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Focused
Life is more than cranking widgets
Hosted by David Sparks and Mike Schmitz.
David Sparks and Mike Schmitz are not nearly as productive as they’d like to be. Join these fellow travelers (and a bunch of special guests) as they share the best ways to get focused, and talk through their successes and failures along the way.
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Latest Episodes
#21: The Second Feedback Episode
May 16th, 2017 · 57 minutes
We're once again answering your letters and tweets In a wide-ranging episode covering all sorts of aspects of being an independent worker.
#20: Jason's Origin Story
May 3rd, 2017 · 59 minutes
David asks Jason to explain where he came from, the background of his career, and what the circumstances were that led him to become an independent worker, and then asks him to reflect on his two-plus years no longer being employed by a big corporation.
#19: Nobody Grades You on the Scaffolding
April 18th, 2017 · 59 minutes
Should you adopt an organizational system? How can these systems help you, and are they worth the investment? Jason and David detail their own personal organization systems and discuss approaches to getting more organized.
#18: A Series of Logical Decisions, with Greg Pierce
April 4th, 2017 · 44 minutes
Agile Tortoise's Greg Pierce discusses what he's learned in a decade as an independent developer and consultant.
#17: Stop Digging
March 21st, 2017 · 28 minutes
Not all clients are good clients. If you don't manage the herd, you could lose the farm. This is why it's important to consider the right time, and right way, to fire a client.
#16: R2-D2 on My Desk
March 7th, 2017 · 53 minutes
Jason and David discuss their home-office set-ups and the challenges they face when working in a house they share with other people.
#15: Put on the Business Hat
February 21st, 2017 · 41 minutes
You can't earn a living as a Free Agent if you don't get paid. In this episode we discuss why true professionals ensuring they're being compensated. When you're on your own, you're the one who has to make sure that the money is flowing in.
#14: Putting Numbers in Boxes, with Andrew Carroll
February 7th, 2017 · 38 minutes
A new year brings accounting and tax challenges for independent workers, so we asked accountant and financial advisor Andrew Carroll to join us.
#13: Promotion Can Feel Gross
January 24th, 2017 · 39 minutes
Being good at what you do isn't enough. You also need customers, clients, or whatever else you need to pay for shoes. That means you need to promote yourself. But you can be really great at what you do and still be terrible at self-promotion.
#12: Right Now It's Only Me, with Katie Floyd
January 10th, 2017 · 43 minutes
David's Mac Power Users co-host Katie Floyd, a very recent Free Agent herself, tells us about the early days of her independent life.