Best Laid Plans

Today'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 uses regularly.
Items mentioned:

Midori Hibino 2026
Hobonichi 5-Year Journal
Ashley Shelly Monthly (Amanda's Favorites Collab)
Hobonichi Weeks
Hobonichi Cousin A5
Hobonichi Day-Free A5 (monthly pages then plank)
Want more video? Let Sarah know what you'd like to see visually in future episodes!
Episode Sponsors:

IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at https://www.ixl.com/plans.
Green Chef: Healthy and convenient meal kits and more! Visit greenchef.com/50bestlaid and use code 50bestlaid to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for 2 months.

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

In 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 her life
- A listener looking for help with "small task overwhelm" and a million open tabs
- Routine tracking ideas
- Family calendar source of truth + tools/ideas for getting a partner on board

Sponsors:

IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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

Green Chef: Healthy and convenient meal kits and more! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠greenchef.com/50bestlaid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code 50bestlaid to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for 2 months.

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

In today's episode, Sarah reviews two planners for listeners looking for some fresh start energy this summer!
First is the Taja: https://www.tajaacademic.com/product/fitness-workout-journal-for-women-men-a55-5-x-8-5-workout-log-book-planner-for-tracking-progress-and-achieving-your-wellness-goals-lavenderc-blue/ or https://amzn.to/4nRysfV (Amazon affiliate link)
This A5 sized undated planner has a ton of features and space for up to 20 weeks of fitness tracking - for under $10!
Then comes a review of the Dailee 2026-27 Mom Planner (though it could be for anyone in charge of family logistics). This planner is $55 and has over 500 pages (!) of content, from cleaning checklists to packing lists and more.
https://the-dailee.com/products/2026-2027-mom-planner
Send Sarah ideas for what to review next, and visit the show notes page at theshubox.com to view photos + enter the giveaway!

Sponsors:

IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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

Green Chef: Healthy and convenient meal kits and more! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠greenchef.com/50bestlaid⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code 50bestlaid to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for 2 months.

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

In 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 your own summer planning guide by pausing it and answering the question for yourself!
Looking for more episodes like this?
Plan the Week Together: https://theshubox.com/2026/03/ep-294-lets-plan-the-week-together.html
Empty Your Inbox With Me: https://theshubox.com/2025/11/ep-278-empty-your-inbox-with-me-and-hemlock-oak-daily-weekly-monthly-planner-review.html

Sponsors:

IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠⁠⁠.

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

Green Chef: Healthy and convenient meal kits and more! Visit ⁠⁠⁠greenchef.com/50bestlaid⁠⁠⁠ and use code 50bestlaid to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for 2 months.

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

In 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 into a (somewhat raw!) discussion of her feelings around AI, starting with a historical example -- her 2010s thoughts on the emerging iPhone!
Feel free to share your thoughts on technology (sarah hart unger at gmail, or leave a comment in the show notes!).
Blog mentioned in the first section: https://optimisticmusings.com

Sponsors:

IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠⁠.

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

Green Chef: Healthy and convenient meal kits and more! Visit ⁠⁠greenchef.com/50bestlaid⁠⁠ and use code 50bestlaid to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for 2 months.

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

In 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?
- How do you avoid rewriting daily lists when things don't get done?
- What are some analog ways to track workouts?
- Ideas for using monthly spreads of paper planners if you don't feel the need for an extra calendar
- New pen in town: The Pilot Juice+

Link to task management ep mentioned:
https://theshubox.com/2026/02/blp-ep-288-your-guide-to-airtight-task-management.html

Sponsors:

IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠.

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

Green Chef: Healthy and convenient meal kits and more! Visit ⁠greenchef.com/50bestlaid⁠ and use code 50bestlaid to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for 2 months.

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

Today, 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 feels expansive and worthwhile. Sarah and Laura chat tracking (time + otherwise), tackling big project little by little, the challenge of "golden hours", and much more.
Find Laura's book, Big Time: A Simple Path to Time Abundance, out this week wherever books are sold.

Sponsors:
IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at https://www.ixl.com/plans.
PrepDish: Make your menu planning so much easier! Try it free for 2 weeks by visiting prepdish.com/plans
Green Chef: Healthy and convenient meal kits and more! Visit greenchef.com/50bestlaid and use code 50bestlaid to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for 2 months.

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

In 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 planning-adjacent things (or people) she is incredibly grateful for, in terms of inspiration and ideas for the podcast they've provided over the years. The second is the top 5 things Sarah is grateful planning has done for her!
Please celebrate with Sarah by leaving a review if you can!
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/best-laid-plans/id1525311647
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3GPjMOr1PxYfZCSLbS6sZ3
Keep the questions + suggestions coming - email Sarah at sarah.hart.unger at gmail!

OUR SPONSORS:

IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠⁠⁠

Mint Mobile: Shop affordable cell phone plans at ⁠⁠⁠mintmobile.com/BLP⁠⁠⁠

Green Chef: Healthy eating made easy. Visit ⁠⁠⁠greenchef.com/50bestlaid ⁠⁠⁠and use code 50bestlaid to get 50% your first month, then 20% off for two months.

PrepDish: Healthy and strategic meal plans to fit your family's nutritional needs! Visit ⁠⁠⁠prepdish.com/plans⁠⁠⁠ for your first two weeks free!

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

Emilie 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! Emilie joins Sarah today to talk planning, productivity, and how she uses AI tools every day in her planning and life management systems. She shares her own simple (and very appealing!) use cases and ideas for how even the least tech-savvy can get started.
Find more from Emilie at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilieschario or her substack, emlie.substack.com.

OUR SPONSORS:

IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠⁠

Mint Mobile: Shop affordable cell phone plans at ⁠⁠mintmobile.com/BLP⁠⁠

Green Chef: Healthy eating made easy. Visit ⁠⁠greenchef.com/50bestlaid ⁠⁠and use code 50bestlaid to get 50% your first month, then 20% off for two months.

PrepDish: Healthy and strategic meal plans to fit your family's nutritional needs! Visit ⁠⁠prepdish.com/plans⁠⁠ for your first two weeks free!

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

In today's ep, Sarah answers questions for the month of April! Topics include:

Resources + Links:

Simplified planners: emilyley.com
Hobonichi April start: https://www.1101.com/store/techo/en/lineup/
Episode with Cal Newport: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LejRmFRxXbY&t=3702s
Episode on The Gap Between Planning and Doing: https://theshubox.com/2025/04/ep-245-the-gap-between-planning-and-doing.html
Courses: BLPA2.0 is almost full - details at theshubox.com/courses

OUR SPONSORS:

IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠https://www.ixl.com/plans⁠

Mint Mobile: Shop affordable cell phone plans at ⁠mintmobile.com/BLP⁠

Green Chef: Healthy eating made easy. Visit ⁠greenchef.com/50bestlaid ⁠and use code 50bestlaid to get 50% your first month, then 20% off for two months.

PrepDish: Healthy and strategic meal plans to fit your family's nutritional needs! Visit ⁠prepdish.com/plans⁠ for your first two weeks free!

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