How She Creates: Ep 007 - Productivity with Nora Conrad and Pam Llaguno
Until you've experienced it's magical powers, you wouldn't think that productivity lends itself to creativity. But oh man it does. In this episode we're chatting with productivity gurus, Nora Conrad and Pam Llaguno, to tell you exactly how it does and how you can get there. Leading a productive life leads to insane levels of creativity with more art to show for it. The power of getting shizz done is not just for men in business suits, but for those of us with a paintbrush behind our ears, our favourite shirts stained with ink, and who want to create without the guilt of knowing there's a pile of dishes in the sink.
Episode Takeaways and Artist Actions
- Nora and Pam's stories
- the difference between being organised and being productive
- the difference between productivity and "busy work"
- how productivity makes for a better artist and better creating
- block scheduling
- how to be fully present and reduce guilt
- Artist action: schedule time to watch Netflix
- how to prevent overwhelm, getting into a rut, or pumping out less than quality work
- on changing schedules, being flexible, and evolving
- scheduling your week or day and making a plan for what you need to get done
- art supplies
- Artist action: don't buy additional storage space when you run out. Use everything until it's finished before purchasing new things - create more or destash.
- planners
- digital vs. physical planners
- tools for keeping organised and productive
- Artist action: brain dump your mind onto paper, and then transfer anything important digitally
- tips for using the best tools
- Tips for noobs:
- Get focused: sit down at the beginning of the month and make three goals, then make sure that the tasks that you're doing line up with those goals
- Make sure you have three tasks every day that get done that lead
- Don't worry about getting organised yet; focus on productivity and getting it done, and the organisation can come later
- Stop worrying about the tools - work with what you have
- Block schedule
- Remember that you are evolving and changing
Resources and Tools
Please note that some of these are affiliate links. As always, we'd never recommend anything we (or the artists) don't truly love.
- free block scheduling printables (no sign up required)
- Leo Babauta's MITs
- Google Calendar
- Todoist
- Gmail
- Coschedule
- Evernote!
- Trello
- ConradPro
- Conrad University with courses in productivity for the creative small business
- Nora's Inbox Zero free course present
- Your Travel Story
Guests
Nora Conrad
Nora Conrad is a productivity coach for small business owners and bloggers. She specializes in setting up workflows, developing systems and automating the client process to help biz owners gain control over their business.
Pam Llaguno
Pam Llaguno is a creative go-getter, memory-keeper, and writer. She's on a mission to catch all the Pokemons and retain Perfect Town status on Animal Crossing - oh wait, wrong bio! She's on a mission to create content and design resources that inspire and guide creatives to craft a passion-filled and intentional life. 
