Best Laid Plans

Latest Episodes:

Planning Tactics & Rituals: What Worked and What Didn't in 2026 EP 328 Nov 09, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, Sarah gets real and shares what worked -- and didn't work! -- in her planning life this year. She starts with the areas that didn't pan out, and then ends on a high note with rituals she plans on continuing for the foreseeable future!
Topics discussed:

Time tracking (with Apple Notes, Toggl, analog)
Making a goal of 2 Date nights/month without actually scheduling them
Screen time tracking & blocker app
Decluttering as as one and done goal
Analog tracking for strength work
Technological selectivism (credit this Deep Life episode from Cal Newport: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-better-way-to-think-about-tech/id1515786216?i=1000799391569 -- note, he actually called it Technoselectionism - Sarah used the term technical selectionism, but meant the same thing!)
Morning Pages (credit Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way)
Seasonal family meetings
Media tracking
Please share your own "what worked / what didn't" with me - just email sarah hart unger at gmail or text (305) 697-7189 (Google voice).
View 2027 planning courses that are still open on the courses page: theshubox.com/courses

NOVEMBER SPONSORS:

Tin Can: A new landlind concept for kids to chat to talk with friends and family - no screens or algorithms involved! Go to ⁠tincan.com/PLANS ⁠to get $10 off your first order.

Quince: Give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to ⁠Quince.com⁠ for free shipping and 365-day returns.

PrepDish: Strategic and healthy meal planning right in your inbox. Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PrepDish.com/plans⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 2 weeks, free!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Q5 Planning Party with the Happier Ladies! EP 327 Nov 02, 2026

Show notes

Today's episode is a special treat - Sarah hosts a Q5 planning party and invites Azizi and Malika from the Happier Ladies podcasts to join in, guiding them with questions leading up to the creation of Q5 goals. Sarah shares some of her own seasonal goals as well, and you can use this as a planning template for yourself if you'd like -- just pause the podcast after each question and answer the questions for yourself!

You can find more from Azizi + Malika from their podcast (https://happierladies.wixsite.com/mysite), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/happierladies/), or Substack! (https://happierladies.substack.com)

In other exciting news, Planning By Season registration is open TODAY - link is in the monthly newsletter! This is Sarah's guided planning course held longitidunally over the course of the year, now with MONTHLY sessions.

Please register early if you hope to join, this course does tend to fill quickly!

NOVEMBER SPONSORS:

Tin Can: A new landlind concept for kids to chat to talk with friends and family - no screens or algorithms involved! Go to tincan.com/PLANS to get $10 off your first order.

Quince: Give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to Quince.com for free shipping and 365-day returns.

PrepDish: Strategic and healthy meal planning right in your inbox. Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠PrepDish.com/plans⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 2 weeks, free!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

October Q&A: Monthly Planners, Avoiding "Overplanning", Screenshot Follow Ups + More! EP 326 Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, Sarah kicks off with a planner peace segment from @lindyplans , who has been tracking financial data in a $2 notebook for 17 years, following in her parents' footsteps. She also shares a listener tip about clear sticky notes (like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XK8FCHC)
Then, she answers several questions collected during the month of October, including:
1) Recommending a monthly planner (without weekly or daily layouts)
Options discussed: Leuchtturm 1917 (https://www.leuchtturm1917.us/products/monthly-planner-with-notebook-2027-16-months-english?variant=48586425139445), Hightide (https://www.atlasstationers.com/collections/hightide-planners/products/hightide-2027-monthly-square-diary-coton-a5?srsltid=AU7gw4WiuSMPcKhkvEEYE3wQeAHjPvjg8PdOjgWfoZpRXZT9gimrj0DK), Erin Condren (https://www.erincondren.com/monthly-planner), Ashley Shelly (https://ashleyshelly.com/product/2027-monthly-notebook-planner-amandas-favorites-collab ), Midori Double Schedule (https://www.jetpens.com/Midori-Double-Schedule-Diary-2027-B6-To-Do-Green/pd/53104)
2) How do avoid overplanning AND overtweaking your system?
3) Screenshot follow ups! 3 listeners share how they effectively manage phone screenshots as capture tool.
NOTES:
Planning By Season 2027 registration will be in next week's newsletter! Ensure you are signed up at theshubox.com/newsletter
Best Laid Plans: Planning 2027 is open -- you can check out the details on Sarah's courses page at theshubox.com/courses

OCTOBER SPONSORS

Boll & Branch: Amazingly comfortable bedding. Get 20% off your first order plus free shipping at ⁠⁠⁠bollandbranch.com/plans⁠⁠⁠ with code plans

Factor: Healthy meals with ultimate convenience. Visit ⁠⁠⁠factormeals.com/plans50off⁠⁠⁠ and use code plans50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026.

Quince: Beautifully made classic pieces for your fall wardrobe, and more. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.

Explore Worldwide: Explore Worldwide’s trips are crafted, planned and facilitated by real human experts who know all those hidden local gems. Check out all of the wonderful options at ⁠⁠⁠exploreworldwide.com⁠⁠⁠IXL: Effective home learning for grades K-12! Visit ⁠⁠⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠⁠⁠ to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.

Warby Parker: Buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at ⁠⁠⁠WarbyParker.com/PLANS⁠⁠⁠.

PrepDish: Strategic and healthy meal planning right in your inbox. Check out ⁠⁠⁠PrepDish.com/plans⁠⁠⁠ for 2 weeks, free!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Current Daily Page Practices + Planning Tactics to Alleviate Anxiety EP 325 Oct 19, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, Sarah shares her current daily layout (you can see a photo on today's show notes - theshubox.com) in the MD Notebooks she is currently using (Jetpens: https://www.jetpens.com/MD-Notebook-A5-Lined/pd/13606; Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4ds8jQL) as well as the prompt she uses to help with scheduling.
Then, she discusses several planning tactics that help alleviate anxiety.
NOTES:
Sarah's annual planning course Best Laid Plans: Planning 2027 is open for registration at theshubox.com/courses
Planning By Season 2027 will release via newsletter in early November - you can subscribe for more info and initial access at theshubox.com/newsletter

OCTOBER SPONSORS

Boll & Branch: Amazingly comfortable bedding. Get 20% off your first order plus free shipping at ⁠⁠bollandbranch.com/plans⁠⁠ with code plans

Factor: Healthy meals with ultimate convenience. Visit ⁠⁠factormeals.com/plans50off⁠⁠ and use code plans50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026.

Quince: Beautifully made classic pieces for your fall wardrobe, and more. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.

Explore Worldwide: Explore Worldwide’s trips are crafted, planned and facilitated by real human experts who know all those hidden local gems. Check out all of the wonderful options at ⁠⁠exploreworldwide.com⁠⁠IXL: Effective home learning for grades K-12! Visit ⁠⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠⁠ to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.

Warby Parker: Buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at ⁠⁠WarbyParker.com/PLANS⁠⁠.

PrepDish: Strategic and healthy meal planning right in your inbox. Check out ⁠⁠PrepDish.com/plans⁠⁠ for 2 weeks, free!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seasonality, Periodicity + October Q&A EP 324 Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, Sarah starts off by sharing some answers to listener question! First comes a planning adjacent question around protein intake, as a listener wanted to know which planning tactics help for meeting nutritional goals. Then, Sarah discusses options for managing on-the-fly screenshots. Finally, a listener with a toddler asks for advice for this challenging era and Sarah shares her experiences and tips from that time!
Then, Sarah shifts gears and talks about the idea of seasonality or periodicity -the idea that we can't push hard all the time but instead need different levels of effort + rest within a day, week, month, season, and even year.
NOTES:
Course info: theshubox.com/courses -- registration OPEN for Planning 2027, and Planning By Season will be available for signup on 11/2 first via the newsletter.

OCTOBER SPONSORS

Boll & Branch: Amazingly comfortable bedding. Get 20% off your first order plus free shipping at ⁠bollandbranch.com/plans⁠ with code plans

Factor: Healthy meals with ultimate convenience. Visit ⁠factormeals.com/plans50off⁠ and use code plans50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026.

Quince: Beautifully made classic pieces for your fall wardrobe, and more. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.

Explore Worldwide: Explore Worldwide’s trips are crafted, planned and facilitated by real human experts who know all those hidden local gems. Check out all of the wonderful options at ⁠exploreworldwide.com⁠IXL: Effective home learning for grades K-12! Visit ⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠ to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.

Warby Parker: Buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at ⁠WarbyParker.com/PLANS⁠.

PrepDish: Strategic and healthy meal planning right in your inbox. Check out ⁠PrepDish.com/plans⁠ for 2 weeks, free!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top 10 Rules for Planning & Life Management EP 323 Oct 05, 2026

Show notes

Inspired by an episode of EMPowered Radio (https://macroswithem.com/pages/podcast) , Sarah is listing her top 10 Standard Operating Procedures or rules for planning and life management.

The summary:

Take your time to plan well, FIRST.
No task left behind / Airtight Task Management
Episode mentioned: https://theshubox.com/2026/02/blp-ep-288-your-guide-to-airtight-task-management.html
Planning goes in the planning container - once you have your list, you execute and focus on the task at hand
One source of truth!!!!
Control your inputs.
Planning doesn’t occur in a vacuum - have a communication plan
Lazy Genius Ep mentioned: https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/lazy/familymeetings
Use the tools that make you happy and fit your current life circumstances. Switch if you want, but you better have a really good reason.
Watch your energy and remember you are a human — even during the planning phases.
For the most part, TRY to remain faithful to your list. (goes hand in hand with making a realistic list!!!!)
Be willing to iterate - don’t let planning box you in too tightly!!!

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Course info including Best Laid Plans: 2027 registration (now also CME option available!) - visit theshubox.com/courses
Newsletter: theshubox.com/newsletter

OCTOBER SPONSORS

Boll & Branch: Amazingly comfortable bedding. Get 20% off your first order plus free shipping at bollandbranch.com/plans with code plans
Factor: Healthy meals with ultimate convenience. Visit factormeals.com/plans50off and use code plans50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026.
Quince: Beautifully made classic pieces for your fall wardrobe, and more. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.
Explore Worldwide: Explore Worldwide’s trips are crafted, planned and facilitated by real human experts who know all those hidden local gems. Check out all of the wonderful options at exploreworldwide.com
IXL: Effective home learning for grades K-12! Visit https://www.ixl.com/plans to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.
Warby Parker: Buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at WarbyParker.com/PLANS.
PrepDish: Strategic and healthy meal planning right in your inbox. Check out PrepDish.com/plans for 2 weeks, free!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Planner Shopping Tips + 2 Mini-Reviews -- Aura Estelle + Faded Chronicle EP 322 Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

It's a planner-packed episode today!
Sarah discusses:
- Planner buying season - mindset + shopping tips! For fun, Sarah's 2027 stack can be viewed at youtube.com/@bestlaidplansvideo
- Upcoming planning experiences, including Planning 2027 (registration opens 10/1, with details in the newsletter - theshubox.com/newsletter). Special bonus this year - participants also get the brand new Nested Goals workbook (pdf).
- Reviews of two fantastic Tomoe River Paper options:
1) Aura Estelle Magnet Planner (A5 vertical weekly - https://www.auraestelle.com/products/2027-weekly-vertical-magnet-planner?variant=48662624469224) - $54.95 (preorder)
2) Faded Chronicle (A5 Collective - https://fadedchronicle.com/products/preorder-the-2027-chronicle-planner-tn-all-in-one?_pos=1&_fid=ae647e958&_ss=c) - $59
If you'd like to be entered for a chance to win one of these, visit today's show notes at theshubox.com (winner drawn 9/30!).

OUR SPONSORS:

IXL: Make an impact on your child’s learning, get IXL now. Best Laid Plans with listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠⁠.

Factor: Head to ⁠⁠factormeals.com/plans⁠⁠ and use code plans50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026.

Boll & Branch: Upgrade your sleep with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at ⁠⁠BollAndBranch.com/plans⁠⁠ with code plans.

Quince: Find the fall pieces you’ll reach for most at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to ⁠⁠quince.com/plans⁠⁠

PrepDish: Make your menu planning so much easier! Try it free for 2 weeks by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠prepdish.com/plans⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mixed Bag Episode! Fall Life Update, Course Info, Weekend Ideas, and Planning FAQs EP 321 Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

In today's mixed bag episode, Sarah chats about:
- Current life update, 1 month into Quintile 4 (Back to School)
- Hobonichi drama with happy ending (eventual unboxing video will be at https://www.youtube.com/@BestLaidPlansVideo -- but likely not for a week or so!)
- Upcoming course offerings (including 2027!) - brief overview, with first 2027 courses launching in October. (Best place to stay up to date about offerings is the newsletter - theshubox.com/newsletter !)
- Great listener tips from M on weekend planning to balance intention + spontaneity (love his idea of last-minute performance tickets!)
- FAQs -- the 5 things I get asked most often, with overview responses! The questions:
1) Where should I capture this task? (Reference - Airtight Task Capture ep: https://theshubox.com/2026/02/blp-ep-288-your-guide-to-airtight-task-management.html)
2) I have a lot going on- which planner should I use?
3) What do I do if my partner resists planning?
4) What happens if the month and season start at the time time (or if the season starts just before the month, or vice versa?)
5) What do I do if my plans go up in flames every time I start my work day due to some emergency?

OUR SPONSORS:

Factor: Head to ⁠⁠factormeals.com/plans⁠⁠ and use code plans50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026.

Boll & Branch: Upgrade your sleep with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at ⁠⁠BollAndBranch.com/plans⁠⁠ with code plans.

Quince: Find the fall pieces you’ll reach for most at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to ⁠⁠quince.com/plans⁠⁠

PrepDish: Make your menu planning so much easier! Try it free for 2 weeks by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠prepdish.com/plans⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Planning Big Projects + Making Room for Fun with Gemma Hartley EP 320 Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

In today's episode, Sarah interviews author and mother of 3 Gemma Hartley about her planning system, with a focus on the tools Gemma uses to plan (and enjoy life!) while she tackles bit projects like writing a book.
Mentioned on the podcast:
Standard Issue planner: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/2026-2027-black-standard-issue-weekly-desk-planner-designworks-ink/1148365276
Google Tasks
Notion
Courses page: theshubox.com/courses (find info on the free time management for heathcare providers webinar here!)
Sarah's newsletter: theshubox.com/newsletter

OUR SPONSORS:

IXL: Make an impact on your child’s learning, get IXL now. Best Laid Plans with listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠.

Factor: Head to ⁠factormeals.com/plans⁠ and use code plans50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026.

Boll & Branch: Upgrade your sleep with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at ⁠BollAndBranch.com/plans⁠ with code plans.

Quince: Find the fall pieces you’ll reach for most at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to ⁠quince.com/plans⁠

PrepDish: Make your menu planning so much easier! Try it free for 2 weeks by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠prepdish.com/plans⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Routines Deep Dive + Weekend Planning Challenges EP 319 Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

Today's episode is all about routines! First, Sarah addresses a listener question around weekend planning - how to avoid feeling like the time was wasted without locking yourself in to too many scheduled activities?
Then, Sarah talks all about ROUTINES -- why they deserve attention, and a wide variety of routines you might not have thought about (from your "getting ready" routine to your shutdown ritual!).

Note of a FREE 2-session seminar on time management for healthcare providers (Sarah is cohosting along with two Johns Hopkins physicians) - get the signup link on today's show notes post at theshubox.com.

OUR SPONSORS:
IXL: Make an impact on your child’s learning, get IXL now. Best Laid Plans with listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at https://www.ixl.com/plans.
Factor: Head to factormeals.com/plans and use code plans50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026.

Boll & Branch: Upgrade your sleep with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/plans with code plans.

Quince: Find the fall pieces you’ll reach for most at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com/plans

PrepDish: Make your menu planning so much easier! Try it free for 2 weeks by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠prepdish.com/plans

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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