Planner Peace + Efficiency Hacks from Seasoned Professor Sarah McConnell EP 261
It's not QUITE back to school season, but depending on where you live, it may be closer than you think! In today's episode, Sarah interviews Sarah McConnell, a professor of anatomy and histology for undergrads, graduate students and med students. Professor Sarah McConnell shares own current planner peace lineup and functional system, and then provides some fantastic tips for others in academic, from using templates to leaving helpful breadcrumbs so that each year builds on past experience without friction.
Planner Sarah mentions: Proaction Planner https://www.alifemadesimple.com/proaction-planner/
BLP Review of Proaction Planner:https://theshubox.com/2022/01/blp-ep-79-qa-proaction-planner-review.html
Newsletter: theshubox.com/newsletterCourses: theshubox.com/courses
Episode Sponsors
IXL: Learning doesn't have to stop in the summer! Best Laid Plans
listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com/plans.
Green Chef: Make this summer your healthiest yet with Green Chef. Head to greenchef.com/50BESTLAID and use code 50BESTLAID to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.
PrepDish: Healthy menu plans and prep instruction to take the mental load out of dinner! Visit PrepDish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE.
Mint: Affordable unlimited wireless! Get your new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for $15 a month at mintmobile.com/BLP
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Mental Load Expert Allison Daminger Answers Your Burning Questions About Planning and Household Management EP 260
In today's episode, sociology professor Allison Daminger joins Sarah for a fascinating discussion about mental load, division of labor, and the role of planning! She answers three great questions from listeners, tackling challenging questions about a partner not interested in long-range planning, a partner with little predictability to his job, and a partner with ADHD.
Find more from Allison and her book, The Mental Workload of Family Life, at her website: https://www.allisondaminger.com/book, and she can also be found on substack at https://allisondaminger.substack.com.
Submit your questions for Allison on the show notes page at theshubox.com!
Episode Sponsors
IXL: Learning doesn't have to stop in the summer! Best Laid Plans
listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com/plans.
Green Chef: Make this summer your healthiest yet with Green Chef. Head to greenchef.com/50BESTLAID and use code 50BESTLAID to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.
PrepDish: Healthy menu plans and prep instruction to take the mental load out of dinner! Visit PrepDish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE.
Mint: Affordable unlimited wireless! Get your new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for $15 a month at mintmobile.com/BLP
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Real Talk: Podcast Behind the Scenes with Sarah EP 259
In today's episode, Sarah shares some real behind-the-scenes podcast talk with listeners. She chats about how Best Laid Plans came to be, how she chooses guests, how she tracks podcast logistics, what she outsources, how she handles listener emails, and much more!
Visit her website, theshubox.com, if you haven't been for links to all of her prior episodes.
Newsletter: theshubox.com/newsletterCourses: theshubox.com/coursesBooks Read in 2025: theshubox.com/2025-books
Episode Sponsors
IXL: Learning doesn't have to stop in the summer! Best Laid Plans
listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com/plans.
Green Chef: Make this summer your healthiest yet with Green Chef. Head to greenchef.com/50BESTLAID and use code 50BESTLAID to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.
PrepDish: Healthy menu plans and prep instruction to take the mental load out of dinner! Visit PrepDish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE.
Mint: Affordable unlimited wireless! Get your new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for $15 a month at mintmobile.com/BLP
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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July Q&A: Airtight Task Capture, Planning Time Away from Work, and More! EP 258
In today's episode, Sarah answers accumulated questions for July!
Topics include:
Laurel Denise + Full Focus is too much -- what do use instead?
Task management (2 questions on various angles of this common challenge!) and how not to lose all of those great ideas that come to you that you want to see at the right time
Discussion of the Alistair Method for the listener struggling to fit tasks into an unpredictable schedule (details on this method here: https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/bulletjournalist/projects-the-alastair-method
Ways to structure/plan out a period of lighter work (sabbatical of sorts)
As mentioned early in the episode, Sarah's Mid-Year Check In is available for viewing -- great for those looking for a mid-year boost! This 1-hour guided mid-year planning session is available for instant viewing for anyone who purchases access to Planning 2026 (Sarah's 4 hour annual planning course, held in December/January).
Visit theshubox.com/courses for details!
Episode Sponsors
IXL: Learning doesn't have to stop in the summer! Best Laid Plans
listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com/plans.
Green Chef: Make this summer your healthiest yet with Green Chef. Head to greenchef.com/50BESTLAID and use code 50BESTLAID to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.
PrepDish: Healthy menu plans and prep instruction to take the mental load out of dinner! Visit PrepDish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE.
Mint: Affordable unlimited wireless! Get your new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for $15 a month at mintmobile.com/BLP
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Mid-Year Check In: Tips & Sarah's Own Midyear Review EP 257
In today's episode, Sarah shares rationale and ideas for completing your own mid-year check in session, where you take stock of where things are, look at annual goals, and decide how you'd like to move forward. She provides ideas for the setting/scope of this session, and then shares her very own mid-year check in - processing her own progress on the air!
If you are interested in a guided mid-year check in video that takes you through the process step by step, Sarah is offering this as part of BLP at Home: Planning 2026 this year! You can get access to this video by preordering BLP at Home for next year (4 hour guided planning experience divided into two sessions, taking place in Dec 2025/Jan 2026).
All details will be shared via newsletter (July edition out 7/1), so visit theshubox.com/newsletter to sign up!
Episode Sponsors
IXL: Learning doesn't have to stop in the summer! Best Laid Plans
listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com/plans.
Green Chef: Make this summer your healthiest yet with Green Chef. Head to greenchef.com/50BESTLAID and use code 50BESTLAID to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.
PrepDish: Healthy menu plans and prep instruction to take the mental load out of dinner! Visit PrepDish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE.
Mint: Affordable unlimited wireless! Get your new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for $15 a month at mintmobile.com/BLP
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