Using AI for Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly Planning

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Using AI for Quarterly, Monthly, & Weekly Planning

Hello Friends!

I hope you’ve had a wonderful week!

Mine has been exciting! The unpacking is going well, and I’m so excited to share with you what I’ve learned business-wise!

I want to share what one of my mentors showed me: using AI to plan follow-up emails. This principle can be applied to any form of content, such as blogging, YouTube, TikTok, etc.

I went from feeling a bit of despair when writing and not knowing what I was doing day to day to feeling like I was playing when hard at work. I’m having so much fun crafting emails now. I can’t wait to try this out in other business areas.

Let’s dive in!

Confession

Let’s start with a little confession: I used to wing it with my emails. One day at a time, usually in a panic the day of. Sound familiar?

Then, my mentor Sophie suggested something that changed everything – using AI as a planning partner.

At first, I was skeptical. It sounded like a steep learning curve, and I was worried that I would lose my authentic voice and sound like AI. And, Wouldn’t using AI cheat my audience that expects to hear from me personally?

What Actually Happened

Here’s what happened. I sat down with Claude (my AI assistant of choice) and had what felt like a collaboration about my goals for the quarter. Instead of that overwhelming blank page, it was like having a brainstorming session with a really organized, far-sighted friend. We mapped out themes for each month, broke each of those into weekly themes, and then broke those down into two to three touchpoints: the daily emails. And you know what? It was like play! It wasn’t scary at all!

The real game-changer came when I realized something important: AI isn’t there to write my emails for me- it’s there to help me organize my thoughts and fill in the blanks I might miss.

Just as Sophie helps me see from a new perspective, AI helps me step back and look at the bigger picture of my email strategy.

How I Did It

Here’s the practical gold I have for you:

For quarterly planning, I asked Claude (AI) to help me identify 3-4 main themes aligning with my business goals.

Things like providing value, building trust, sharing what I’ve learned, etc.

We broke the month’s theme into weekly topics, ensuring a natural flow.

And for the actual emails, we broke down different angles to approach each topic for the week.

We worked together until I had ideas I liked and felt comfortable using.

I wrote my email topics down on my quarterly planner. I know what I’m doing each day and I feel so confident!

Realization

Here’s where I had my moment of joy (no tears this week!): The reason I’d been resistant to planning ahead wasn’t about the tools or the time—it was about fear. I feared committing to topics too far in advance, not being able to deliver, and losing the “spontaneous” feeling in my emails.

Sound familiar?

Here’s what I realized: Planning ahead doesn’t mean I can’t be flexible. It means I respect my subscribers enough to think strategically about serving them.

So how’d I get joy from that? The fear is conquered! It no longer exists!

Conclusion

Now, here’s the treasure trove insight: Using AI for planning isn’t about replacing your voice or creativity- it’s about giving yourself permission to think bigger and plan further ahead than you might naturally do. It’s about having a supportive partner who can help you see possibilities you might miss on your own.

The skills can be learned. Yes, there’s a learning curve to working with AI effectively. Yes, sometimes I feel silly having deep planning chats with what is actually a brilliant computer program. But the results? They’re worth every moment of uncertainty and silliness.

So here’s my question for you: What’s holding you back from planning your email strategy further ahead? Is it fear of commitment? Tech overwhelm? Or something deeper?

Are you willing to try AI-assisted planning? Remember, just like any new skill, it might feel awkward at first—but that feeling doesn’t last!

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Have you tried using AI for planning? What’s your biggest struggle with email follow-ups?

Let’s grow together!

12 thoughts on “Using AI for Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly Planning”

  1. Hi Nakina – This is such a great idea and an incredible way to use your resources to help you not only manage your time but to organize your thoughts and prioritize your tasks. With AI seeming to take over so many of our duties, it is nice to see that you are using it wisely. Thanks for this great tip and have a great day!

    1. Hey, Ernie!
      I’m glad you like the idea! AI has helped me so much in organizing my thoughts. It’s like having a personal coach!
      You’re more than welcome! Have a great week!
      Nakina

  2. Nakina, my spell check wants me to spell your name, “Napkins” lol. That just reinforces the idea that software can help guide us but it’s up to us to use our brain and our own voice to get the job done.

    It’s not so much my email strategy as it is daily posts on Facebook that I am using AI for. But after almost a few weeks of doing so I’m finding I need to step back and readjust my focus on what I am asking of AI.

    And there’s the point of what had held me back in the past. I didn’t know how to properly talk to AI. I totally latch on to folks who have that skill and who can give me prompts that I can alter to suit my purposes.

    It’s comforting to know that you’ve given yourself permission to use AI to help you think bigger and plan further ahead with your email follow-ups. You Go Girl!
    Robert Klein recently posted…Fly Like FishMy Profile

    1. Hi, Bob!
      That’s funny! Napkins. LOL!

      Oh! That’s a good idea! I’ll ask AI how to manage Facebook posts. I am not a Facebook user or social media person in my personal life, so all this is rather uncomfortable for me. I don’t know how to use it. I’ll ask trusty Claude for some ideas.

      Maybe because his name is Claude rather than ChatGPT, I feel more comfortable just chatting with him until I get something I can use or he inspires my own ideas. What a simple, valuable marketing technique! You had a blog post on the value of a mascot. This AI was as simple as using a name, and I feel so much more comfortable using it!

      Thanks for the encouragement, Bob!
      To our success with AI!
      Nakina

  3. I can attest to all the brilliant uses for AI! As time goes on, the AI tool seems to know me and what points I want to get across. That is the most interesting part, to me. No matter what I ask it, it will answer with my voice, so to speak! It’s the tip of the iceberg. More will be revealed.

    1. That’s amazing, Kate!

      How a computer gets to know me and “guesses” what I would say that I haven’t thought to say but would if I thought through the process is stunning! It’s like playing!

      I can just imagine how helpful AI would have been in unraveling my thought process in college (I had a professor who said, I think in cobwebs- everything is connected).

      It’s splendid getting AI’s help! We’ll see if it adopts my consciousness and clones me without DNA in future! LOL!
      Nakina

  4. Nakina, this is awesome. I am just getting into AI and realize there is so much to learn. I never even thought about this but I can see how much value this will be. Thank you for the idea and inspiration!

    1. Hi, Jordan!
      You’re welcome! I’m late to the party using AI myself! I did think I didn’t need it, and I don’t necessarily, but it is so helpful! Why not use it? I’m glad you found this post inspiring! Time to play 🙂
      Nakina

  5. Hi Nakina,

    This was such a great read! I love how you broke down your process and shared your experience with AI planning. It’s so true that planning ahead doesn’t take away flexibility, it actually makes things easier and more fun. I’ve been hesitant to use AI for this, but now I’m really thinking about giving it a try. I never really thought to ask AI this, but it makes sense, and I love to stay organized. I get overwhelmed when things get chaotic, so having a structured plan sounds really helpful. Thanks for sharing your insights!

    Meredith
    Meredith Moore recently posted…Pinterest & Blogging: A Powerful SEO StrategyMy Profile

    1. Hi, Meredith!
      I’m glad you found the tips inspiring! I understand overwhelm. It makes me not want to even try, and instead, I want to “run away” like in the Monty Python movies! It’s freeing and takes the pressure off to have a partner in planning.
      Have a fun time trying it out 🙂
      Nakina

  6. Hi Nakina! I really like the idea of using AI to plan and structure a schedule for you. I have recently started using AI for different stuff like healthy recipes, helping me write content and other stuff and I find it such a relief. I need an assistant and AI is soooo helpful. I get more things done than if I would not have it. Thank you for a good article!

    1. Hi, Sasha!
      Oh, I never thought of using AI to generate recipes! That sounds like a good idea! I’m on the lookout for a moist chocolate cake recipe. I’ll see what Claude can dig up! LOL! AI is very much like having an assistant in that it saves so much time. 🙂 And you’re very welcome!
      Nakina

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