Note: As mentioned early in the episode, the official BLP at Home 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!
In today’s episode, I answer accumulated questions from 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!)
- Ways to structure/plan out a period of lighter work (sabbatical of sorts – which sounds amazing!)
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4 Comments
This ep really resonates with me. A few weeks ago I decided to make the switch from a paper based task capture system to digital (using Microsoft 365 products) AND I’ve been trying to figure out which of those products would work best for my situation. {MS has what feels like eleventy-billion products, some of which do the same things, many of which are clearly inspired by a different company’s app but have 60-80% of the other app’s functionality}.
The listener who is currently using LD/FF mentioned using Outlook for a calendar – if so, if that MS Outlook? You might look to see if you have access to “Planner” – it’s a Microsoft 365 app. The “basic” version is free with the 365 license (things like GANTT charts are part of the “premium” ie upcharge license). Planner can be used to map out project plans, and you can either choose to share that “plan” with others if you’re working in a group setting, or not share it if it’s your own work.
If there are others in the BLP community who are struggling to figure out how to use the tools in M365 (TODO, Planner, Loop, Lists), I would love to connect with you. I’m only getting so far by watching YouTube videos and reddit threads. Things I’m currently struggling with:
* I started out using TODO to track both my own tasks and tasks delegated to others. Then added Planner. Planner pulled in the TODO items – and I’m not entirely sure where to draw the line between the two apps.
* Loop – this is a really interesting shared workspace – but can also be used as a personal workspace. I’m not sure if I want to abandon OneNote and move 100% to Loop or use both apps. (Loop is MS’s answer to Notion).
Drop a note below if you’re interested in connecting?
Ooh Amy – I might want to have you chat about these tools as a guest sometime if you are up for it! And I’ll be happy to share on the pod that you’re looking for fellow Microsoft productivity app aficionados!
Hi Sarah – both of those sound great. AND I need to figure out how to make them work for me first. It’s very much a work in progress!
For the listener looking for a “messy” daily planning medium – a more structured option than a blank notebook might be an undated daily planner pad.
I use an Erin Condren weekly, but when I have a busy day or my lists start to look too messy I set up daily pages. I use generic notebooks (can be very cheap, e.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGHYSTNM, or nicer ones from a bookstore). Since they’re undated, I don’t feel bad about skipping days, or even using two in a day if I need yet another fresh start. They typically have a schedule on one side and a to-do list on the other, and maybe space to write meals or notes for the next day. I love having a blank sheet at the beginning of a busy day – and I also love getting to rip the sheet out and start over when I’m done.