My Personal Story With Intuitive Planning
By MK Emerson
I’d agree that my conditioning as a child is what led me to be a planner addict.
Mom had multiple planners and tracked everything: chores, appointments, birthdays, addresses, and even comments people made just in case she’d need to refer to it. As a caregiver, she had one to track medications, symptoms, and appetite habits.
Dad had one of those beautiful minds that can solve any mathematical equation within seconds in his mind, which equated to him being quite meticulous in creating lists, graphs, and matching point A to B. It made sense that he was in construction and later on, digital marketing as a SEO expert.
There wasn’t a single table top without notes, pens, planners, and ink-scribbled napkins. Our walls had at least one chalk or white board in each room, one for chores, one for school appointments, and the another for after school studies or lessons to keep us ahead in our education.
On Top of the World
I claim to have been the most organized person I knew. If anyone needed something done, I was reliable. I took so much pride in my work ethic and being called a “hard worker”, shocking people with what I was capable of accomplishing.
Procrastination was never a word related to me. I had a flow and order to keep all areas of my life maintained. To be fair, this helped keep my stress levels down and allowed more time for freedom and fun. It didn’t matter that I had two white boards, three planners, and more notebooks than I can count. It didn’t matter that I took two hours every Sunday looking ahead and strategizing the best plan for the week, month, quarter, and even year.
The Life-Changing Event
In 2022 I moved to an outskirt city to be closer to my husband’s work. I was working and attending classes to finish my Bachelor’s degree. It was only four days into the move and I was excited to visit my family that weekend, since my father didn’t believe me when I said I’d visit every weekend. I wanted to prove to him I would.
On that fourth morning, a Thursday, I woke up early and eager to plan out my schoolwork to get done in time to see my family that Saturday, and not let my tasks trickle into the weekend. Around 7:30am I got a call from my mother telling me that my father was in a “really bad accident and didn’t make it.”
It was that day I drove back to visit family, but the one person I promised to see was gone.
The Turning Point
This isn’t a story about my grief, but one to share how I transformed into an intuitive planner. You see, my father was still working as a digital marketer with his own business, and this business supported the bills of the household. Without him, there was no business which meant my retired mother would need to work again. She couldn’t, though, because she was the sole caregiver for her 93 year old uncle, the reason she retired in the first place.
Within 24 hours I dropped out of school, quit my job, and teamed up with my brother to keep the business running. Granted, we had worked with my father over the years so we knew enough to get started. My brother worked full time with him, which meant we had a chance.
I still work with this business, with my brother, and husband. The journey to get where we are now, well, that is what made up this personal story.
Hard-Core Discipline
I worked and studied endlessly to match the level of my father, to think like him, to work like him. I studied all of his napkin notes and journals to figure out his method and strategy.
Eventually, I developed my own way of working, which still involved a mountain of planning, detailed notes, and relentless discipline. I was determined not to fail.
Did it work? For a while, yes. But in 2024, I burned out. Truthfully, I’m surprised it took that long.
With Grief Comes New Responsibilities
My mother had fallen while remodeling her uncle’s home after his passing. Not surprising, she herself kept busy without much food to cope with her own pain.
She broke her arm.
No longer able to drive, I became her driver and companion to get her out of the house. She also dropped off and picked up my nieces for school, caring for them before my sister got off work. That was now my job.
I was a caregiver, nanny, business owner, homemaker, and I was losing my mind.
Cue Burnout
One day, everything just stopped. My brain felt like it shut down. I tried to push through but ended up walking slowly, hunched over, to my bed and collapsing for hours. I awoke to frantic calls and texts from my husband and brother. I broke down in tears, not wanting to speak to anyone or even eat. I was done. I wanted to quit.
Besides supporting my nieces with school, I stayed in bed and only took in water for two days.
I tried to pick up a planner afterwards, look at my to-do list, and the nausea came back. My heart rate accelerated and I began to cry. I gave myself more time to recover, binging on self-care until I felt somewhat normal again.
Rinse and Repeat
After some more time when I felt more like myself and happier, I began to plan again. The problem? I planned the same way! Within a week, I hit the same burnout wall and felt that same sense of hopelessness.
Luckily I learned from the last time and decided, no more. I’m never planning again. I self-diagnosed myself with OCD and figured the best medicine for that was to strictly rely on my intuition, no structure whatsoever.
Was I wrong!
That approach only led to chaos. I forgot tasks or caught them too late where I was procrastinating a lot. I became lazier, ate whatever I wanted which resulted in a high cholesterol lab result. I felt worthless because I was no longer working toward goals. I simply didn’t care.
I went from one side of the pendulum to the other and both sides caused me grief.
A Message from Inside
One night, I was about to fall asleep, something inside stirred up excitement. I had this urge to write, to blog, to create again. I wondered where that came from and could only believe that it was my intuition guiding me to the light.
I got out of bed and built this website from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. for the next week. I chose this time because it felt intuitive. I happened to have energy and creativity was flowing. That time frame just felt right; maybe because everyone else was asleep and my mind was free to wander. Whatever it was, I was energized.
I began to write blogs (some of which I’ve since deleted or revised). I started to plan again but using my intuition as the foundation of structure, never once leaving my memory as the guidance. I did write things down. I did strategize. But I used my gut instincts to lead the way.
“It’s Alive!”
And that’s when I discovered intuitive planning–meeting your true feelings with a plan to help you reach goals and feel alive again. I crafted an approach that worked for me, careful to not swing toward the right or left of the pendulum. My goal was to stay in the balanced center, the sweet spot.
I have not strayed away from this method. It is still my go-to way of planning and is exactly what I teach here. This site and all that I write about will only evolve. It’s not perfect, but it has greatly helped me. I say “yes” more to those I love and things I love to do, like vacations and side-projects. I have plenty of time for self-care now and my business has grown with two new employees helping us! My cholesterol is at a healthy level and I have lost 12 pounds just because I have the time and energy to eat well and go for long walks.
I have only benefited.
Intuitive Planning Manifested
Now, after practicing this intuitive planning method for quite some time and testing it out, I realized, from my gut, there was one thing I needed that was missing:
An actual intuitive planner.
A physical, simple, affordable, and effective tool that could really streamline my goals toward achievement. I searched around to purchase one and it did not exist. What did my intuition tell me?
Create one.
I knew I wanted it to be affordable and chic. It had to be clean, crisp, and easy-to-use. Its goal was to reduce overwhelm and increase more free time. With that, I bring to you:
Affordable at $16.99, it has 255 pages, six months worth to truly hit a goal without pressure, is small enough to tote around at 6x9 inches, has a paperback glossy cover to easily keep clean, and is packed with a tutorial, tips, activities to increase energy, notes, and far more. I’d put it in a hardcover but that drove the costs up to almost $40!! No, thank you.
Here’s a peak into what it includes:
In a nutshell, don’t be discouraged if you hit burnout or feel you’re close to it. I get overplanning, I really do. It feels good. It makes us feel accomplished. The problem is it leaves no room for flexibility and breaks up consistency. After all, you never know when something in your life can really shake things up causing you to shift completely.
The Intuitive Planner is one that you can keep using through whatever life changes occur, be it a new baby, new partner, new job, new home or town, or new lifestyle. It can help you find the space to work, rest, and process/assess. It’s the key to balance.
Grab your copy today! Or learn more about intuitive planning with the many blogs I have on here, including:
You can also contact me for any guidance.
I’m here for you!
MK
This blog was written to inform readers of MK Emerson’s personal story with intuitive planning. It is not to be consider as professional advice, it is merely an opinion and experience practiced by the author. Take what you want from it and grow, or toss it away and move forward. We’re here for fun!