Best Laid Plans
Welcome to Best Laid Plans -- a podcast all about planning and the planning tools we love. From planning techniques and organizing philosophies to planners and notebooks, we cover it all. Host Sarah Hart-Unger is a mother of 3, physician, podcasting pro, and a lover of lists and all things paper! Listen in weekly for conversations about planning and productivity as well as product reviews and interviews with planning experts!
151
Fall Launch Updates + Q&A: Planner Sizes, Combi...
This episode opens with a discussion of fall launch updates from a few of Sarah's favorite brands, as well as a brief recap of what she is using now. Then, she answers listener questions on illness tracking, combining different areas of life into one...
25 min
152
Finding Planner Peace via Todoist with Sarah Po...
Sarah Powers (@powersofmine on Insta, and cohost of the very popular podcast The Mom Hour) joins Sarah today to discuss her favorite planning tools. She shares how she went from using a Moleskine notebook with a very full and somewhat stressful...
34 min
153
Chat about All Things Planning-Adjacent with Gr...
In this episode, Sarah is thrilled to interview author, speaker, thought leader, and amazing podcast host Gretchen Rubin! They have a really fun conversation about Gretchen's planning habits, from her decades-old Filofax to the Album of Now. They talk...
37 min
154
Full Focus Mini-Review + Q&A: Work Planning EP 61
In this episode, Sarah starts out answering a question about what kinds of planning tools she uses in her work day. Then, she provides a follow up recommendation for our listener looking for a comprehensive A4 system - the Panda Planner! Next, she...
27 min
155
Planner Matchmaking and Ink+Volt Mini-Review EP 60
In this episode, Sarah addresses two listeners who wrote in requesting planner matchups! Monica wants a versatile A4 system with tons of features, and Erika is hoping for a planner similar to the Hobonichi Cousin Avec - but on different paper. Another...
26 min
156
Daily Planning Love + Kitlife Daily + Page Prod...
This episode opens with all of the things Sarah loves about daily planning. Benefits as she lists them include motivation, accountability, record-keeping, understanding schedule nuances, having a daily clean slate, and helping to prioritize. Then, the...
27 min
157
All About Hobonichi! 2022 Releases, Covers, Tom...
This episode is all about Hobonichi Techo planners. Sarah discusses the various options (A5 Cousin, A6 Original, Avec, A6 English, Weeks, Weeks Mega -- apologies to the Day Free, which was left out!). Then, she discusses pros and cons of using this...
24 min
158
Q&A: Planner Matchmaking Requests, Gratitude, a...
This Q&A episode is in part dedicated to planner matchmaking requests! Listeners wrote in asking for various layouts and combos, and Sarah does her best to try to think of great ideas for them to try. She also answers a listener question about...
24 min
159
Q&A: Tips for returning from vacation, Thoughts...
In this Q&A episode, Sarah discusses some listener tips for what to do to make returning from vacation feel more manageable. Then, there are questions about difficulty finding planner peace, planning for the holiday season (quite early!), cookbook...
16 min
160
Best Laid Plans + Amanda's Favorites! EP: 55
Amanda from Amanda's Favorites is known for her amazing and in-depth YouTube planner reviews. Sarah was honored and excited to interview her for the show! They chat about go-to planners, digital planning, under-the-radar planner brands, kids'...
28 min
161
Back to School: Routines, Vintage Supplies, & M...
Today's episode is all about the back to school season! Sarah discusses routines to think about and other aspects of life to re-evaluate as we head into this second "fresh start" season of the year. Then, in a really fun segment she discusses her...
20 min
162
Welcome Back + &Studium Daily Planner Review EP 53
Welcome back to Season 3 of Best Laid Plans! Sarah returns from a monthlong hiatus full of ideas and planning energy. She provides an update on her current planning setup and then dives into a review of the compact and versatile &Studium Daily...
25 min
163
Planning Your Year in Quartiles or Quintiles EP 52
In this episode, Sarah does a deep dive into planning larger chunks of the year, whether are quarters or quintiles. She details the feelings and rituals that generally occur in each Quintile, as well as the use of breaking up the year in this way. ...
18 min
164
Planning, Routines & Crowding out Bad Habits EP 51
In this Deep Dive episodes, Sarah shares details about her morning routine and how she goes about daily planning. She also muses on the idea of essentially crowding out bad or mindless habits by intentionally spending time on things you want to,...
20 min
165
Getting Started with Planning EP 50
This episode was inspired by a listener who wanted to hear about ideas for getting started with planning from scratch. While it is hard to be prescriptive about what any one person should use, there are definitely a number of fundamental things...
27 min
166
The Weekly Review EP 49
This episode takes a deep dive into one of Sarah's favorite planning techniques: the Weekly Review. There are so many great ways to do a weekly review process, and one size definitely does not fit all! Listen to discover...
20 min
167
Ask Me Anything - Your Q&A! EP 48
For the season finale of BLP, Sarah put out a call to Instagram for questions for an "Ask Me Anything" format episode. Listeners write in with wonderful questions, from tips on setting up a planning routine to specific pen and planner queries. Join in...
32 min
168
Midyear Goals Check-in (with my own goals as an...
In this episode, Sarah discusses the merit of performing a mid-year goals check in. She recommends setting aside some time and going carefully through all of the goals you identified at the beginning of the year. And then - the audit can begin! Some...
22 min
169
Planner Matchmaking with Laura Vanderkam EP 46
In this episode, Sarah provides a planner matchmaking service for Laura Vanderkam! Laura is a time management expert who also happens to be Sarah's good friend and podcast cohost on Best of Both Worlds. For years, she's used a plain spiral notebook to...
25 min
170
Planning Your Summer! EP 45
This episode is all about planning your summer, with an in-depth discussion of the various things Sarah has spent time dreaming about for Summer 2021. Topics include childcare/camp, personal projects, summer reading & entertainment, travel,...
24 min
171
The Get to Work Book and Much More with Planner...
So many listeners recommended Elise Cripe a guest, and Sarah was thrilled to chat with her about her beautiful, professional, and functional planner: the Get to Work Book! This planner has goal-setting functionality, weekly spreads, and made a unique...
26 min
172
Simplified Planner Review EP 43
In this episode, Sarah provides an honest and candid review and walk-through the Simplified Daily Planner by Emily Ley. The Simplified line of planners contains both a daily and weekly option, and all feature beautiful colors and thoughtful design...
24 min
173
Q&A - Long-range planning, less feminine planne...
It's another all Q&A episode, featuring your submitted write-in and audio questions! Question 1 opens with a question on "manly" planners for a 25 year old who has just received a promotion. Q2 is from a soon-to-be medicine resident wondering if...
25 min
174
From Essentialism to Effortless with Author Gre...
This episode features author Greg McKeown, known for his work Essentialism and now introducing some powerful newer ideas in his latest release Effortless. In the conversation, Sarah and Greg take a deeper dive into the why around planning and what...
32 min
175
Routines and More with Ashley Brown of Routine ...
In this fun conversational episode, Sarah welcomes Ashley Brown to the show. Ashley is a mother, nurse educator, podcaster, and routines expert! She has her own suite of products designed to help people (especially women) optimize their routines, and...
22 min