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!
Episodes
October 27, 2025 • 21 mins
In today's episode, Sarah shares an update for the listener seeking high-contrast planner options, with products mentioned including the Marjolein Delhaas Planner from Wms&Co, Rad & Happy, and Passion Planner.
Then, she shares a listener's story of ordering the Personal Planner from Sweden -- and being extremely surprised by fees (over 4x the value of the planner!).
Following, Sarah gets into the concept of an Analog Fall (or an ...
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October 20, 2025 • 21 mins
In today's episode (and inspired by her recent girls' trip!), Sarah shares 6 practices to help you think through your big picture goals and dreams as we gear up for Reflection Season and starting to think about annual planning for 2026!
These include:- Inspiring reading (or audio)- 100 Dreams List- 10, 5, or 1-year Visioning Exercises- The gift of a notebook just for dreaming and scheming- Deep conversion with a partner or friend-...
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Today's episode is a very planner-centric Q&A episode (since it's that time of year!).
First, Cynthia opens with her planner peace - a mashup of prior BLP mentions, from the Passionate Pennypincher Planner to Planner Pad and a Stalogy notebook!
Then, Kristin shares a pro tip for melding her digital planning (via Google calendar) with a paper system that allows for daily notes jotted in pen and a physical representation of the wee...
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October 6, 2025 • 25 mins
In today's episode, Sarah interviews Skye Waterson, ADHD strategist, host of a podcast in the ADHD space, and an expert in building systems that help entrepreneurs and execs with ADHD (or suspected ADHD) scale their businesses. Skye shares the strategies that she's currently using herself, as well as some great tips for prioritizing when everything feels urgent. She also shares ideas for procrastination and offers advice for others...
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September 29, 2025 • 22 mins
In today's episode, Sarah opens with news about upcoming courses - both Best Laid Plans at Home: Planning 2026 AND Planning By Season will be back for next calendar year! Get details about the courses at theshubox.com/courses and be sure to sign up for her newsletter for registration info (newsletter drops 10/1).Newsletter: theshubox.com/newsletterThen, she talks all about FUN - the case for ensuring we plan in fun, ways to figure ...
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September 22, 2025 • 23 mins
Inspired by her own recent period of feeling a bit overwhelmed and all over the place, Sarah shares 10 tips for those feeling scattered.Please be sure to sign up for the newsletter if you'd like to receive October's edition:theshubox.com/newsletterEmail Sarah with questions or comments at sarah hart unger @ gmail or text (305) 697-7189
Episode Sponsors:
IXL: Make an impact on your child's learning this school year with IXL! Best...
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September 15, 2025 • 22 mins
In today's episode, Sarah shares a Planner Peace submission from R, a lover of paper planners with a vision issue that makes small print and light colors difficult to work with. Please send Sarah any ideas for bright and bold planner brands to share with our listener!Then, Sarah shares her notes on Wirecutter's picks for next year's planners!The article can be found here:https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/our-favorite-paper...
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September 8, 2025 • 25 mins
In today's episode, Sarah shares some recent planner news. She discusses price changes at Hobonichi (she compares her recent order to years prior), and then shares about the new Minimalist option available from Full Focus.Then, she goes through Q&A, tips & planner peace submissions for September! Topics include:- Feedback from a teacher about separating work + life into different planner systems- Tip from Sara about using ToDoist a...
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September 1, 2025 • 23 mins
In today's episode, Sarah goes through a techo kaigi -- her own assessment of how her current tools are working for her, along with some musing about what's up ahead for 2026!
Products mentioned:Hobonichi Cousin AvecErin Condren B6 18 Month SoftboundHobonichi 5-Year JournalErin Condren WhiteboardEssential Calendar (affiliate link: https://www.theessentialcalendar.com/BESTLAIDPLANS + use code BESTLAIDPLANS for 10% off)Digital: Appl...
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August 25, 2025 • 25 mins
In today's episode, Sarah shares two things that made her (tough) week, and then answers 6 questions from the August Q&A collection!Topics include:- Can you use Apple Notes to include attachments + graphics- Big projects: fewer longer sessions, or consistent shorter ones?- Ideal week during the newborn phase: yay or nay, and suggestions for an alternative if not?- Are there circumstances where a 'work specific' planner can make sen...
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August 18, 2025 • 41 mins
If you've ever been curious about how you can leverage your planning and organizing skills to help you save money, this episode is for you, especially if yo love to travel. Kathleen Paley is a litigator, mother of 2, and podcast host who loves saving and having fun with her family. She joins Sarah today to share her top 5 strategies for traveling on credit card points -- everything from which cards to start with, how to maximize po...
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August 11, 2025 • 22 mins
In today's episode, Sarah shares her thoughts on 5 aspects of life to reflect on (other than planners!) as you head into the back-to-school season, whatever that means for you.
She provides a detailed overview of routines to think through / audit / consider tweaking, and then discusses sleep, communication strategies, mood management, and fun.
Share your favorite planners for kids/teens or best communication strategies with Sarah...
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August 4, 2025 • 27 mins
Sarah reviews two planners specifically designed to help those with different planning needs.
First, she discusses the Order Out of Chaos Planner, designed by ADHD parent and ADDItude Magazine columnist Leslie Josel. This planner is designed for students and might be particularly helpful for those with ADHD, though it could definitely serve other students well, too!
Link to the planners: https://ooocplanner.com/collections/academ...
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July 28, 2025 • 37 mins
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 helpf...
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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 Fa...
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July 14, 2025 • 25 mins
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 Re...
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July 7, 2025 • 21 mins
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 schedul...
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June 30, 2025 • 29 mins
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 thr...
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It's a Q&A podcast! Topics include:
- Ways to plan/manage tasks when your time is unpredictably chopped up (gig worker)?- How to move into a new planner midyear?- How to talk with a partner who feels your planning systems are over the top (and you feel like they are absolutely necessary for a functional family life)?- How to handle a close friend or relative who refuses to make firm plans?- Planner recs for a child with ADHD enter...
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June 16, 2025 • 25 mins
Today's episode centers around strategies for travel planning, from super-long range (5-10+ years) to daily planning while on vacation! Sarah shares her favorite strategies at each time horizon to craft travel plans that reflect your values and highest priorities, while meeting your actual real-life needs (budget, kids' ages, etc!).
Mentioned:Kelsey's "The Years Are Short" sheet:https://www.risingshining.com/2022/10/the-years-are-...
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