Best Laid Plans Podcast

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!

Subscribe and Listen:
Apple PodcastStitcherRSS


LINKS TO ALL SHOW NOTES: Newest to Oldest

2024 Episodes

Episode 217: September Q&A – Quintiles Idea, Annual Planning, Family Communication Tools, Extra-long Term Goals, and Studying for a Big Test (MCAT)

Episode 216: The Plan (and Planning) with Kendra Adachi

Episode 215: Mixed Bag: Planner Peace, Planner News, and Dealing with Stressful / Uncertain Times

Episode 214: How to Build More Intentionality Into Your Life

Episode 213: August Q&A: Inbox Zero, Big Projects, Working Speed, Mindfulness, and More!

Episode 212: Mixed Bag: PTO Tracking, Post-Vacation Analysis + 2025 Planner Preview (Hobonichi + More)

Episode 211: Episode 211: Quintile 4 + Q&A Deep Dive: Sticking to Your Plan

Episode 210: You Only Die Once: Mortality, Planning, and So Much More with Jodi Wellman

Episode 209: Best Laid Plans Academy 2024

Episode 208: July Q&A — Planner Peace x 2, Task Management on Paper, Notetaking + More

Episode 207: Goal Setting and Dream Building with Sierra Friend from MakseLife

Episode 206: Summer Reading: Reading Habits, TBR Lists, Paper vs Digital, and Favorites of 2024 (so far!)

Episode 205: July 1 is the new Jan 1? Happy Midyear Planning!

Episode 204: Thoughts on Time Block Planning

Episode 203: June Q + A: Working in Distracting Environments, Budget Planning, Mental Health and More

Episode 202: Summer Planning Ideas + Inspiration

Episode 201: Planning-Adjacent: A Marathon Journey

Episode 200: May Q&A: Margins, Travel, Laurel Denise Planners, and Avoiding That “Am I Missing Something?” Feeling

Episode 199: Top 5 Things (Birthday Ep!)

Episode 198: Using ClickUp to Organize it All with Jade Boyd

Episode 197: Those Projects That Won’t Go Away

Episode 196: Decor, Cozy Minimalism and Creating a Functional Home with Myquillyn Smith

Episode 195: Spring Planner Releases: NOLTY, Simplified, Erin Condren

Episode 194: Planner Peace: Hybrid System and the Remarkable2 with Erin Peth

Episode 193: April Q&A + Listener Tips: ADHD/Time-Blindness Tool, Repurposing Planners, 5-Year Journals, Life-Planning Workbooks + More!

Episode 192: Travel Thoughts & Tips

Episode 191: Spring Planner Reviews from Small & Emerging Planner Brands

Episode 190: The Ideal Week

Episode 189: Diving Into Quintile #2!

Episode 188: March Q&A: Planning in Career Transitions, Morning Planning, and Organizing Tasks Around a Big Life Shift

Ep 187: Planner Chat with Amanda’s Favorites

Ep 186: Listener-Request: Handling the Minutiae

Ep 185: Thoughts on Resting Well

Ep 184: February Q&A: Busyness, Checklists, and More

Ep 183: All-Digital Planning + Life Systems with Kae

Ep 182: Nested Goals Explained

Ep 181: January Q&A: Task Management, Project Management for Home Tasks, Negative Goals, and Building a Seasonal Reference Planner

Ep 180: Enjoying Media (the Non-Social Kind)

Ep 179: 2024 Goals!

2023 Episodes

Ep 178: 2023 Favorite + Goals Recap

Ep 177: Annual Goal Setting

Ep 176: December Q&A: Capture Overload, Work Goals Motivation, Goals List Organization, Post-Baby Planning, Hobonichi Setup Tips + More

Ep 175: Planning by Season + 2024 Planner Stack

Ep 174: Lessons form Digital Detox 2.0 and Seasonal Planning Sessions

Ep 173: Meal Planning & More with Meghan Splawn of Didn’t I Just Feed You

Ep 172: November Q&A – Fitness Goals, Planning Ahead, Goal-setting Planners + More

Ep 171: The FAQ Episode

Ep 170: (RE-AIR): How Sarah Organizes Her Life

Ep 169: Fall 2024 Planner Reviews x 3! Passionate Penny Pincher, Pen & Pillar, Sprouted (Hourly)

Ep 168: Inputs, Interruptions & Reactivity

Ep 167: October Q&A: Matchmaking, Planning Retreats, Monthly Planning Timing, Switching Planners, and Bag Talk

Ep 166: Overwhelm + Introducing Planning 2024 at Home

Ep 165: Fall Reviews: Cal Newport’s Time Block Planner 2.0 + Archer & Olive

Ep 164: September Q&A: Pregnancy Planners, Daily Planners + More + Listener Responses

Ep 163: Teachers + Planning!

Ep 162: Planning-Adjacent: Tips to Tame Work Stress

Ep 161: Hobonichi Release, Hobonichi-Inspired Options, and Fall 2023 Best Laid Plans Academy

Ep 160: Planning x Crafts with Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life

Ep 159: Thinking Through Quintile 4: Back to School Season

Ep 158: August Q&A: Planning in Challenging Life Phases, Planner Rec for 2 Teen Boys, Big Weekly Planners, Dangling Task Management, Planner-Shy, and More!

Ep 157: Lisa Woodruff Interviews Me for her Back to School Blitz!

Ep 156: Daily Disciplines + Giveaway Time!

Ep 155: Current Adventures in Decluttering + Organizing

Ep 154: July Q&A – longer term goals, paper 101, planner matchmaking, and more

Ep 153: Exploring Franklin-Covey with Stacy Mellem

Ep 152: Adventures in Disc-Bound Planning with Inkwell Press

Ep 151: Summer Follow Up, Mark’s Log Book, and Photos & Memories Revisited

Ep 150: Life Updates: The Good, The Bad, and the Planners

Ep 149: June Q+A: Tracking Health Details, Photo & Memory Organization, Planners for Kids, and Planning on the Fly

Ep 148: Summer Planning, Digital Detox, and More

Ep 147: Habits, Intention, and Overcoming Perfectionism with Monica Packer

Ep 146: Reviews: Erin Condren + Productivity Planner

Ep 145: Efficiency Tips for Health Care Providers

Ep 144: Q&A: Custom systems, Planning/Productivity Gender Divide + More

Ep 143: Heart to Heart Screen Time Talk

Ep 142: Mini Q&A (sleep, cycles) + Mini Review (EC Petite Meal Planning Book, Flame Tree Notebooks, Karst Stone Paper)

Ep 141: Travel Notes from the Road

Ep 140: How to Think About Big Projects

Ep 139: Ask Me Anything!

Ep 138: Your Budget Meets Organization with Allison Baggerly

Ep 137: ALL the Pens

Ep 136: Mixed Bag Ep!

Ep 135: Planning Your Passions

Ep 134: Feb Q&A: Planning Gender Divide, Password Management, Planning in Pregnancy, and Overwhelm with Annual Goals

Ep 133: Coping During Stressful Times, Monthly Goal Planner, and Best Laid Plans Academy Details

Ep 132: Planning with 17-year-old Superstar, Aashna Shah

Ep 131: Two Weekly Options: Haroo Planner + Roterunner Purpose Planner

Ep 130: Sick Day Notes + Tips

Ep 129: Q&A: Meeting Notes, Irregular Schedules, Erasable Pens, Tracking Ongoing Tasks + Planner Peace Gold

Ep 128: Ryder Carroll, Bullet Journal Creator

Ep 127: Fun + Fresh Start to 2023

2022 Episodes

Ep 126: Last 2022 Q&A & Listener Tips! Planning with a new baby, Fitness planners, On the fly capture, and More

Ep 125: Finite Lives and Infinite Goals with Oliver Burkeman

Ep 124: Planner Stack 2023!

Ep 123: 4 Mini Planner Reviews

Ep 122: Q&A + DIY Monthly Goal Planner

Ep 121: Planner-Aligned: Tranquility by Tuesday with Laura Vanderkam

Ep 120: Planning & Fitness with Allison Sizemore

Ep 119: Live from our Couples Planning Retreat: Joshua Unger

Ep 118: Top 10 Rules for Life!

Ep 117: Planner Peace, Tentative Events, PlannerBase, Personal Updates & More

Ep 116: Meal Planning with Nakita Vassallo of The Mama Manual

Ep 115: Planner News & Listener Q&A

Ep 114: Getting Things Done Deep Dive

Ep 113: Planning for the Inevitable with Kristen Meinzer

Ep 112: Nolki, Hobonichi, Cultivate + Planner Profile with Kate Hanley

Ep 111: Q&A: Thinking About the Holidays, Habit Tracking, Collecting Memories Long Term, and 2 Planner Matchups

Ep 110: How Sarah Organizes Her Life

Ep 109: 2023 Hobonichi Deep Dive

Ep 108: Back to School, Scrolling Habits, Planner Matchups & Apple Notes

Ep 107: Digital Planning with Time Management Expert Kelly Nolan

Ep 106: Reading Life & Reading Journals

Ep 105: Planner Chat with Bloom Creator Michelle Askin

Ep 104: COVID ReAir: Getting Through Tough Times

Ep 103: Listener Tip, A Planner Hub, and Current Stack

Ep 102: Digital Planner Peace & Mid-Year Review

Ep 101: Listener Advice & Mini-Review: The Plan by Lauren Truslow

Ep 100: Ask Me Anything!

Ep 99: Intentional Practices for Tough Times

Ep 98: Email Etc!

Ep 97: Digital Planner Peace, Work Notebooks, and Vacation Planning & Packing

Ep 96: Planner Peace with Agendio + EC Daily Duo A5 Review

Ep 95: Q&A – Current Planner Lineup, Fixing Mistakes, Ring-Bound Options, Planner Anxiety

Ep 94: Planning Your Summer!

Ep 93: Planning for Stress Relief + Hemlock & Oak Review

Ep 92: Planning Your Style with Lani Inlander

Ep 91: Q&A – Dividing Household Labor, Hobby Calendar Recs, Planner for Part Time, and More!

Ep 90: When Life Gets Messy: How to Dig Yourself Out

Ep 89: Planner Peace & New Releases (EC, Simplified)

Ep 88: Tracking Things: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Ep 87: Q&A Inamio Review

Ep 86: Nir Eyal: Planning to Avoid Distractions and Live with Intention

Ep 85: Q&A – Digital Planning, Unstructured Days, and a MakseLife Review

Ep 84: Dr Christine Koh: Thoughtful and Gentle Planning

Ep 83: Notebook Deep Dive

Ep 82: Favorite Planning-Adjacent Podcasts + Retail Therapy

Ep 81: Planning in Challenging Times

Ep 80: Budget-Friendly Planners, Planning with Confidential Info, & More

Ep 79: Q&A + ProAction Planner Review

Ep 78: Planning Your Passions with Laura Tremaine

Ep 77: Planner Confessions, Imperfections & What is Working

Ep 76: Q&A: Listener Recs, Planning with a Partner, Planner Storage, and a Planner for Night Work

Ep 75: Some Thoughts on Yearly Goal Setting

2021 Episodes

Ep 74: 2022 Planner Stack!

Ep 73: Two Journals for Cozy Reflection Time: JMB Living + Oprah The Life You Want

Ep 72: Wellness Planning in the Hobonichi, Q&A on Kids Planners, and Listener Finds

Ep 71: Trello, Passion Planner + More! Planning Chat with Anandi Raman Creath

Ep 70: Q&A: Wellness Planning, Tracking Multiple Kids, Holiday Ideas, Moving, + More

Ep 69: Instagram + Social Media: Real Thoughts

Ep 68: Two Newer Planner Options: Sprouted + Curation Planner Reviews

Ep 67: Reflection Season, Planner Pad Review, and an Etsy Find

Ep 66: All About Planning Retreats

Ep 65: Starting Her Own Planner Shop with Karina from Honeypress!

Ep 64: Fall Product Drop Notes + Q&A

Ep 63: Finding Planner Peace with Sarah Powers + Todoist

Ep 62: BLP x Gretchen Rubin

Ep 61: Work Planning + Full Focus Mini-Review

Ep 60: Planner Matchups + Ink + Volt

Ep 59: KitLife and Page Productivity Planner, plus some Q&A

Ep 58: All About Hobonichi

Ep 57: Planner Matchmaking, Gratitude Journaling, and Combining Work & Life into One System

Ep 56: Planner Peace, Post-Vac Strategies, and More!

Ep 55: Best Laid Plans x Amanda’s Favorites

Ep 54: Back to School Extravaganza!

Ep 53: Welcome Back + &Studium Daily Planner Review

Ep 49-52: Re-airing of prior episodes during July Hiatus!

Ep 48: Ask Me Anything!

Ep 46: Midyear Goals Check-In

Ep 45: Planner Matchmaking with Laura Vanderkam

Ep 44: Planning Your Summer!

Ep 43: Interview Ep: Elise Cripe from the Get to Work Book!

Ep 42: Q&A: Less feminine planners, long-range planning, planning in residency, and more!

Ep 41: From Essentialism to Effortless with Greg McKeown

Ep 40: Routines and More with Ashley Brown of Routine & Things!

Ep 39: Midyear Planner Switch & Review of Softbound Erin Condren Life Planner

Ep 38: Q&A: Storing Miscellaneous Info, Urgent vs Important, and Planner Shopping Online

Ep 37: Digital Organizing & More with Kelsey Wharton

Ep 36: Planning Your Year in Quarters or Quintiles

Ep 35: Spring Reviews: Day Designer, Villa BeauTIFFul, and a Photo Sticker Printer

Ep 34: More Q&A! Mental load, time blocking, weekend/vacation planning, and more!

Ep 33: Organizing Your Home, Your Paper, and Your Life with Lisa Woodruff from Organize 365!

Ep 32: Planning Your Financial Life

Ep 31: Plan with Laken!

Ep 30: MakseLife Quarterly Notebook Review + Q/A

Ep 29: Planning & Anticipation in Pandemic Times

Ep 28: Daily Planning, Routines, and Crowding Out Bad Habits

Ep 27: Layered Living Planner: Goal-setting, self-care, and more

Ep 26: Q&A: Work tasks, Meal Planning, Maternity Leave & More

Ep 25: BLP x Planners & Wine Planner Chat

Ep 24: 2021 Systems!

2020 episodes

Ep 23: Year End Q&A

Ep 22: Spaces Planner

Ep 21: End of Year Goal Setting (even in 2020!)

Ep 20: Dot Journaling and More with Guest Rachel W. Miller

Ep 19: Rest

Ep 18: Time Block Planning & More with Cal Newport

Ep 17: Technique Spotlight: Monthly Review

Ep 16: Wonderland 222 Review

Ep 15: Planner Reviews: myWeek and Cultivate What Matters

Ep 14: Q&A Episode #3

Ep 13: Planning with Inserts, Rings, and Discs with Guest Imani Michelle

Ep 12: Reviews – Amplify & Papier

Ep 11: Habit Change Deep Dive with Focus on Screen Time

Ep 10: Q&A Episode + A Fun Cameo.

Ep 9: Favorite Planning Inspiration: Books & Podcasts. Plus, some fall release discussion!

Ep 8: Tatiana from The Stationery Muse

Ep 7: Live Rich Planner & Jibun Techo Biz (B6)

Ep 6: Getting Started with Planning. How would you build a system from the ground up?

Ep 5: All Q&A Episode! Planning rituals, to do capture & more!

Ep 4: Rocketbook, Kanban & More with Beth Cubbage

Ep 3: Hobonichi Techo Cousin – Current System

Ep 2: Weekly Review

Ep 1: Debut

SUBMIT AN AUDIO QUESTION

MUSIC/THEME CREDIT

All show music is by Rushmore Beekeepers with additional production by Greene Means Go

FAVORITE PLANNING TOOLS

For some favorite product links, check out the Planning Posts & Tools Page!

Leave a review

If you want to make my day, find the apple podcasts review page here!