The Hardest Part of any Project is Getting Started.

At work you have your boss and external deadlines to keep you on track. Your personal, creative projects are probably just as important to you (or more) … but it’s hard to prioritize them when you’re constantly distracted by work and other aspects of your life.

The Summer Stipend is a $1000 grant to help finish a creative project. Learn more.

After years of talking to each other, clients, and friends, we recognize that our internal approach can help people find focus outside our office too. With that in mind we created a series of public-facing workshops called Working Yellow. To learn more, see macktez.com/workingyellow.

These project planning workshops teach the difference between planning and doing, and reinforce that the former is very helpful to the latter.

To create a good plan you need more energy at the start, but it is worth it — when the time comes to excecute it, you can sit back, relax and follow it. Trusting that plan leaves you with less stress, so you can focus on the piece that is in front of you right now. If you’re less anxious, you’re more focused and effective, and you can get more done without feeling frazzled.

The Summer Stipend application itself is designed with our methodology in mind. It includes a worksheet to help you define a clear schedule, choose deliberate actions, and focus your attention where it needs to be. If you can make the time to outline your plan, you might be surprised to find yourself a few steps closer to finishing your project before the stipend recipient has even been selected.

Summer Stipend Application

The deadline is July 26. Use this application worksheet to make sure you prepare your proposal thoughtfully and on time.