🧠 What We Had to Learn: Practical Tools for Creative Productivity

Tools, mindsets, and the not-so-glam side of creative productivity

So… What Actually Helps You Get Stuff Done?

Let’s be real: managing a creative life can be messy. Especially if you’re someone with 17 tabs open in your brain and hobbies in every direction. In this episode, Demi walks us through the practical tools, systems, and tiny wins she’s gathered on her journey as a multi-passionate creative.

Spoiler: these lessons didn’t come from a Pinterest-perfect planner — they came from trial, error, overwhelm… and a lot of learning the hard way.

💭 It Starts With Knowing Yourself

“The feely stuff only helps up to a point… if you don’t have any structure.” — Demi

Turns out, knowing your natural rhythm, what energizes you, and how your brain prefers to work is everything. It’s not about fitting into someone else’s productivity system — it’s about building one that fits you.

Whether you’re analog, digital, or somewhere in between, the goal is to make your life feel more manageable, sustainable, and true to you.

🧰 10 Surprisingly Practical Things Demi Swears By

Demi shared her top personal tools — and they’re a great mix of creative, nerdy, and oh-so-relatable:

1. The Phone Box

A literal artsy cardboard phone booth she made to hide her phone during deep work. Distraction = gone.

2. A Year-at-a-Glance Calendar

Color-coded on Excel or paper. “It helps me zoom out, see my year, and plan when to rest.”

3. Monthly & Weekly Planning

Analog planners rule Demi’s world — with a twist: she even tracks her menstrual cycle to plan for energy dips.

4. One Notebook for Everything

No bouncing between notebooks or scraps of paper. One home. One brain. All the lists.

5. The Giant Whiteboard

Got from a thrift shop. Lives on the wall. Holds long-term dreams and random ideas. "It's like decluttering my brain."

6. Slack for Team Communication

Slack = fewer WhatsApps = less overwhelm. Win.

7. Flip Files for Receipts

Yep. Good old-fashioned A5 flip files for sorting slips by month. “Is this boring? Maybe. But it makes me feel better.”

8. Batch Planning

She uses Sunday nights to plan the week meticulously — especially because she aims to take Fridays off.

9. Putting Fun on the To-Do List

Painting shoes? Yes. Crocheting at a market? Also yes. “Planning something silly on purpose breaks the rat-race mindset.”

10. Deep Work (inspired by Cal Newport)

Chunking time into focused blocks — 2 hours, no phone, just real work. It’s changed everything.

❤️ Boundaries, Breaks & Being Kind to Yourself

“If I lose this book, I’ll cry. But I know myself — so I set up systems that work for me.”

Throughout the episode, Demi and Daniela remind us how powerful it is to create the right kind of support — whether it’s outsourcing what drains you (hello accountants), setting up screen limits, or drawing boundaries around your rest days.

✨ The Bigger Lesson? Build a Life That Works for You

This conversation is about more than lists and planners. It’s about honouring who you are, so you can create work you love — and a life that doesn’t leave you burnt out.

You don’t need to “fix” yourself. You just need systems that reflect your values, your energy, and your creative drive.

“This episode comes from necessity, and a lot of tears. But that’s also beautiful.” — Demi

💬 Want help building your own creative systems?

Explore our coaching and mentoring offerings at www.goodplace.co.zaLet’s figure out what works for you.