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! There is no one right way to do a check in, but most will find the process eye-opening and beneficial. Then, Sarah delves into a walk through her own mid-year goals (in Family, Blog/Pod, Work, and Personal) as an example. Learn more about your ad choices....
Jun 21, 2021•26 min•Season 2Ep. 47
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 hold all of her lists and notes. Can Sarah find some more enticing options? Listen to find out! All items mentioned are linked in the show notes which you can find at https://theshubox.com/best-laid-plans-podcast Learn more about your ad choices. V...
Jun 14, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 46
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, retreat or planning, and a minimalist summer bucket list. Quick note: Best Laid Plans will be taking a SUMMER BREAK for the month of July, but will be back chock full of back-to-school energy in August. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...
Jun 07, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 45
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 choice when it comes to holidays - there are none included! Check out PrepDish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks of meal planning & preparation guides, FREE. If you try it, let me know! I’d love to hear about it! Learn more about your ad choices....
May 24, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 44
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 elemnets. Sarah shares her favorite aspects and some of the (few) things she might change if she could! This episode is brought to you by PrepDish! PrepDish is offering Best Laid Plans listeners two weeks free. Go to PrepDish.com/plans for this great o...
May 17, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 43
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 she will still have use for her Hobonichi. Q3 is all about the aesthetics of planner pages -- does Sarah have use for terms like "pre-planning" "messy planning" and "post-planning"? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 10, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 42
This episode features author Greg McKeown, known for his work Essentialism and now introducing some powerful new ideas in his latest release Effortless. In the conversation, Sarah and Greg take a deeper dive into the why around planning and what questions we should all be asking ourselves as we plan, especially: "What is truly essential" and "How can I make this easier?". Greg shares some of his favorite planning methods and the conversation also delves into the value of reflection and gratitude...
May 03, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 41
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 she has so much wisdom to share! She also has designed beautiful notepads and other products to help others further curate their own routines to promote a life intention and joy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 26, 2021•25 min•Season 2Ep. 40
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 the hourly layout. She give all listeners official permission to switch if needed and explains what she enjoys about her new system (hint: the paper. EC has really amazing paper). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 19, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 39
In this Q&A episode, Sarah answers 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 to her academic job which requires both teaching (urgent + important) and research (non-urgent but still important). Episode Sponsor: Visit The Literacy Teacher’s Life at www.theliteracyteacherslife.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...
Apr 12, 2021•27 min•Season 2Ep. 38
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 organization hacks and tricks, especially in the digital realm! In this episode, she shares many of her favorite digital methods as well as some key apps (Google Keep, Todoist, and more!) and rituals she uses to help keep the entire family organized. Learn ...
Apr 05, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 37
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. This episode is sponsored by interactive online yoga studio Stillness + Movement. You can learn more and sign up for class by going to StillnessAndMovement.com and take your first class for free when you use the code BLP. Learn more about your ad choic...
Mar 29, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 36
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 a photo sticker printer! Episode Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by interactive online yoga studio Stillness + Movement. You can learn more and sign up for class by going to StillnessAndMovement.com and take your first class for free when you use the code BLP....
Mar 22, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 35
This episode features 3 listener audio questions, plus a couple of extra bonus questions at the end! Episode Sponsor Note: This episode is sponsored by interactive online yoga studio Stillness + Movement. You can learn more and sign up for class by going to StillnessAndMovement.com and take your first class for free when you use the code BLP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 15, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 34
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 time, organizing households, and ultimately increasing productivity and the ability to live with intention. Find more of Lisa's work by checking out her book, The Paper Solution, or via her site at organize365.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Mar 08, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 33
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 progress, and making sure you are revisiting your financial goals (with your partner, if that applies to you!). Episode Sponsor: Real Life Style - www.real-life-style.com/bestlaidplans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 01, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 32
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 style, plus an introduction to the community she's built to help others achieve their goals. Find her on YouTube or Instagram with the handle @PlanwithLaken and be prepared to be inspired by her colorful layouts and ideas. Learn more about your ad choice...
Feb 22, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 31
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 of reference material. Then, in the product review segment Sarah discusses the MakseLife Quarterly Goal Setting Notebook set. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 15, 2021•27 min•Season 2Ep. 30
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. Episode Sponsor: Looking for a wardrobe refresh? Lani Inlander and Real Life Style is here for you! Check out the Wear Your Power e-course at www.real-life-style.com/bestlaidplans -- and mention Best Laid Plans when you sign up to upgrade your course with a free 30 minute Zoom Q&A s...
Feb 08, 2021•26 min•Season 2Ep. 29
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, including through the use of effective routines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 01, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 28
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 25, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 27
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! Wear Your Power is an on-demand e-course that will give you a new perspective on your style and a week of outfits you love. Find out more at www.real-life-style.com/bestlaidplans and upgrade to a free additional 30-minute Zoom Q&A session by mentioning Best Laid Plans when yo...
Jan 18, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 26
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 not!) and have amazing chemistry together. Sarah interviews both Meg & Myra about the mission and direction of their show, their 2021 planner stacks, how they met and got started planning together, and some long term future wishes for the new year....
Jan 11, 2021•31 min•Season 2Ep. 25
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 04, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 24
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 submit via email, instagram (@shubox_plans), or even send in a voice recording! And if anyone is interested in becoming a show sponsor to spread the word about your brand or product, let Sarah know! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad...
Dec 28, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 23
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 matching your planner size to you planner needs -- as in, don't plan on toting a round a dictionary-sized daily! Then comes the review segment. If you are looking for a very flexible weekly planner with lovely paper and lots of notes space, Spaces may b...
Dec 21, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 22
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 inspiraiton from others, and choosing a word for the year. If you've created your own goals list or have chosen a word, it can be a wonderful gift to share them! Find Sarah at theshubox.com/best-laid-plans or via instagram at @shubox_plans. Learn mor...
Dec 14, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 21
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 tool. She shares her current planning methods, tips on how to get started, and surprises me with the planner she is using now. Listen especially if you are considering using a blank dotted notebook as your planner for 2021. Learn more about your ad cho...
Dec 07, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 20
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 episode, Sarah discusses planned rest, unplanned rest, and the importance of giving ourselves a break sometimes. Show notes are available as always at http://theshubox.com/best-laid-plans-podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 30, 2020•13 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Cal Newport is a computer science professor and writer about topics from technology to productivity to work culture, and he is also now the author of his newly released Time Block Planner! Cal chats with Sarah -- a long time fan -- about his productivity systems, digital/paper hybrid planning, planning weekends and personal time, and of course his new paper planner. Delve into the planner at timeblockplanner.com and find more of Cal's work at calnewport.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
Nov 23, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 18
