E129 - Stop Chasing Shiny Objects: A Creative Brief That Actually Works

E129 - Stop Chasing Shiny Objects: A Creative Brief That Actually Works

From Create-Today with Beth Buffington by Beth Buffington

June 4, 2026 · 34 min

About this episode

Beth Buffington discusses how to regain control over creative work and introduces a simple 6-step creative brief to combat distractions.

Is Your Creative Work Pulling You — Or Are You Pulling It? Have you ever looked up from your desk, surrounded by 17 open browser tabs, three half-finished projects, and a to-do list that somehow keeps growing — and wondered how you got here? That feeling of frustration and lack of control means… Your horse is behind your cart. Today, Beth Buffington brings one of her favorite workshop questions to the podcast: Do you know where your horse is? It sounds a little odd at first. But stay with her... This simple metaphor might be the most clarifying thing you hear all week. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: • How to know where your horse is. •  What “putting the cart before the horse” really means for your creative work •   Why “think outside the box” might actually be keeping you stuck (science says so) •  The surprising truth about constraints, creativity, and why limits can set you free •   A simple 6-step creative brief that works whether you’re making art, running a business, or managing a team •  The “tomorrow corral” idea that will change how your handle shiny object distractions forever •  How this entire episode fits inside the Going…

People in this episode

Host: Beth Buffington

Topics covered

  • creative work
  • productivity
  • creative brief
  • constraints and creativity
  • shiny object distractions
  • Going FourWords framework

Keywords

  • creative work
  • productivity
  • creative brief
  • constraints
  • shiny objects
  • Going FourWords
  • metaphor

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