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!
201
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
202
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
203
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
204
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
205
Midyear Planner Switchup and Review of the Erin...
If you have felt the pull to switch planners 3 or 4 months into 2021 -- well, just know that you are not alone! Due to a few factors, Sarah jumped out of the (lovely!) Wonderland 222 and into a larger more colorful Erin Condren softbound weekly, with...
24 min
206
Q&A Episode: Filing miscellaneous information, ...
In this Q&A episode, Sarah answers 4 listener questions. The first asks about how to handle bits of information that you might need later-- but are unsure exactly when. Then, a listener asks about the Eisenhower matrix, and relates it specifically...
23 min
207
Digital Planning Hacks from Gmail to Tasks to G...
In this fun interview episode, Sarah interviews Kelsey Wharton, a mother of 3 (ages 1-8!) and fellow podcaster -- she cohosts The Girl Next Door Podcast, which happens to be one of Sarah's favorites! Kelsey has always impressed Sarah with her...
29 min
208
Quintiles or Quarters: How to Consider Your Yea...
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. ...
17 min
209
Spring Reviews: Day Designer, Villa Beautiful P...
Today's episode includes a deep dive review of the Day Designer, a monthly and daily planner with beautiful patterned covers and a distinctive layout. Then, Sarah discusses her recent purchase of two Villa Beautiful crystal gel pens and (finally) a...
22 min
210
Q&A Question: Your Voices & More! EP 34
This episode features 3 listener audio questions, plus a couple of extra bonus questions at the end! Topics covered include creating organized systems to share mental load with a partner, using budgeting tools to plan ahead for bigger less frequent...
21 min
211
Organizing Your Home, Your Paper, and Your Life...
Long-time listeners will know Sarah has been a long term admirer of Organize 365 founder and CEO Lisa Woodruff for quite some time. In today's episode, Sarah has Lisa share some of her greatest ideas (and there are many!) that pertain to organizing...
31 min
212
Organizing Your Financial Life EP 32
This episode is all about ways to organize your finances. Sarah discusses 4 essential parts of being intentional with finances, including tracking your earnings & expenses, learning about investing, following and monitoring your long-term...
21 min
213
Goal Setting, Handwriting, and More with Laken ...
Laken is a longtime member of the online planning community known for her openness, her positive encouragement, and her gorgeous and unique handwriting! In this episode, she gives an overview of her personal planning methods and her goal setting...
24 min
214
Mini Q&A and MakseLife Quarterly Goal Setting N...
It's a hybrid episode! In the first portion, Sarah answers listener questions on tasks vs to-dos, managing small recurrent tasks that threaten to take over our actions lists, and ways to organize multiple in-progress projects that involve a lot...
23 min
215
Planning & Anticipation in Pandemic Times EP 29
In this episode, Sarah takes a deep dives into the concept of planning and anticipation. This is much harder to come by in 2021, but still worth doing! Then, she discusses current planning success & failures. Finally, she answers a fascinating...
22 min
216
Daily Planning, Routines, and Crowding Out Bad ...
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,...
19 min
217
Layered Living Planner: Self-care, Goal setting...
In this episode, Sarah takes a deep dive into the Layered Living Planner by HerSpace. Sarah shares her thoughts and excitement about this unique planner, and then talks a bit about goal setting planners in general.
17 min
218
Q&A: Meal planning, Post-baby planning, Quarter...
In this Q&A episode, Sarah answers questions about meal planning, tracking multiple active cases at work, planning in the post-newborn period, how she fits in podcasting with her busy work and family life, and more! Show Sponsor: Wear Your Power...
26 min
219
Planner Chat with Meg & Myra from Planners & Wi...
In this very fun guest episode, Sarah interviews Meg and Myra, the cohosts of Planners & Wine -- yes, another podcast about planners! Their podcast is a ton of fun, as they share very real and important opinions (some planner related, and some...
28 min
220
2021 Systems Overview EP: 24
It's a new year (AND a new quintile!), so welcome to a brand new season of Best Laid Plans! In this episode, Sarah gives an overview of all of the systems and products she plans on using in 2021 to stay organized, from the digital to the physical.
21 min
221
Year End Q&A EP: 23
It's an all Q&A episode for the end of the year! Sarah answers your questions on goal setting, creating trackers for illnesses, managing big projects, messy planner pages, planners for kids, and more! Keep the questions coming - feel free to...
22 min
222
Spaces Planner & Thoughts on Planner Size EP 22
Still looking for a 2021 planner? In the last review-focused episode of the year, Sarah reviews the unique Spaces Planner! The Spaces is a weekly system with tons of flexibility and an unusual square footprint. Sarah leads with a discussion about...
17 min
223
Tips for End of Year Goal Setting (even after a...
In this episode, Sarah shares her end of year goal setting process, as well as some of the things that felt a little more challenging in this usual year. She discusses setting "pandemic-proof" goals, using categories, seeking accountability, getting...
16 min
224
Dot Journaling and More with Rachel Miller EP 20
Rachel Miller is an author, journalist, and her pieces are always creative and fun. She has written her own guide to dot journaling -- filled with artistry and inspiration and fun ideas for using your own dot grid notebook as planner and self-care...
22 min
225
Rest EP: 19
It's the season of a lot of activity, even during pandemic times. Rest often gets overlooked, but it deserves discussion, contemplation and most likely even a spot in our calendars. In this short but sweet...
10 min