Reclaim Your Time: Workflow Strategy
WORK Conference | February 18, 2024
Balancing clients and personal creativity has always been a challenge for me, and it’s something I had the chance to unpack on stage at WORK Conference 2024. For so many of us, client work is what pays the bills, but our own creative projects are what keep us inspired. The tension between the two is real, and for years, I thought the solution was trying to split my time evenly between them. But the truth I’ve come to learn, and what I shared in my talk, is that balance isn’t about a 50/50 divide. It’s about setting boundaries and making intentional choices that give both sides space to thrive.
Client projects bring structure, discipline, and a clear sense of accountability. They push me to deliver, meet deadlines, and flex my problem-solving skills. But left unchecked, they can consume everything: time, energy, and even my creative spark. That’s why I’ve learned that carving out breathing room for passion projects isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity. My personal work is where I experiment, explore new ideas, and reconnect with why I started creating in the first place. Without that space, even the best client work begins to feel draining.
As I told the audience at WORK, “Client work doesn’t have to stifle your creativity, it can actually sharpen it, as long as you don’t let it take over everything.” I truly believe that discipline and inspiration can complement each other. Client work teaches me how to focus and finish. Personal work reminds me why I fell in love with creating at all. When both are given room, they reinforce one another instead of competing.
But that only happens if I protect my creative time with the same intensity I protect a client deadline. “Your best work comes from the projects you fiercely protect for yourself,” is a reminder I’ve had to repeat often. No one else will carve out that time for me; I have to claim it, defend it, and show up to it consistently.
This balance isn’t something I’ve perfected, and I don’t think it ever will be. Some seasons tip more toward client work, others more toward my own projects. What matters is that I keep recalibrating, making space for both, and refusing to accept that one has to cancel out the other. That’s what allows me to deliver at the highest level for clients while still nurturing my own creative vision, and in the long run, that’s what keeps me showing up as my best self on both sides.
About the Speaker
Sara Loretta is the founder of UNMUTE™, an experience-first consultancy that helps fast-scaling teams systemize, automate, and scale the way they work, together. As a Notion & Zapier Solutions Partner, and experienced operations strategist, Sara builds connected processes that replace scattered tools and fractured workflows that drive collaboration, ownership, and excitement throughout an entire business.
