The Weekly Briefly

Last week's show was about technology. But, more specifically, how technology helps us to do our best creative work.

Today's show is about another aspect of doing our best creative work: our inner work life.

When we have a healthy inner work life then we are poised to be at are our best in terms productivity and creativity. And so, how do we stay happy and motivated so we can be productive and creative? That's what today's show is all about.

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The awesome members of shawnblanc.net: Their support makes the work I do a sustainable possibility.

Episode Links

Teresa Amabile's Progress Principle website, 99U Talk, and book.

Your Best Creative Work, Part I

Fighting to Stay Creative

Celebrate Progress

The Flip Band

Jerry Seinfeld's Calendar

Famous Writers on Keeping a Diary

Technology can hinder us from doing our best creative work. We get addicted to checking our email, our Facebook feed, our Instagram likes, our Twitter @replies and we never get to that valuable time we set aside for creating.

And then, once we finally do sit down to begin creating (if we ever do sit down), in come the push notifications and the distractions. Text messages, Facebook messages, friend requests, piles of paper on our desk, open browser tabs and windows, and more.

But technology is not the enemy. Social networks, push notifications, team communication tools, email, websites, computers, modern software -- all of these are amazing tools. Just as much as they can be distractions, so too can they empower us to do our best creative work, build an audience, and make a living.

Update: You can find part II right here.

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The awesome members of shawnblanc.net: Their support makes the work I do a sustainable possibility.

It’s been 90 days since the re-design of Tools & Toys went live, and compared to the same quarter last year we saw a 3x growth in pageviews, unique visitors, and site revenue.

And so, on today's show I wanted to share more about why we decided to redesign the site, what our goals were, and what has contributed to the site’s growth (beyond just a redesign).

Sponsored By:

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Artisanal Software Festival: No bundles, no gimmicks: just great prices on some of the most interesting and innovative software for working with ideas.

The pursuit of “the best”.

Who doesn't love to find the best tools, the best coffee, the best food, the best experiences, etc? I know I do. But I realize that this can, at times, be an unhealthy pursuit. Too much focus on only ever doing and experiencing “the best” of something can lead to disappointment and complaining when we don’t have “the best”.

Which is why being content -- and making each unique experience “the best” -- is a choice.

See also: Episode 24: "Investing in Quality"

Sponsored By

Curbi: Amazing parental controls for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

The awesome members of shawnblanc.net: Their support makes the work I do a sustainable possibility.

For the last episode of 2014, I wanted to talk about planning for the next year. It's not nearly as lame or tedious as it sounds -- in fact, it's something my wife and I have done for the past 3 years and we look forward to it.

A good annual plan should help you:

identify what you want to do

identify what you don't want to do

discover what you need to do

And then, give yourself permission and freedom to do those things you want and need to and stop doing those things which you don't want/need to do.

Sponsored by

Yosemite: The Apple conference with a view.

The awesome members of shawnblanc.net: Their support makes the work I do a sustainable possibility.

This is the last episode until after Christmas, and so I wanted to give a challenge for everyone heading in to the holiday time off.

Rest well.

It's easier said than done, to be sure. But wouldn't it be awesome to come back from your Christmas vacation with energy and motivation to do your best creative work? Wouldn't it be awesome to come back feeling fueled up instead of tired and worn out?

Here are a few ideas for how to rest well (and I’m not just talking about taking long naps):

It's okay to be alone for a bit every day. It can be exhausting being around our entire family for days and days on end.

Read a real book.

Don't check Twitter or Facebook or Instagram or Email -- I dare you to go a whole day, let alone the whole week.

To keep your mind and creative juices flowing, come up with 5 ideas every day -- but don't worry about actually acting on them. Just exercise your brain.

Go on a photo walk.

Take lots of family portraits and pictures, but don't Instagram them right away.

Ask your spouse for the thing that is most important for them to do during the vacation, and then make it your first priority to help that happen.

Ask one of your family members questions that will lead to more meaningful conversations. Such as asking about what is most challenging or most exciting to them right now.

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On this week's episode of The Weekly Briefly I’m joined by my former podcasting partner in crime, Ben Brooks. We talk about (a) what sort of camera you should buy if you want to upgrade from your iPhone, and (b) how to increase your chances of snapping a few awesome photos of friends and family during the holidays (and pretty much any other time).

Notes and links:

Fuji XE2

Fuji X100T

Olympus E-PL5 and E-PL7

Olympus E-M10

Panasonic GM1

Casey Liss's photo of Erin and Declan

Ken Rockwell's X100T review

Stu Maschwitz: How to take good photos for under $1,000

Flare for Mac and iOS

VSCO Film and VSCO Cam

Lightroom review on The Sweet Setup

Camera connection kit for iPad

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To be honest, I'm not entirely comfortable using my iPhone 6 without a case -- especially now that the colder winter weather has arrived. And so, I'm trying out a few different cases for the first time ever. This is literally the first iPhone I've ever owned that I've sought out a case for.

In today's show I talk about the two current contenders:

The impossibly thin Spigen 0.4mm case in Air Skin: a matte plastic case that doesn't add much protection, but does remove the slipperiness of the iPhone's aluminum.

The handsome Twelve South Surface Pad: A wallet-style case that can fit two cards in the front inside flap.

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Photos

An early episode because it's Thanksgiving week. On today's show:

The glories and the perils of running your own business.

Why showing up every day is important for building an audience.

Why trust and transparency are important for keeping an audience.

And why doing our best creative work has very little to do with the tools we use, and quite a bit to do with knowing where our best creative work is born.

Sponsored By

TOM BIHN bags: designed and made in USA since 1972.

The awesome members of shawnblanc.net: Their support makes the work I do a sustainable possibility.

Hiring help should be seen as an investment in your company, and on today's show I talk about hiring help (employees or contractors). I share about the people I've hired to help me with my websites, how I found them, and why I brought them on. I also discuss knowing when it's the right time to hire help, and how you can get out of the way so that the people you've brought on are empowered to do their best work.

Sponsored by:

TextExpander touch 3: Now with custom keyboard.

Yosemite: The Apple conference with a view.