Best Laid Plans

In today's episode, Sarah shares her recent marathon journey, from goal-setting (a looooong time ago!) to the tools and routines that supported her training to the race itself. Episode Sponsors: Jenni Kayne: Find your new uniform at jennikayne.com. Get 15% off your first order when you use code plans at checkout! Earth Breeze: Effective liquidless laundry detergent! Listeners can receive 40% off E...

In today's episode, Sarah answers questions + shares some listener tips sent during the month of May! Topics include: - Laurel Denise Planners (question from a mom/healthcare provider with a lot going on!). Link to prior mini review: https://theshubox.com/2022/12/blp-ep-123-4-2023-planner-mini-reviews.html - Travel -- packing list tips, Wanderlog app, and the resources Sarah uses most for travel p...

In today's episode, Sarah shares a few Top 5s, in honor of her birthday! She opens with her top 5 reasons for planning, followed by the top 5 essential elements of a funcitonal system. Finally, she gets personal and shares her top 5 hopes + dreams for the next year of life! If you'd like to celebrate with Sarah, she would love: - a review - a tip on a product to review or awesome person to have on...

In today's episode, Sarah shares some unexpected recent planning pivots, and then business and production coach Jade Boyd joins her to talk all things ClickUp -- in her opinion, one digital platform that can be used to organize it all. Jade also shares her love of paper as daily planning tool, the intimidation factor with digital organizing solutions, and the value of organizing work and life in o...

Do you ever have a project that seems to pop up on your annual goals list year after year, but never gets done? This episode is an exploration of how to tackle these projects and goals. Sarah gets personal, sharing her own Big Daunting Projects and some questions that might be worth asking about things that show up again and again (and again) on yearly lists. Questions to ask yourself when it come...

Today's episode is a planning-adjacent topic! Sarah opens with a bit about her own decorating and organizing challenges and then interviews author Myquillyn Smith, an expert on decorating and creating functional spaces within the home. They chat about many planning-related aspects of big home projects, including how to get started when it all seems daunting, tools for tracking home projects, and a...

In today's episode, Sarah provides a more in-depth review of two NOLTY April-start monthly planners, and then provides updates on the latest releases from Erin Condren (some excited changes to their Daily Duo!) and Simplified (so pretty). She then shares her own planner switchup for Spring! Episode Sponsors: Jenni Kayne: Find perfect transitional spring pieces at at jennikayne.com. Use code PLANS...

Today's episode features a planner peace submission that was so intriguing that it warranted an entire episode! Our listener Erin has a lot on her plate (full time job, 2 kids, volunteer work, caring for relatives, and more!) -- and she has put together and incredibly comprehensive system that brings her to a current state of Planner Peace! Rather than a stack, she's combined digital and physical...

Welcome to April's Q&A/Tips episode! Sarah shares a brief recap of her family vacation (and getting back into life!) and then brings April's Q&A + Tips. Topics: 1) Quarters in the Southern Hemisphere - an Australian listener reports back! 2) Cool idea for repurposing an unused planner into a paper Second Brain/Collections Notebook/Master Planner 3) App rec for routine building for those with ADHD/...

Happy new quarter or quintile!! Today's episode is travel-inspired because Sarah will be returning from a family trip just before it airs. In today's episode, she shares her current travel planning strategies as a parent of kids who are now at ages that are pretty easy to travel with (6, 10, and about-to-be 12!). She covers her use of Apple Notes as a useful second brain for travel and shares her...

In today's episode, Sarah reviews 3 planners from small business - one of them so small it hasn't been released yet! The planners are: 1) The Halo Planner by Rebecca Brosnan, thehaloplanner.com (shop not open yet, but will be soon) - quarterly gridded planner with a ton of features and both daily + weekly layouts 2) Biz Mom Planner by Tiffani - she describes her business as "woman, minority, and m...

Today's episode is devoted to the Ideal Week exercise, a practice where you put your ideal week onto paper (or screen) using an hourly format. This can be done on paper using a template or an old vertical weekly planner, or on screen via an electronic calendar or even by writing on a pdf using an app. Sarah discusses nuances of this exercise, components she includes, and variations on the idea (Id...

Sarah opens with a discussion of the idea of planner page as "outside observer" and how seeing her day laid out in physical form can help alleviate stress and provide some helpful objectivity. (She is curious if this is a familiar feeing for anyone else!). In the main portion of the show, she provides a step by step planning guide for your Quintile 2, or spring season (fall for our Southern Hemisp...

Welcome to the March Q&A Episode! Topics discussed: - Recommendations for planning and visioning during a job transition phase? - Organizing the many layers of tasks around a big international move - Follow up: Organizing kids' clothes - some tips from listener Sarah K! - Quintiles - do you divide the year evenly? - Details on morning planning sessions - Listener suggestion: Sunday Basket system (...

Today is a departure from the typical BLP format - in today's special edition episode, Sarah joins Amanda of Amanda's Favorites both via audio and on YouTube (view the video version on Amanda's channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEd0U-Hl3ZI ). The two hosts interview each other about a wide array of topics, from daily life to designing their dream planner! Link to Amanda's prior intervi...

Today's deep dive episode was inspired by a listener question below: "I’m so curious how you handle all the minutia and small to-dos of daily life. I have 3 kids, a full-time in-office job, and also have a side hustle crafting-based business. It seems like there are constantly people to coordinate with for kids, teacher emails that should be read, game schedules to add to the calendar, meals to pl...

We all need rest. How can you ensure that you give yourself the gift of rest when you need it? Sarah suggests planning for it can help, among other things! Today's episode is dedicated to all things rest as Sarah discusses her need for a 'down month' and discusses ways to truly rest well even with the challenges of work, kids, and more. Books Mentioned: Real Self Care by Pooja Lakshmin Do Nothing...

It's a Q&A episode! Sarah tackles listener questions sent in over the previous month. Topics include: 1) Update on formalizing the task management of household (vs work) projects 2) Thoughts on Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto 3) "Can you talk about busyness?" 4) 100 Dream List - what is it, and where to keep? 5) Planning-adjacent ideas for managing kids' clothes 6) Inbox Zero methodology 7)...

Sarah loves paper planners but there are so many people out there planning effectively with digital tools - and it was time to interview one of them! In this episode, Sarah interviews her friend Kaelyn Lopez (Kae, an RN working in transplant coordination and mother of 2 who blogs at gratefulkae.com ) for this episode because Kae has gradually shifted to an entirely digital planning system that is...

In today's episode, Sarah shares how her year is shaping up so far, including a report on her planner choices for the year. Then, the episode is devoted to a deep dive into Nested Goal Setting - her method for setting goals and identifying tasks based on time horizon from daily to yearly. She reviews her methodology in detail and answers common questions from "wait, isn't that a LOT of time spent...

In today's episode, Sarah shares some listener suggestions/feedback and then delves into January's listener questions -- many around goal setting and task management (it is January, after all)! References: Julie Morganstern's Time to Parent: https://www.juliemorgenstern.com/time-to-parent The Eisenhower Matrix (James Clear's take): https://jamesclear.com/eisenhower-box Cal Newport episode: From Ch...

Today's episode is all about media consumption and ways to really get the most out of the content we choose to immerse ourselves in! Sarah provides several tips for enjoying and curating media, from recording to increase awareness to partnering up to taking notes. REQUEST: Please send guest and topic ideas! Sarah wants to make 2024's Best Laid Plans episodes the most fun and useful yet! Contact In...

This episode airs on 1/1/24 - a new day, week, month, quintile, and year!! On this special day, Sarah discusses her own annual goal-setting processes this year, and then shares her own list of goals for 2024! These include goals in her 5 chosen domains: PERSONAL / RELATIONSHIPS / HOUSEHOLD / CLINICAL WORK / CREATIVE WORK. Please send your ideas for 2024 guests and topics -- hoping for a great year...

In today's episode, Sarah shares her 2023 favorites (book / movie / music / planning tools!) and then share which goals came to fruition and which did not. She also discusses the merits of setting goals without expecting that every single one of them will be reached. Contact Info: Email: sarah.hart.unger@gmail.com Voice questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/bestlaidplans Info on Best Laid Plans at...

In today's episode, Sarah provides an overview of why annual goals make sense and why she doesn't love the word "resolutions". She delves into the different types of goals one might consider setting, and shares some of the most common goals set in 2023. Finally, she details when and how you might hold your own annual goal setting session. Episode Sponsors: Jenni Kayne: Find your forever pieces at...