largely responsible for not only conceiving of new opportunities, but also making your concepts real, tangible and preferably effective, through whatever means necessary. After all, you’re getting paid to produce results, not to dream all day. However, the weight of all of your incomplete projects and partial ideas can weigh heavily on you if you're not careful. On this episode, we discuss a few strategies for dealing with that weight.

Our definition of failure defines more about us than we may realize, because the fear of failure is one of the most frequent sources of creative paralysis. When the perceived threat of potential consequence outweighs the perceived benefits of success, we stop acting. Notice the word “perceived”. These consequences are often illusory, but in our mind they are as real as a tiger staring us down. The problem is that we can go for days, weeks, months, years, lifetimes without every really getting to the bottom of this fear. The result is that we forfeit our best work. The two things that will paralyze us creatively faster than any others: 1. We haven’t defined success. 2. We haven’t defined failure. If we don’t have a clear definition of what we’re trying to do, we will spin out. Simultaneously, if we don’t have a clear definition of “missing the mark” we will experience paralysis. The simple act of clarifying these two concepts can immediately yield courage for your creative efforts. This episode is sponsored by Care/of. For 25% off your first month of personalized care/of vitamins, visit takecareof.com and enter promo code ac.

The best way to ensure that your most important work gets done is to dedicate time to doing it. Whether you work in an office or on your own, it’s critical that you learn to build barriers around your time and dedicate focused efforts to your most important work. The best way I’ve discovered to do this is to establish chunks of time dedicated to specific tasks. On this episode, we share specific tactics for dedicating your time to the work that matters.

Every idea - even a great one - needs an editor. Someone to help sift through the fluff and get to the heart of it all. For a band, it's the producer. For an agency, a creative director. And for an author, it's the editor. On this episode, renowned book editor Niki Papadopoulos shares her insights on how to prune the non-essentials from an idea and get it into its best form.

Your everday practices are what set you up for success. It's not the "every so often" mustering of your will, it's the things you choose to implement regularly that prepare you for those moments when you need to be brilliant. Today's guest is Jen Sincero, and she's just released a book called "You Are A Badass Every Day", which is about how to build everyday rituals that lead to long-term brilliance. This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental.

I (strongly) agree that the future belongs to the curious, but would add that so does the present. Curious people are able to parse experience and recognize Reality behind reality; what’s truly going on in patterns and systems. They are able to ask great questions, and are willing to trade them in for better ones when they’re not satisfied with the answers. So with that in mind, how can we stay poised, leaning forward, and in a state of productive curiosity? On this episode, we explore four ways.  

I (strongly) agree that the future belongs to the curious, but would add that so does the present. Curious people are able to parse experience and recognize Reality behind reality; what’s truly going on in patterns and systems. They are able to ask great questions, and are willing to trade them in for better ones when they’re not satisfied with the answers. So with that in mind, how can we stay poised, leaning forward, and in a state of productive curiosity? On this episode, we explore four ways.  

People love to encourage you to chase your dreams. They mostly mean well. What they don’t tell you is that you are probably going to fail a lot. And, the problem with pursuing a dream is that it’s hard to know when to quit. On this episode, we discuss the difficulties of giving up a dream, and how to move on when it's no longer a part of who you are. This episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental.