About

Hello there, I’m YS, a business owner, trainer, and lifelong learner who believes deeply in the quiet power of reflection.

For over 18 years, I have been running a consumer-focused business, House of Planners, where I work across product development, branding, marketing, and e-commerce. My background is grounded in understanding how people think, decide, and behave, shaped by real-world experience, an MBA, and formal training in adult learning and performance.

Since 2015, I have also conducted workshops and talks across Singapore, Malaysia, China, and Vietnam, helping individuals and teams improve their thinking, planning, and decision-making through structured reflection and practical frameworks.

Yet, despite working in business and strategy where processes are getting increasingly digitalized, I increasingly felt that something deeply human was being left behind, the time to pause, to think, and to truly understand ourselves.

That was how my relationship with pen-paper notebooks grew stronger.

Long before productivity apps and smart devices, people planned their lives, reflected on their days, and made sense of the world by writing. Through handwritten notes, I began to notice patterns in my own thoughts, habits, and decisions. I rediscovered forgotten dreams, questioned long-held assumptions, and found clarity during moments of uncertainty. Many of the ideas I now share on this site were first discovered quietly on the pages of my own notebooks.

FuturingNote was created as a space to share this human way of planning for the future.

Here, I write about three things that I believe shape our everyday lives more than we realise:
• understanding ourselves through honest introspection
• managing time and priorities in ways that reduce stress, not increase it
• recognising mental pitfalls and thinking habits that quietly influence our choices

Rather than offering quick fixes, I hope to offer something slower and more lasting – reflections, stories, and simple practices that invite you to think gently but deeply about where you are, and where you wish to go.

Beyond writing, I also enjoy illustration, watercolor, and creating physical notebooks and planners. To me, these are not just products, but tools for conversation with ourselves — places where thoughts can breathe and ideas can grow.

If you are here because you feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or simply curious about how to live more intentionally, I hope you will find something that resonates with you.

You don’t need to have everything figured out.

Sometimes, all it takes is a quiet moment, a pen, and a blank page.Thank you for being here, and for taking this small step toward listening to yourself.

— YS