Best Laid Plans
by Sarah Hart-Unger
Latest episode
Planning Tactics & Rituals: What Worked and What Didn't in 2026 EP 328
Planning Tactics & Rituals: What Worked and What Didn't in 2026 EP 328
About this podcast
Welcome to 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!
Episodes
The newest 50 of 328 episodes
- Planning Tactics & Rituals: What Worked and What Didn't in 2026 EP 328 · 26 min · Season 4 Episode 328In 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…
- Q5 Planning Party with the Happier Ladies! EP 327 · 45 min · Season 4 Episode 327Today'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…
- October Q&A: Monthly Planners, Avoiding "Overplanning", Screenshot Follow Ups + More! EP 326 · 22 min · Season 4 Episode 326In 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'…
- Current Daily Page Practices + Planning Tactics to Alleviate Anxiety EP 325 · 24 min · Season 4 Episode 325In 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…
- Seasonality, Periodicity + October Q&A EP 324 · 27 min · Season 4 Episode 324In 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…
- Top 10 Rules for Planning & Life Management EP 323 · 26 min · Season 4 Episode 323Inspired 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…
- Planner Shopping Tips + 2 Mini-Reviews -- Aura Estelle + Faded Chronicle EP 322 · 30 min · Season 4 Episode 322It's a planner-packed episode today!Sarah discusses:- Planner buying season - mindset + shopping tips! For fun, Sarah's 2027 stack can be viewed at…
- Mixed Bag Episode! Fall Life Update, Course Info, Weekend Ideas, and Planning FAQs EP 321 · 28 min · Season 4 Episode 321In 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…
- Planning Big Projects + Making Room for Fun with Gemma Hartley EP 320 · 35 min · Season 4 Episode 320In 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…
- Routines Deep Dive + Weekend Planning Challenges EP 319 · 21 min · Season 4 Episode 319Today'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…
- Why Autopilot Doesn't Work + 5 Things Sarah is Loving Now EP 318 · 21 min · Season 4 Episode 318In this episode, Sarah discusses why autopilot (or always choosing the default, easiest choices) doesn't work. She starts with the example of health, and then compares the…
- Reasons to Plan Seasonally + Goal Planners (Farewell to PowerSheets + Amplify!) EP 317 · 21 min · Season 4 Episode 317In today's episode, Sarah shares some of the ways in which she benefitted from her own seasonal planning session, and then she pivots to a discussion of goal planners- what's out…
- 8 Back-to-School Planning Tactics and All About Quintile 4 EP 316 · 23 min · Season 4 Episode 316In today's episode, Sarah confesses to her recent planner switchup, and then shares her love for Quintile 4, her "throwback" fall favorites, and 8 planning tactics for the back…
- August Q&A: Digital Task Management, Uncluttered Phone Screens, Planner Perfectionism + More! EP 315 · 21 min · Season 4 Episode 315In today's episode, Sarah addresses listener questions sent for the month of August!Topics include:- Her current work schedule- Digital task management adventures thus far, plus…
- Reading + Focus Training Plans EP 314 · 21 min · Season 4 Episode 314In today's episode, Sarah opens with a planner peace vignette from Olga, who describes her various methods for planning in fun!Then, she discusses the topic of reading and focus…
- Goals in Real Life: Mid-Year Chat with a Friend EP 313 · 31 min · Season 4 Episode 313In today's episode, Sarah does a midyear goal setting chat with her friend Kae! They answer a series of questions together to troubleshoot and check in with how the year is going…
- The Case for Planning Fun EP 312 · 23 min · Season 4 Episode 312Some people feel like planning in fun takes away . . . well, some of the fun! Sarah counters some of the common arguments for planning in fun, and offers suggestions for adding…
- July Q&A: Seasonal Slumps, Editing Your "To Read" List, Planning in New Motherhood, and More EP 311 · 20 min · Season 4 Episode 311In today's episode, Sarah tackles questions sent during the month of July. Topics:- How did you help your kids through the disappointment of cancelled plans (in reference to the…
- When Your Best Laid Plans Fall Through . . . EP 310 · 17 min · Season 4 Episode 310Very personal episode today! Sarah shares her own recent experiences dealing with a recent disappointment -- zero regrets about making the plans, but definitely some sadness…
- Climbing Out of a Hard Phase with Lisa Woodruff EP 309 · 25 min · Season 4 Episode 309Lisa Woodruff is the founder of Organize 365 and author of multiple books, most recently Escaping Quicksand. Sarah always loves her ideas about planning and time, and in today's…
- 5 Lessons from Time Tracking That Aren't What You'd Think EP 308 · 21 min · Season 4 Episode 308Sarah tracked her time for over 2 weeks (something she has struggled with in the past). What were her conclusions? Did she find 10 hours of free time that she didn't know she…
- Midyear Planner Stack Report (Techo Kaigi!) - Video Available! EP 307 · 23 min · Season 4 Episode 307Today's episode is a podcast with optional video! Sarah goes through a detailed midyear status report on her 2026 Planner Stack, sharing the analog notebooks and planners she…
- June Q&A: Mostly Analog Planner Peace, Small Task Overwhelm, Family Source of Truth, and More! EP 306 · 19 min · Season 4 Episode 306In today's episode, Sarah answers listener questions! Topics included are:- A wonderful planner peace submission from a recent retiree looking to keep meaning and structure in…
- Need a Summer Fresh Start? Taja Fitness Planner + The Dailee EP 305 · 28 min · Season 4 Episode 305In today's episode, Sarah reviews two planners for listeners looking for some fresh start energy this summer!First is the Taja…
- Plan Your Summer with Me! EP 304 · 23 min · Season 4 Episode 304In today's episode, Sarah shares step-by-step how she thinks through planning her summer (including her real-life plans and goals for this summer!). You can use this episode as…
- More Planning x Money Talk + Sarah's Current Thoughts on AI EP 303 · 29 min · Season 4 Episode 303In today's episode, Sarah shares some follow up listener comments to the prior discussion about the intersection between spending (or saving!) and planning, and then she delves…
- May Q&A: New Fave Pen, Does Planning Help Save Money? and More EP 302 · 21 min · Season 4 Episode 302In today's episode, Sarah provides a few life updates and then shares a wonderful planning tip from a listener.Then, topics discussed include:- Does planning help to save money?…
- The Intersection of Time Management x Planning with Laura Vanderkam EP 301 · 27 min · Season 4 Episode 301Today, author and Sarah's good friend Laura Vanderkam joins Sarah on the show to talk about ways -- planning and planning-adjacent! -- that we can manage our time so that it…
- Gratitude Episode: Thank You for 300! EP 300 · 21 min · Season 4 Episode 300In today's episode, Sarah expresses gratitude to listeners for helping BLP reach the milestone of 300, and then shares two gratitude-themed lists.The first is 5 planning or…
- Can AI Help You Plan Your Life? A Real-Life Experiment with Emilie Schario EP 299 · 41 min · Season 4 Episode 299Emilie Schario is a mother of 3 (5 & under!) and an AI expert in the tech space, as VP of engineering at Kilo Code. She's also a BLPA alumnus who still loves to plan on paper!…
- April Q&A: Planning vs Execution, Delegating Tasks, and Spring Planner Releases EP 298 · 23 min · Season 4 Episode 298In today's ep, Sarah answers questions for the month of April! Topics include: Why no planner reviews lately + notes on spring releases Tips for reminding others of tasks you…
- Sarah's Planner Peace: 10 Tactics Working Well in 2026 EP 297 · 28 min · Season 4 Episode 297In today's episode, Sarah answers a question about Disney planning and then delves into her own current planner peace, with 10 tactics working really well for her in 2026!You can…
- Your Busy Season Survival Guide EP 296 · 25 min · Season 4 Episode 296In today's episode, Sarah shares 10 tips for getting through a particularly full season of life, inspired by a very travel-heavy spring schedule coming up for her.Interested in…
- Where To START, and Planning to Revolutionize Your Social Life EP 295 · 36 min · Season 4 Episode 295In today's episode, Sarah answers a question from Nate (who heard Sarah on Cal Newport's Deep Questions Podcast), who asked where it makes sense to START in terms of implementing…
- Let's Plan the Week Together! EP 294 · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 294In today's episode, Sarah plans her week on-air! Well, it's a bit of a reenactment (mostly because she needed a quiet house to record), but she goes through all the steps and…
- Decluttering with Dana K White (Plus An Update from Sarah!) EP 293 · 30 min · Season 4 Episode 293Dana K. White is a decluttering expert -- NOT an organizing expert! She shares her mess-free 5-step method in today's podcast, with advice for those who struggle to get started…
- March Q&A: Planning Your Planning (!), Nested Goals at Work, Email Integration Solutions, and More EP 292 · 26 min · Season 4 Episode 292Welcome to the March Q&A episode!Topics discussed include:- Do Nested Goals work in the work setting, and if so, would you do the planning for both at the same time, or separate…
- Planner Peace: Logistics + More in a Family of 8 EP 291 · 25 min · Season 4 Episode 291Jessica lives in California with her husband and is a mother of 6! In today's episode, she shares her own detailed planned peace, discussing how she keeps things organized in…
- Tracking All The Things: How Much is Too Much? EP 290 · 24 min · Season 4 Episode 290In the first part of this episode, Sarah shares some listener follow up to the Task Management episode from 2 weeks ago, including use of Apple Reminders voice entry feature, a…
- We Can Do This: A February Pep Talk EP 289 · 22 min · Season 4 Episode 289This can be a HARD time of year for many! In today's episode, Sarah shares her own February struggles and provides a pep talk for all of us who might be stuck in winter doldrums…
- Your Guide to Airtight Task Management EP 288 · 23 min · Season 4 Episode 288Sarah opens up with a little update on how 2026 is going so far (as we head into February!), and then dedicates the rest of today's episode to airtight task management! She talks…
- Analog Is Trending! EP 287 · 24 min · Season 4 Episode 287Analog is definitely trending, and Sarah is here for it! In today's episode, she discusses the trend, her take on choosing analog when possible, and the unexpected effects on the…
- Planning Your 2026 Fitness Goals EP 286 · 33 min · Season 4 Episode 286In today's episode, Sarah chats about the evolution of her own fitness goals and interviews Meg Olander, personal trainer and certified group fitness coach. Meg has years of…
- Sextiles, Morning Pages, Goals Lists and More: Listener Tips & Q&A EP 285 · 27 min · Season 4 Episode 285In today's episode, Sarah shares listener tips and answers questions!Topics & references include:- Stationery Store Spotlight: Wonder Fair in Lawrence, KS- Alyce's alternative to…
- Welcome to 2026! Top 10 Tips for Making The Most of Your Annual Goal Setting EP 284 · 23 min · Season 4 Episode 284In today's episode, Sarah welcomes listeners to 2026 and shares 10 tips for making the most of your annual goal setting efforts! Link to mentioned episode on Nested…
- Sharing 2026 Goals + A Few Q&A! EP 283 · 25 min · Season 4 Episode 283In today's episode, Sarah shares her own 2026 goals list, set in 5 domains (Self, Relationships, Family/Home, Work, and Fun)! She goes into detail about each of the items on her…
- Systems Switchups for 2026 + Sarah Dissects a Big Gnarly Goal EP 282 · 24 min · Season 4 Episode 282In the first half of this episode, Sarah talks METAPLANNING - intentional dissection of one's systems and planning tactics. Then she shares some of her own potential systems…
- December Q&A: Sarah's Morning Routine + Using the Planner You Have, Plus Listener Tips EP 281 · 22 min · Season 4 Episode 281In today's episode, Sarah shares a listener tip, a store spotlight, and some great Q&A centered around morning routines and actually USING one's planner on a daily basis!Keep…
- Another Innovative Planning Technique: Monthly Workflows with Ronna EP 280 · 23 min · Season 4 Episode 280In today's episode, Sarah opens by reminding listeners of her upcoming book launch (T-8 days and counting - you can still get the preorder bonuses by visiting…
- Planner Stack 2026: Audio AND Video! EP 279 · 21 min · Season 4 Episode 279In today's episode, Sarah goes through the physical tools she used in 2025 and shares her 2026 Planner Stack!This episode has a video component if you'd like to see the planners…
