creative briefing

Whether you’re running a company or studying for the last set of undergraduate final exams you’ll ever write, or both, staying focused on the task at hand can be tough… especially when there are about a million other tasks waiting to be “at hand”.

I’m definitely the type to keep busy - often too busy - and over the last few years, I’ve picked up a few tricks that have helped me retain my sanity while managing to-do lists longer than my girlfriend’s shopping list.

For all the overloaded entrepreneurs and freelancers out there, here are 4 ways to stay focused.

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Scratch project management. In the long list of skills that successfully get me from one day to the next, I’d say that people management ranks as one of the most valuable skills anybody can have in any profession. Its significance is no less in the creative field. Designers and developers are definitely, for the most part, an ecentric group. Brimming on creative genius-ness and madness (sometimes all at the same time), managing a creative group can certainly take some extra umph.

While I promise to never depict designers and developers as a breed of mad scientists again, you have to admit that people management plays a big role in helping a creative team channel their energy appropriately into effective deliverables. Throw into the mix the fact that you run a virtual company, and you’ve got yourself the weight that sits on my shoulder every day.

I’m certainly no Atlas, but to keep the creative magic flowing, here are a few tactics and values I subscribe to.

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As both a Managing Director and an Account Manager at my creative marketing agency, I understand the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with your client. Likewise, having been on the client side myself, I know that keeping your agency happy often has a positive impact on the deliverables.

Being on the agency end now, I’ve observed, seen, and experienced the things that can make me and my team happy. So, for all those who deal with agencies (or are thinking of doing so), here are 5 simple ways that you can improve your agency relationship.

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