Do you ever have a project that seems to pop up on your annual goals list year after year, but never gets done? This episode is an exploration of how to tackle these projects and goals. Sarah gets personal, sharing her own Big Daunting Projects and some questions that might be worth asking about things that show up again and again (and again) on yearly lists. Questions to ask yourself when it comes to these big (and possibly scary, or emotionally difficulty) goals: 1. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DO IT...
May 06, 2024•24 min•Season 4Ep. 197
Today's episode is a planning-adjacent topic! Sarah opens with a bit about her own decorating and organizing challenges and then interviews author Myquillyn Smith, an expert on decorating and creating functional spaces within the home. They chat about many planning-related aspects of big home projects, including how to get started when it all seems daunting, tools for tracking home projects, and an incredibly useful framework for order of operations. Myquillyn prizes functional decorating and cr...
Apr 29, 2024•32 min•Season 4Ep. 196
In today's episode, Sarah provides a more in-depth review of two NOLTY April-start monthly planners, and then provides updates on the latest releases from Erin Condren (some excited changes to their Daily Duo!) and Simplified (so pretty). She then shares her own planner switchup for Spring! Episode Sponsors: Jenni Kayne: Find perfect transitional spring pieces at at jennikayne.com. Use code PLANS at checkout to get 15% off your first order and support the show! Factor: Delicious and fresh alread...
Apr 22, 2024•28 min•Season 4Ep. 195
Today's episode features a planner peace submission that was so intriguing that it warranted an entire episode! Our listener Erin has a lot on her plate (full time job, 2 kids, volunteer work, caring for relatives, and more!) -- and she has put together and incredibly comprehensive system that brings her to a current state of Planner Peace! Rather than a stack, she's combined digital and physical elements from her favorite tools to create a streamlined system. Products Discussed: 1) The Remarkab...
Apr 15, 2024•30 min•Season 4Ep. 194
Welcome to April's Q&A/Tips episode! Sarah shares a brief recap of her family vacation (and getting back into life!) and then brings April's Q&A + Tips. Topics: 1) Quarters in the Southern Hemisphere - an Australian listener reports back! 2) Cool idea for repurposing an unused planner into a paper Second Brain/Collections Notebook/Master Planner 3) App rec for routine building for those with ADHD/time blindness: Brili https://brili.com 4) 5 Year Journal Recs Midori: https://www.jetpens.c...
Apr 08, 2024•28 min•Season 4Ep. 193
Happy new quarter or quintile!! Today's episode is travel-inspired because Sarah will be returning from a family trip just before it airs. In today's episode, she shares her current travel planning strategies as a parent of kids who are now at ages that are pretty easy to travel with (6, 10, and about-to-be 12!). She covers her use of Apple Notes as a useful second brain for travel and shares her appreciation for down time and reservations on vacation! Episode Sponsors: Jenni Kayne: Find perfect...
Apr 01, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 192
In today's episode, Sarah reviews 3 planners from small business - one of them so small it hasn't been released yet! The planners are: 1) The Halo Planner by Rebecca Brosnan, thehaloplanner.com (shop not open yet, but will be soon) - quarterly gridded planner with a ton of features and both daily + weekly layouts 2) Biz Mom Planner by Tiffani - she describes her business as "woman, minority, and mama-owned"! Hand made small batch disc-bound planners, very open ended and undated, thick luxurious-...
Mar 25, 2024•30 min•Season 4Ep. 191
Today's episode is devoted to the Ideal Week exercise, a practice where you put your ideal week onto paper (or screen) using an hourly format. This can be done on paper using a template or an old vertical weekly planner, or on screen via an electronic calendar or even by writing on a pdf using an app. Sarah discusses nuances of this exercise, components she includes, and variations on the idea (Ideal Month, anyone?). A free ideal week template was included in the March newsletter - if you'd like...
Mar 18, 2024•24 min•Season 4Ep. 190
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 m...
Mar 11, 2024•24 min•Season 4Ep. 189
Welcome to the March Q&A Episode! Topics discussed: - Recommendations for planning and visioning during a job transition phase? - Organizing the many layers of tasks around a big international move - Follow up: Organizing kids' clothes - some tips from listener Sarah K! - Quintiles - do you divide the year evenly? - Details on morning planning sessions - Listener suggestion: Sunday Basket system (Organize 365) for corralling tasks Episode Sponsors: PrepDish: Check out their new PROTEIN BOOST...
Mar 04, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 188
Today is a departure from the typical BLP format - in today's special edition episode, Sarah joins Amanda of Amanda's Favorites both via audio and on YouTube (view the video version on Amanda's channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEd0U-Hl3ZI ). The two hosts interview each other about a wide array of topics, from daily life to designing their dream planner! Link to Amanda's prior interview on BLP: https://theshubox.com/2021/08/show-notes-best-laid-plans-x-amandas-favorites.html Episode...
Feb 26, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 187
Today's deep dive episode was inspired by a listener question below: "I’m so curious how you handle all the minutia and small to-dos of daily life. I have 3 kids, a full-time in-office job, and also have a side hustle crafting-based business. It seems like there are constantly people to coordinate with for kids, teacher emails that should be read, game schedules to add to the calendar, meals to plan, groceries to order, other items (household/clothing) that need to be purchased, etc. and I’m fee...
Feb 19, 2024•28 min•Season 4Ep. 186
We all need rest. How can you ensure that you give yourself the gift of rest when you need it? Sarah suggests planning for it can help, among other things! Today's episode is dedicated to all things rest as Sarah discusses her need for a 'down month' and discusses ways to truly rest well even with the challenges of work, kids, and more. Books Mentioned: Real Self Care by Pooja Lakshmin Do Nothing by Jenny Odell Wintering by Katherine May Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey A Perfect...
Feb 12, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 185
It's a Q&A episode! Sarah tackles listener questions sent in over the previous month. Topics include: 1) Update on formalizing the task management of household (vs work) projects 2) Thoughts on Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto 3) "Can you talk about busyness?" 4) 100 Dream List - what is it, and where to keep? 5) Planning-adjacent ideas for managing kids' clothes 6) Inbox Zero methodology 7) Planning/task and data management for a new family medical diagnosis 8) How to balance goal set...
Feb 05, 2024•30 min•Season 4Ep. 184
Sarah loves paper planners but there are so many people out there planning effectively with digital tools - and it was time to interview one of them! In this episode, Sarah interviews her friend Kaelyn Lopez (Kae, an RN working in transplant coordination and mother of 2 who blogs at gratefulkae.com ) for this episode because Kae has gradually shifted to an entirely digital planning system that is both functional and fun. She shares her system in detail in this conversational episode! Her primary...
Jan 29, 2024•33 min•Season 4Ep. 183
In today's episode, Sarah shares how her year is shaping up so far, including a report on her planner choices for the year. Then, the episode is devoted to a deep dive into Nested Goal Setting - her method for setting goals and identifying tasks based on time horizon from daily to yearly. She reviews her methodology in detail and answers common questions from "wait, isn't that a LOT of time spent planning?" to those about which tools she uses and when to refer to each list. Learn more about your...
Jan 22, 2024•29 min•Season 4Ep. 182
In today's episode, Sarah shares some listener suggestions/feedback and then delves into January's listener questions -- many around goal setting and task management (it is January, after all)! References: Julie Morganstern's Time to Parent: https://www.juliemorgenstern.com/time-to-parent The Eisenhower Matrix (James Clear's take): https://jamesclear.com/eisenhower-box Cal Newport episode: From Chaos to Calm in One Day - https://www.thedeeplife.com/podcasts/episodes/ep-277-from-chaos-to-calm-in-...
Jan 15, 2024•29 min•Season 4Ep. 181
Today's episode is all about media consumption and ways to really get the most out of the content we choose to immerse ourselves in! Sarah provides several tips for enjoying and curating media, from recording to increase awareness to partnering up to taking notes. REQUEST: Please send guest and topic ideas! Sarah wants to make 2024's Best Laid Plans episodes the most fun and useful yet! Contact Info: Email: sarah.hart.unger@gmail.com Voice questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/bestlaidplans Info ...
Jan 08, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 180
This episode airs on 1/1/24 - a new day, week, month, quintile, and year!! On this special day, Sarah discusses her own annual goal-setting processes this year, and then shares her own list of goals for 2024! These include goals in her 5 chosen domains: PERSONAL / RELATIONSHIPS / HOUSEHOLD / CLINICAL WORK / CREATIVE WORK. Please send your ideas for 2024 guests and topics -- hoping for a great year on the podcast! NOTE: Planning By Season - a yearlong seasonal planning course - will be open for r...
Jan 01, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 179
In today's episode, Sarah shares her 2023 favorites (book / movie / music / planning tools!) and then share which goals came to fruition and which did not. She also discusses the merits of setting goals without expecting that every single one of them will be reached. Contact Info: Email: sarah.hart.unger@gmail.com Voice questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/bestlaidplans Info on Best Laid Plans at Home: theshubox.com/courses Send me a text or voice memo - (305) 697-7189 Sign up for my newsletter:...
Dec 25, 2023•22 min•Season 4Ep. 178
In today's episode, Sarah provides an overview of why annual goals make sense and why she doesn't love the word "resolutions". She delves into the different types of goals one might consider setting, and shares some of the most common goals set in 2023. Finally, she details when and how you might hold your own annual goal setting session. Episode Sponsors: Jenni Kayne: Find your forever pieces at jennikayne.com. Listeners get 15% off the first order by using code PLANS at checkout! Earth Breeze:...
Dec 18, 2023•25 min•Season 4Ep. 177
In today's episode, Sarah shares two listener submissions for Word of the Year (one from Australia and one from Scotland!) and then dive into some listener questions! Topics include: 1) Capture Overload 2) End-of-residency Planning - Lack of Motivation to Set Work Goals 3) Organization of weekly / monthly / quintile goals lists 4) Post-baby planning - how to divide the year? 5) Hobonichi setup tips! Planning By Season is open for registration - this is Sarah's structured seasonal goal setting ex...
Dec 11, 2023•32 min•Season 4Ep. 176
In today's episode, Sarah shares how she used her 2023 planners and then unveils her 2023 planner stack!! Products Mentioned: Hobonichi Cousin Avec Hobonichi A6 Original Cloth & Paper Disc-Bound Half-Letter Hobonichi 5 Year Journal Ashley Shelly Monthly (Amanda's Favorites Collab) BLP NEWS: - Planning By Season (seasonal planning sessions) and Digital Detox 2.0 are open for registration! Visit theshubox.com/courses for details! - GIVEAWAYS on theshubox.com this week - just enter your name in...
Dec 04, 2023•29 min•Season 4Ep. 175
In today's episode, Sarah shares lessons learned from the Digital Detox program, thoughts on a word for the year (2024!), and discusses her upcoming Seasonal Planning sessions. For detailed information + registration for Digital Detox (Jan/Feb) and Planning by Season in 2024, make sure you are subscribed to her monthly newsletter: theshubox.com/newsletter -- all details will be released 12/1. Prior episode mentioned: Heart to Heart Screen Time Talk, ep #43 - https://theshubox.com/2023/04/ep-143-...
Nov 27, 2023•22 min•Season 4Ep. 174
Today's planning adjacent topic is something we all have to contend with: meal planning! Meghan Splawn is an expert on this topic and she chats with Sarah about her peaceful meal planning ritual, ways to handle busy weeknights, favorite kitchen gadgets + more! Didn't I Just Feed You Amazon Shop Find more from Meghan and listen to Didn't I Just Feed You at http://didntijustfeedyou.com Episode Sponsors: Cloth & Paper: Cloth & Paper makes luxe planning essentials with a beautiful minimal ae...
Nov 20, 2023•37 min•Season 4Ep. 173
Sarah opens by chatting about her experiences at BLP Live - it was an amazing weekend! Then, she goes through November Q&A - manny questions are centered around goal setting, as it's that time of year (yes, already!). Topics: 1- Abandoning certain goals around weight fitness - what to do? 2- Planning ahead of the current quintile 3- Goal-setting planner recommendations (brands mentioned: MakseLife, Full Focus, Erin Condren, Cultivate What Matters/PowerSheets) 4- What is the first tiny step y...
Nov 13, 2023•31 min•Season 4Ep. 172
There are certain things listeners (or just random people in Sarah's life) inquire about over and over again, and today she attempts to give all the answer! Find out her answers to things like: - What is the weird habit bar at the top of your planner page? - How can you use paper when things change so much? - Isn't it confusing using multiple planners? - How can use paper + still communicate with your partner about events? - How can you convince your husband to do a 'planning retreat'? - What ar...
Nov 06, 2023•31 min•Season 4Ep. 171
SHU here - hi everyone! Even though I almost never run 're-airs', I've had a really tough week (suffered some injuries, but on the mend) and decided to bring back one of my favorite and most popular episodes for this week. I hope you enjoy it! Episode Sponsors: Jenni Kayne: Find your forever pieces at jennikayne.com. Listeners get 15% off the first order by using code PLANS at checkout! PrepDish: Healthy and strategic meal planning! Visit PrepDish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE Green Che...
Oct 30, 2023•28 min•Season 4Ep. 170
Sarah brings a fresh new batch of 2024 planner review with this episode, all of which were suggested by listeners! All planners were purchased by Sarah; links are not affiliate. Please keep in touch and let her know what else you'd like to see reviewed as we approach the peak of planner-buying season! 1) Passionate Penny Pincher: Is it a planner, or a lifestyle? Sarah is pretty sure it's both and perhaps not geared to HER lifestyle, but there is a lot to unpack (and maybe it is a fit for you). L...
Oct 23, 2023•33 min•Season 4Ep. 169
It's a planner-adjacent episode today! Sarah muses and discusses the inputs which shape our lives and give us things to react to -- some which comes from external sources, and many which come from within! She discusses the balance between proactivity and reactivity (including the acknowledgement that some reactivity is unavoidable!), the ways we get interrupted and interrupt ourselves, and how we might consider changing things to feel less fragmented and overstimulated. Episode Sponsors: Earth B...
Oct 16, 2023•22 min•Season 4Ep. 168
