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 ...
Recovery Routine, New Planners, and Amazing Answers to the "Too Many Tabs!" Question EP 243
In today's episode, Sarah shares an update on how her recovery is going in addition to some great wisdom on the idea of a "recovery routine" from a listener. Then, she shares a planner mini-review and new additions to her 2025 Stack:
- Full Focus Spiral-Bound
- Excello Essential Weekly + Monthly (https://excellobrands.com/calendar-year/essential-monthly-weekly-planner-7-x-9-cy-2025-frosted/ or via Amazon (search for ESSENTIAL 2025 Monthly & Weekly Planner with Tabs, 7"x9": 14 Months)
Then, she shares some fantastic listener-sent solutions for M, the listener stressed out by her many open browser tabs and "to be read later" intentions.
BLP Live: Planning 2026 (held in November 2025) is now open for registration - visit theshubox.com/blplive for details!!
Episode Sponsors:
Green Chef: Thrive all year with clean, easy meals from Green Chef. Visit greenchef.com/bestlaidfree and use code bestlaidfree for free salads for 2 months plus 50% off your first box!
PrepDish: Convenient meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists to reduce your weekly mental load! Visit prepdish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE
Mint Mobile: Low-cost wireless phone service – a great way to save every single month! Learn more at mintmobile.com/BLP
IXL: Tailored and effective online learning (my kids have used this for years as part of their school curriculum)! Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at IXL.com/PLANS.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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25:00
Planning Your Spring: Quintile 2 Planning Deep Dive Bonus Replay EP 242
Sarah checks in + introduces the show. Then, the main part of the episode is a re-air from 2024. Sarah hopes it is helpful as we approach the spring season!
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 Hemisphere listeners!). From end-of-the-academic year activities to spring cleaning energy, she provides many useful prompts to think about and then encourages a thorough review of your annual and Season 1 goals. Happy spring planning!!
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28:55
Unexpected Things Happen: Sarah's Current Challenges EP 241
A common question sent into BLP is about planning in the face of hard things or uncertainty. This episode is a raw/current one about some challenges Sarah is going through now and how she is going to try to handle them. Please note: this episode was recorded from a hospital room with no special mic so the sound quality might be a little different.
Episode Sponsors:
Green Chef: Thrive all year with clean, easy meals from Green Chef. Visit greenchef.com/bestlaidfree and use code bestlaidfree for free salads for 2 months plus 50% off your first box!
PrepDish: Convenient meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists to reduce your weekly mental load! Visit prepdish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE
Mint Mobile: Low-cost wireless phone service – a great way to save every single month! Learn more at mintmobile.com/BLP
IXL: Tailored and effective online learning (my kids have used this for years as part of their school curriculum)! Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at IXL.com/PLANS.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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19:42
Intentional + Sisterly Planning with Azizi and Malika of the Happier Ladies! EP 240
Today, Sarah has a really fun and conversational chat with Azizi Williams and Malika Amandi, otherwise known as the Happier Ladies! These sister started a podcast inspired by the work of Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Craft, and share a love for planning, experiments, goal setting, and accountability (to each other, as well as their listeners). Azizi and Malika share their favorite tools, planning rituals, and more.
Their podcast can be found here; https://happierladies.wixsite.com/mysite
Episode 60 + 61 (Festival of Planning!) is here: https://happierladies.wixsite.com/mysite/episodes/episode/6b09e00f/festival-of-planning-60 and https://happierladies.wixsite.com/mysite/episodes/episode/20b7dee1/festival-of-planning-part-2-61
Episode Sponsors:
Green Chef: Thrive all year with clean, easy meals from Green Chef. Visit greenchef.com/bestlaidfree and use code bestlaidfree for free salads for 2 months plus 50% off your first box!
PrepDish: Convenient meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists to reduce your weekly mental load! Visit prepdish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE
Mint Mobile: Low-cost wireless phone service – a great way to save every single month! Learn more at mintmobile.com/BLP
IXL: Tailored and effective online learning (my kids have used this for years as part of their school curriculum)! Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at IXL.com/PLANS.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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40:00
February Q&A: Planning for the Family, Managing Goals Lists + Big Projects, Planning in Pregnancy, and Keeping Track of Things You Want to Read (Eventually) EP 239
In today's episode, Sarah answers questions accumulated in the month of February! Topics include:
- How do you deal with planning events for family members (ie camp, bday parties, etc!)
- How do I integrate goals lists into my planning when I feel like I have endless detailed lists dedicated to complicated projects?
(Nested Goals ep: https://theshubox.com/2024/01/episode-182-nested-goals-explained.html)
- Advice for planning in pregnancy + the postpartum period?
- How does Sarah use the calendar pages in the Hobonichi Weeks?
- How do you organize things "to be read" later that aren't books? (Magazine articles, journal articles, browser tabs, etc)?
- Where can I fit in my morning planning routine (working mom with a baby!)
- Notion Template mentioned by Malika: https://shop.muchelleb.com.au/collections/notion-templates
SPONSORS:
Prose: Custom skin and haircare that works! For an exclusive trial offer of 50% off your first haircare subscription order, visit prose.com/plans.
Green Chef: Thrive all year with clean, easy meals from Green Chef. Visit greenchef.com/bestlaidfree and use code bestlaidfree for free salads for 2 months plus 50% off your first box!
PrepDish: Convenient meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists to reduce your weekly mental load! Visit prepdish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE
Mint Mobile: Low-cost wireless phone service – a great way to save every single month! Learn more at mintmobile.com/BLP
IXL: Tailored and effective online learning (my kids have used this for years as part of their school curriculum)! Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at IXL.com/PLANS.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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!
Ireland