case study
From toxic academia to business as a support system: The power of guardrails to balance client work and studio time
Listen to Samantha’s story in her own words: Samantha Clark is an award-winning visual artist and writer with an active exhibition schedule, who has also been commissioned for major public projects. For nearly 25 years, Samantha built her body of work while supporting herself as a professor of art in higher education. But as time…
Read MoreSay goodbye to creative burnout: “If it doesn’t fit, it won’t happen.”
When too many projects split your focus, nothing gets done—at least they don’t get done without a panicked scramble, cramming in extra work on evenings and weekends. Find out how screenwriter and film director André Hedetoft broke the pattern and started getting his most important work done on time.
Read More“It’s kind of poised to leap now, and that’s really scary and exciting…”
Liz Schiller had been putting off finishing a years-long project of writing a musical…until she made it her One Goal and got help from her CFW cohort. What can you do when you’re overwhelmed by a giant project?
Read More“It’s like a fortune cookie” — When you surprise yourself with what you’re capable of
“I was getting closer to my creative life all year. I just didn’t realize it, because it wasn’t a step-by-step “extreme makeover” version where five weeks later I’m like, Now I’m a published author. Or, Now I can quit my day job. But all these other things happened. And now it’s been 14 weeks? And I mean, I’m rolling.”
Read MoreHow to build a sustainable work process that produces results WITHOUT burnout
Jennifer Shiman came back to her career in animation determined to have a better relationship with her work. “This is an opportunity to really create not only a sustainable way to earn a living, but a sustainable work process, which is necessary for my health.”
Read MoreFocused action: The time to act is now
So how does one go from a slow-burn collaborative podcast to putting out a full, cohesive season of a narrative podcast in one year? With a whole lot of extremely focused action, and a laser focus on one goal.
Read MoreThere is no gatekeeper. There is no gate.
A few weeks ago, I assigned my art students a fun project, a “forgery” of an artist they admire and want to learn from. One student picked Michelangelo. (I talked her down from trying a fresco—in two weeks—to imitating his red chalk studies.) She copied his work in her sketchbook every day. She went to…
Read MoreFocus + accountability = massively improved creative productivity…now that’s math anyone can love
Coni felt like she should be making progress on all of these goals, that she should be able to hit her deadlines on five things at once.
This is on top of her job, mind you.
Now she’s actually getting things done. What’s her secret?
Read MoreFrom nothing to on the air in 3 months: Community = accountability
How did Jamie Berger go from “playing around with recording some interviews” to having a podcast on the air, and in continuous production, in under three months?
Read More“I know exactly what to do in the time I want to spend on making art.”
Michael’s biggest takeaway from the Creative Focus Workshop was breaking a project down to stages, and then tracking weekly. “I know exactly what to do in the time I want to spend on making art. There’s always something specific to do. You don’t have to wonder and get lost in it.”
Read More