Getting Work To Work

Chris Martin Studios

A weekly podcast for creative entrepreneurs—makers, artists, writers, filmmakers, designers, and coders—who are on a mission of bringing their ideas to life by creating new things and getting their work to work. Whether you're just starting out or have been at this creative life for some time, I hope you'll learn something new in this podcast, challenge your assumptions about what is possible, and chase big ideas so you can become who you were born to be.

  • 11 minutes 4 seconds
    Doing The Evolution (GWTW872)

    2026 is upon us and it’s not just a new year thrusting us toward change, it’s everything: society, culture, technology, relationships, work, life—it’s all dynamic, frenetic. Some of us start the year clutching our resolutions tightly, convinced that this is the year we actually live up to them. Others rely on the thesaurus to shift the psychological burden from resolution to something else, anything else, in order to trick our brains into actually accomplishing the things that matter most: “I don’t have resolutions, I have goals.” But it’s going to take more than hacks and tricks to comprehend the amount of change we need in our daily lives. It’s about introducing system-wide curiosity that shifts change from being the end result of an enormous task with a binary value—yes or no—to a daily process that gives us time to explore and open our minds to new realities.

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    2 January 2026, 11:00 am
  • 45 minutes 46 seconds
    “Imagine a Different Reality” with Dawn Andrews (GWTW871)

    When was the last time you got permission to have fun in your business? For me, it’s been too long, so I’m grateful for today’s guest. Dawn Andrews is a business strategist, executive leadership coach, and podcaster who approaches her business as a playground to explore new tools and technologies that not only help herself, but also her clients. In this conversation, Dawn softens the fear around AI through an exploration of how she uses tools to boost her curiosity and creativity. She shares insights into the ways her brain and business work, how creativity can help us manage the world, the important mindset shift we need to make, how beginners can start using AI with a single piece of paper, and actual examples of AI in action.

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    26 December 2025, 4:14 pm
  • 1 hour 3 minutes
    “W.W.G.D.” with gough (GWTW870)

    Have you ever wondered what gough would do? I do, too. Fresh from his birthday celebration, gough is back on Getting Work To Work, again, to talk about his year-ending projects: a short documentary about a blind man traveling to see the greatest rock band in the world, an audio drama about the seedy underbelly of the podcasting world—sounds about right—and the Beernuts Productions podcast. We talk seriously about the reality of discrimination against people with disabilities, why gough uses silly t-shirts and humor to disarm people, his love for onion rings, the worst gym session ever in his life, jokes so old they can vote, how he found the most annoying voices for his podcasting audio drama, how he makes up the most important statistics to satisfy guests who only go on popular podcasts, the death of radio in Australia, and the weirdest podcast he went on to promote his work.

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    19 December 2025, 3:59 pm
  • 39 minutes 6 seconds
    “Let’s Talk About It” with Chanda Coston (GWTW869)

    Sprinkled throughout today’s conversation is a phrase I absolutely love. No matter the situation or the statement, the response is simple, “Let’s talk about it.” Chanda Coston is a Navy Veteran, PMP, and Business Strategist who helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs—especially women over 40—turn chaos into clarity and grow businesses that make sense (and money). In our time together, we talk about the need for clarity, the importance in telling our stories, and having people in our corner. Chanda also talks about her life as a professional pivoter, the reality that nothing happens overnight, trusting yourself, starting over and carving new paths, and systems as self-care. If you’re looking to make some changes, let this sink in: If Chanda can do it, so can you.

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    13 December 2025, 3:12 am
  • 14 minutes 27 seconds
    Turn Off Your Autopilot (GWTW868)

    I’ve been slowly waking up to the reality that I’ve been running my business and living my life on autopilot for far too long. It’s been six years since I really felt like I was in control and not operating by the whims of others and the seat of my pants. But here I am, staring at 2026 off in the distance, ready to shake the sleep from my eyes and do something completely different. In this episode, I’m going to share why I’m ready to shake things up, how I’m reconnecting with my vision, passion, and action, and how you can, too.

    Reflection Questions, Part One

    Before I go any further, I have some reflection questions for you. It might be useful to open your notes app or get a journal and pen out to write down your thoughts to these four questions:

    1. How loud is your fear?
    2. What is your fear saying to you?
    3. Do you know where you’re going?
    4. How long has your autopilot been engaged?

    Reflection Questions, Part 2

    Okay, before I dive into what these three words mean for me and my future, take a few moments in your notes app or journal and write down some initial thoughts to these three questions:

    1. What is my vision?
    2. How does my passion help bring that vision to life?
    3. What actions am I taking to make sure that my vision and passion become a reality?

    Reflection Questions, Part 3

    Now that I’ve shared a little about my own vision, passion, and action, I want you to return to your notes app or journal and go deeper with these questions:

    1. What really is my vision?
    2. What are my passion levels teaching me?
    3. What is the next action I need to take?

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    6 December 2025, 3:10 am
  • 49 minutes 51 seconds
    “The Intriguing Nature of People” with Izzy Poirier (GWTW867)

    I always enjoy meeting people who think deeply about the work they do, but also have a lot of fun doing it. Izzy Poirier is a designer, brand strategist, zine publisher, and community builder. From her earliest years, she’s been intrigued with the nature of people, their stories and identities, and making sure that they have a place to belong. In our conversation, we talk about the intersection of design, brand strategy, community building with the Ottawa Design Club, craft, and the art of zines. We also dive into Pivotal Moments, a zine featuring stories from creatives around the world, produced in collaboration with the Ottawa Design Club and New York Design Club. Izzy shares what went into producing the zine, curating the stories, the impact, and how a single font changed everything in the design phase of the project. If you’re looking for some inspiration as you consider new projects or pivots in your own future, then this is the episode for you.

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    28 November 2025, 11:00 am
  • 15 minutes 54 seconds
    Human Hamster Wheel (GWTW866)

    Even if you’ve never had a hamster for a pet, you’ve witnessed the spectacle of them running in a hamster wheel. They step inside a giant wheel in the center of their captivity and run, and run, and run. It’s so adorable when they do it. But what if I could tell you we have human hamster wheels, in the center of our captivity, and we run, and run, and run? They aren’t literal wheels, but they serve the same purpose: keep us distracted from the reality that we aren’t where we want to be, not doing the work that matters to us, and somewhere along the way, we took a wrong turn. It’s never been easier to numb out and just keep running, but one day, the call will come from inside the house, it’s time to answer the call, step off the wheel, and jack in to life.

    Six ways to ditch the hamster wheel:

    1. Incorporate experimentation and research and development into your creative process.
    2. Look for ways to increase diversity in your work.
    3. Before you offload tasks to someone else or another system, make sure that what you’re building isn’t just a larger hamster wheel in disguise.
    4. Offload repetitive tasks to virtual assistants, employees, or AI and automation systems.
    5. Batch recording is great until it’s not.
    6. Don’t fool yourself, the hamster wheel is pernicious, don’t be afraid to step away.

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    21 November 2025, 11:00 am
  • 15 minutes 7 seconds
    Is Your Business Killing You? (GWTW865)

    You might look at today’s title and think I’m trying to be humorous or sensational or clickbait-y, but I’m absolutely serious. It’s such an important question that it demands me to say it aloud right now: Is your business killing you? When you first start your business, you don’t think about the ways it overtakes your life, you let it gladly, because that’s the price you pay for building something that statistically could end in five years or less. But then, over time, you just keep letting it control your life. Social media and email dominate your existence on and off hours. Any hiccups in payments or acquiring new clients results in prayer, drinking, or worse, loans from online payment providers. Shutting it off means the potential for losing everything, or so you tell yourself. Before you know it, you’ve lost your vision and passion, but you keep powering on because at some point along the way, it’s what you do, and you’re also unemployable. If this is resonating with you, grab a cup of tea, take a seat, and let’s talk, because the truth is going to hurt.

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    7 November 2025, 11:17 pm
  • 58 minutes 27 seconds
    “Tales of Tricks & Treats” with gough (GWTW864)

    It’s that time of year again, when pumpkin spice invades your latte, kids dress up like their favorite heroes, villains, nightmares, and corporate superstars hoping for a bag full of candy, and gough, your favorite Australian filmmaker, shows up on Getting Work To Work to talk about his latest film, Trick Or Treat. Armed with the biggest budget in the history of BeernutsProductions.com, a stable of actors dishing out sketches and monologues, 27 costumes, and nature balls, gough’s latest film pulls no punches against Halloween. In our conversation, we talk about the struggles he faced making the film in both casting and costumes, how he works through challenging emotions, stupid advice actors have received from their teachers that they have brought to the set, and all the hilarity fit for print and podcast.

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    31 October 2025, 10:00 am
  • 12 minutes 36 seconds
    The Building Blocks of the Soul (GWTW863)

    Weaving through the design, data, stories, and statuses on social media, I witnessed the human need to be seen; the longing to be discovered. I like this word, “longing.” I recently came across a book by Sue Monk Kidd called, Writing Creativity and Soul and she writes a lot about longing as a creative, a writer, woman, and a mother. What a word to sit and reflect upon: Longing. Merriam-Webster defines longing as “a strong desire especially for something unattainable.” In this episode, I explore the building blocks of the soul: deep questions that take time to answer.

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    30 October 2025, 2:26 am
  • 56 minutes 16 seconds
    “Noir, Pools & Podcasts” with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett (GWTW862)

    How far am I willing to go? How much work am I willing to do? Two powerful questions today’s guest asked herself at the start of her writing journey as she considered what it meant to be a writer. Barbara DeMarco-Barrett is a writer, podcaster, teacher, and publisher on the show to talk about writing, podcasting, and her latest book, Pool Fishing, a collection of stories connected by place and featuring characters who live on the fringes of society. In our conversation she shares insights into the act of writing and being a writer, the fluid nature of creativity, the challenges present in short stories, why writing dark fiction can help us make sense of the world, and rejection. We also talk about her podcast, Writers on Writing, which started as a radio show in 1998. 27 years later, it continues as a way for her to learn more about the writing process and share what she discovers with writers around the world.

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    27 October 2025, 3:57 am
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