I asked Australian creative team managers how they stay organised
IMAGE VIA @gerard_sison/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY MARYEL SOUSA
“Being organised isn’t just crucial in my role – it also helps me be a better friend, partner and daughter.”
Virgo season may be in the rearview mirror, but my itch to channel my inner Virgo (aka become a more organised human) still hasn’t been scratched. I’m a few weeks away from graduating from university, and now the end is here, it’s more important than ever to figure out how I’ll stay on top of things once university deadlines are a thing of the past.
I’m someone who thrives on structure but as I dip my toe into writing professionally, I’ve realised that sometimes, structure is something I have to create for myself. Self-discipline, efficiency and calendar-keeping are skills I’ve been painstakingly practising so that my irrational fear of falling apart after graduation doesn’t come to pass.
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Still, I wanted to know more about what organisation actually looks like for creatives IRL – especially for those who don’t have anyone else keeping them on track.
Celeste Mackay, Creative Manager at Tiny Disco
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With over a decade of management experience under her belt, Celeste Mackay is one person I knew I had to ask for tips. I was surprised (and somewhat encouraged) to learn that organisation hasn’t always come naturally to her.
“I’ve trained my brain and experimented with techniques to find what works for me. Being organised isn’t just crucial in my role as Creative Manager at Tiny Disco – it also helps me be a better friend, partner and daughter,” she says. As she prepares to welcome her first child, Celeste hopes her organisational skills at work will allow her to be a present mother and enjoy her downtime with her family.
Celeste’s cornerstone to staying on top of things is her early morning routine, which allows her to plan the day ahead. To stay sane amidst the work week chaos, she’ll schedule ‘me-time’ throughout the week – intentional moments to practise self-care and socialise with people who fill her cup.
As a self-described ‘calendar fanatic’, she keeps meticulous track of her time. “I colour-code my various calendar types and block out approval, creative and thinking time. I even have a weather forecast plugin,” she tells me “It’s like playing Tetris but with time management. I love it.”
Keeping track of her team’s time is equally as important. Project management platforms like Asana and good old-fashioned spreadsheets help her team stay in sync and produce their best work, even when they’re racing against the clock. Celeste notes that creative industries are constantly evolving, so what works one year may need to be updated the next.
Above all, Celeste says that communication is key to staying organised. “If something’s off or timelines are tight, speak up. The time and stress saved by simply asking a question, requesting assistance, seeking another opinion or clarifying something is severely underrated.”
Gerard Sison, Founder and Director at Culture Digital Agency
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As the founder and director of his own agency, many moving parts require Gerard Sison’s attention. A common misconception is that entrepreneurs have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to the work they do, but Gerard says that’s far from the truth. To tackle it all, he takes a no-nonsense approach.
Gerard makes conscious decisions about how he’ll allocate energy throughout the day and then throughout the week as a whole. It starts with creating a detailed task list so he can visualise everything he needs to accomplish. This helps him decide what he’ll take on himself and what he needs to delegate to trusted team members. Gerard finds that by prioritising tasks, he can be ruthless with his energy and time.
Flexibility is also key to staying organised. Throughout the day, he considers what he needs to adjust to achieve his daily goals so that at the end of each week, he can look back on the past few days and reflect on what lessons he can apply down the line.
Ella Taverner, producer and writer
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Ella Taverner is a Fashion Journal contributor who’s struck out on her own to write and produce. She’s someone who loves her work and wants to say yes to every opportunity, but she confesses this isn’t always possible. Keeping organised is the only way Ella can gauge how much time she’ll need to complete her workload and how many new projects she can realistically take on.
She’s found that the biggest challenge so far has been navigating the demands of multiple clients, deadlines and projects while constantly adapting her work style to mesh with the culture of the agencies she works with. “With my workload constantly shifting from week to week, monthly forecasting has become my best friend and is essential for staying on track,” she says.
Ella tells me that Monday is her preferred way of managing her priorities, thanks to its visual format that allows her to see her weekly and monthly schedule. A writer after my own heart, Ella also loves a handwritten task list. “Getting everything down on paper and decluttering your thoughts is such a game changer.”
For more on mental health at work, try this.
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