Urge-Based Planning: A Gentle Productivity Method for Creative, Intuitive Minds
- Julia Maslava
- 16 minutes ago
- 8 min read
How to get things done without forcing yourself into rigid schedules
Not everyone thrives within the tight confines of a strict timetable. For creative minds, intuitive thinkers, and people who value freedom and flow, traditional productivity systems can feel suffocating rather than supportive. If you’ve ever felt resistance toward a long to-do list or a perfectly time-blocked day, you’re not alone.
That’s where urge-based planning comes in, a flexible, intuitive approach to productivity that works with your natural energy instead of against it.
What Is Urge-Based Planning?
Urge-based planning (sometimes called energy-based planning or intuitive task management) isn’t tied to a single author or formal productivity system. It has roots in intuitive living, slow productivity, creative workflows, and nervous-system-friendly planning. Many creatives and mindful planners arrive at it organically, often as a response to burnout or over-scheduling.
Instead of organising tasks by time slots, you organise them by urges. They are natural impulses or states of energy that arise throughout the day.
We all experience them:
the urge to move
the urge to connect
the urge to create
the urge to organise
the urge to learn
the urge to rest.
Urge-based planning simply turns these impulses into a gentle productivity structure.
Why Traditional Schedules Don’t Work for Everyone
Traditional schedules are built on the idea that productivity happens in neat, predictable blocks of time. Wake up at the same hour. Work deeply from 9 to 5. Rest only after everything is done. For some people, this structure feels supportive. For many people, especially creatives, solopreneurs, and sensitive nervous systems, this isn’t true. Forcing productivity during low-energy moments often leads to procrastination, guilt, and exhaustion.
So rigid schedules assume that:
your energy is predictable
your focus is constant
creativity appears on demand.
Not everyone experiences energy, focus, or motivation in a linear way. Creative people often work in waves of inspiration, not in constant output. Some days the mind wants to organise, plan, and structure. Other days it wants movement, connection, or quiet reflection. A rigid timetable ignores these natural rhythms and replaces them with pressure.
If traditional schedules leave you feeling overwhelmed or resistant, you might also enjoy my reflections on gentle productivity and simplifying life without force, where I explore how productivity can feel supportive instead of restrictive. Read the posts:
Traditional scheduling also assumes that motivation comes first, followed by action. In reality, for many people, especially those prone to overwhelm or burnout, action often creates motivation. Being told what to do at a specific hour can trigger resistance, procrastination, or a sense of inner rebellion, even when the task itself is meaningful.
Another issue is that strict schedules leave little room for emotional and mental states. They don’t account for days when your nervous system needs grounding rather than productivity, or moments when creativity emerges spontaneously and wants immediate attention. Forcing yourself to “stick to the plan” in those moments can disconnect you from your intuition and lead to guilt instead of progress.
For people juggling multiple roles, like freelancers, solopreneurs, caregivers, creatives, life rarely unfolds exactly as planned. Interruptions, emotional shifts, and unexpected demands are part of daily reality. A system that collapses the moment something changes isn’t sustainable.
This is why many people struggle not because they lack discipline, but because they’re trying to follow a productivity system that wasn’t designed for how they actually think, feel, and live. When planning ignores human rhythms, it creates burnout instead of balance.
Urge-based planning instead supports:
work-life balance without pressure
creative flow instead of forced focus
self-compassion through gentle productivity (click to read more)
planning that adapts to real life.
Gentle, flexible approaches, like urge-based planning, honour your natural flow. And for many people, that’s when consistency finally becomes possible.
Our resistance to rigid planning is often a nervous system response, not a lack of discipline. I explore this more deeply in my post on planning in ways that support your nervous system, and in the post on mindful productivity.
How Urge-Based Planning Works (Step by Step)
Step 1. Identify Your Core Urges
Start by noticing the types of impulses you experience naturally. Common urge categories include:
The urge to move or go out (errands, post office, bank, walking meetings, city tasks)
The urge to scroll or research (ordering groceries online, researching courses, planning future projects)
The urge to organise (decluttering shelves, reorganising your wardrobe, digital cleanup)
The urge to connect (calls, messages, emails you’ve been meaning to send)
The urge to create (writing, designing, drawing, starting a passion project)
The urge to study or learn (reading, watching tutorials, skill-building)
The urge to rest (intentional breaks, gentle self-care, nervous-system regulation).
Your categories should reflect your life and rhythms, there’s no right or wrong list.
Urge / Energy State | Tasks That Fit This Urge | Priority / Deadline Notes |
No Urge (Must Be Done) | • Submit client invoice • Reply to urgent client email • Pay electricity bill | High priority · Due today |
Urge to Move / Go Out | • Post office return • Pick up prescription • Walk while listening to podcast | High priority · Due today |
Urge to Scroll / Research | • Order groceries online • Research Canva updates • Save inspiration for new planner cover | High priority · Due today |
Urge to Organise / Home Care | • Tidy desk area • Reorganise planner files • Declutter one drawer | Low · No deadline |
Urge to Create | • Tidy desk area • Reorganise planner files • Declutter one drawer | Medium · Best when energy is high |
Urge to Learn | • Watch lesson from online course • Read 10 pages of business book | Low · Optional |
Urge to Connect | • Tidy desk area • Reorganise planner files • Declutter one drawer | Medium · Heart-led |
Urge to Rest / Reset | • Tidy desk area • Reorganise planner files • Declutter one drawer | Essential · Nervous system care |
Step 2. Sort Tasks Into Urge Categories
Once you’ve written down everything you need or want to do, the next step is sorting tasks by the kind of energy they require, not by time or importance.
Ask yourself:
What kind of impulse would make this task feel easier?
What state am I usually in when I naturally want to do this?
For example:
Errands, appointments, and outdoor tasks go into an urge to move / go out
Online admin, research, and ordering fit the urge to scroll or surf
Writing, designing, or problem-solving belong to the urge to create
Tidying, organising, or maintaining systems fit the urge to organise
This step alone often brings relief. Instead of one overwhelming list, you suddenly see clear pathways your brain can follow naturally, depending on how you feel in the moment.
Step 3. Rank Tasks Gently Within Each Urge
Within each urge category, lightly rank tasks by:
mark important (essential / supportive / optional)
note deadlines (today / this week / flexible)
keep tasks small and realistic.
This is not about pressure, it’s just about clarity.
A gentle way to do this is:
Mark 1–2 tasks per urge as “most supportive today”
Leave the rest unmarked, available when energy allows.
This prevents the common trap of overloading yourself when motivation strikes. You honour your impulse without exhausting it, allowing creativity and focus to remain sustainable.
If you’ve ever noticed that traditional to-do lists set you up for disappointment, this approach connects beautifully with my thoughts in the posts on why we fail in habits and how to stop planning what you’ll never do.
Step 4. Create a “No-Urge but Necessary” Category
Some tasks don’t spark joy and don’t belong to any impulse. They don’t feel inspiring, calming, or energising, but they still need to be done. This is where the “No Urge but Necessary” category comes in.
These tasks might include:
Paying bills
Sending required emails
Booking appointments
Administrative obligations
Deadlines
Responsibilities that can’t wait.
Do these first, then return to flow-based tasks.
By naming this category honestly, you:
Remove guilt (“Why don’t I feel motivated?”)
Reduce internal resistance
Make the invisible effort visible.
The key rule: keep this list short. These tasks are done first or early in the day, so they don’t weigh on your nervous system while you’re trying to follow your natural flow.
For tasks that don’t come with natural motivation, light structure can help. You might find it useful to pair this category with gentle time blocking or long-term digital planning, where structure serves clarity, not pressure.
Why This Method Supports Mental Health and Creativity
Urge-based planning works because it collaborates with your nervous system instead of fighting it.
Traditional productivity methods assume consistent energy, linear focus, and emotional neutrality. But real humans—especially creative, sensitive, or intuitive people—don’t function that way.
Urge-based planning:
reduces resistance to starting
reduces shame around fluctuating motivation
prevents burnout by respecting energy cycles
supports emotional regulation
honours fluctuating energy levels
encourages mindful productivity
prevents burnout without sacrificing progress
encourages self-trust instead of self-discipline
allows creativity to emerge without force.
When you work with your impulses, your brain feels safer. And when the brain feels safe, it becomes:
More creative
More focused
More resilient.
It works especially well when combined with:
Productivity stops being an act of self-control and becomes an act of self-respect.
When mental clutter or self-doubt blocks momentum, planning systems that respect your energy can make a profound difference. I share more gentle tools for this in my posts on decluttering your thoughts and rebuilding confidence:
How to Use Urge-Based Planning in a Digital Planner
Digital planners are especially well-suited to this method because they allow flexibility, movement, and visual clarity.
Here’s how to use them gently and effectively:
Create one section or a page for urge category
Use icons or colours to distinguish energy types
Keep tasks movable by dragging tasks between urges as your energy shifts
Add a small daily check-in: “What urge do I feel strongest today?”
Revisit and reshuffle tasks weekly
Let your planner support you.
You can also:
Duplicate an urge-based daily page instead of pre-planning a full week
Combine this method with time blocking only when it feels supportive
Use weekly reviews to notice patterns in your impulses and energy
The goal is not perfect planning, it’s responsive planning. A system that adapts to you, not the other way around.
If you enjoy planning as a ritual rather than a task, you may love creating a mindful digital planning routine or even designing a wellness-focused year that adapts to your energy instead of controlling it.
Urge-Based Planning Is Permission to Be Human
This method isn’t about doing less, it’s about doing things in a way that feels sustainable, aligned, and kind.
Resisting strict schedules doesn't make you lazy. Needing flexibility doesn't mean you're undisciplined. You’re simply listening to your natural rhythm.
And when planning works with your energy instead of against it, productivity becomes lighter and life feels more spacious.
Urge-based planning works beautifully when paired with seasonal reflection. If you’d like to zoom out, I recommend exploring yearly balance tools like the Wheel of Life or gentle monthly focus practices.
Many of the tools I share—digital planners, wellness frameworks, and reflection practices—are designed to support this exact kind of flexible, human-centred planning.
Explore the Wellness Planner:
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