Defeat Procrastination: Design Your Own Creative Workflow

Overview

By the end of this course, you will be able to design a personalized creative workflow, identify and work with your strengths and weaknesses, reduce procrastination and overwhelm, and confidently move projects from idea to completion. Taught by Art Director, creative educator, and mental health advocate Sarah Edwards, Defeat Procrastination: Design Your Own Personalized Creative Workflow helps you stop forcing productivity systems that don’t fit—and start building a process that works for you. This course is structured in three parts, guiding you from understanding the power of process, to designing your workflow framework, to practicing discipline, grace, and sustainable success. You’ll learn how to break free from common productivity myths, brainstorm more effectively, manage ideas without mental overload, and become your own project manager. Through guided exercises and a 35+ page workbook, you’ll uncover your creative “superpowers” and “kryptonites,” integrate mental health into planning, and build systems that support real-life creativity—not burnout. This course is for anyone who considers themselves creative, from professionals to parents and hobbyists. No prior productivity or design experience is required—just curiosity, self-awareness, and a willingness to try a new approach to getting things done.

Syllabus

Foundations of Creative Productivity

This module introduces the core ideas behind defeating procrastination through process, not willpower. Learners explore why workflow matters, unpack common productivity myths, and gain clarity on how the course project will help them apply these concepts in a practical, personalized way.

Understanding Yourself Before Building a Workflow

Before designing a workflow, learners must understand how they work best. This module focuses on self-assessment, guiding learners to uncover both their creative strengths and their productivity obstacles. These insights form the foundation for building a workflow that aligns with real-life behaviors and needs.

Generating Ideas and Clarifying Priorities

This module focuses on clearing mental clutter and unlocking creative momentum. Learners move from inspiration to clarity by brainstorming ideas and completing a comprehensive brain dump. By the end, learners have a clearer understanding of what needs their attention and what truly matters in their creative workflow.

Building a Functional and Sustainable Workflow System

In this module, learners turn ideas into action. They build a complete workflow framework that incorporates structure, scheduling, and practical details. The focus is on creating a system that supports consistent progress without overwhelm, while remaining flexible enough to evolve over time.

Sustaining Momentum, Preventing Burnout, and Designing Your Environment

The final module helps learners sustain their workflow long term. Learners redefine failure, balance discipline with self-compassion, address burnout, and optimize their physical environment. The course concludes by ensuring learners leave with a workflow that supports both productivity and well-being.