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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#22: Staying Agile

May 30th, 2017 · 27 minutes

One of your great advantages as an independent worker is your agility. While larger companies have more resources, they can be much slower to react to change. David and Jason swap war stories about adapting and changing.

#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.