Today's episode is a deep dive into the world of a planner founder and company leader! Michelle Askin cofounded Bloom when she was just 20 years old (!), and 12 years later their products are widely available, addressing planning needs for many different stages of life.
Michelle chats about the products she's using now, Bloom's mission to give back, ways she combines digital + paper, and finally some speculation on future ideas and trends in the planning world.

Episode Sponsors:
Green Chef: Healthy, delicious, and CCOF-certified meal kits! Go to greenchef.com/plans135 use code plans135 to get $135 off across five boxes—and your first box ships free!
Yipes: Face & hand wipes for kids! Go to yipes.com/PLANS for 20% off. Growing up is messy. Yipes! wipes to the rescue.
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Planner Chat with Bloom Cofounder Michelle Askin EP 105

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!

Personal Journals

Society & Culture

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

Self-Improvement

Do you ever have a project that seems to pop up on your annual goals list year after year, but never gets done? This episode is an exploration of how to tackle these projects and goals. Sarah gets personal, sharing her own Big Daunting Projects and some questions that might be worth asking about things that show up again and again (and again) on yearly lists.
Questions to ask yourself when it comes to these big (and possibly scary, or emotionally difficulty) goals:
1. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DO IT?
2. DO YOU HAVE TIME for said project? If so, specifically where? If you can’t come up with calendar space to work on it . . . you probably don’t have time. (Weekly template can also help with this when it comes to habits!)
a) HOW MUCH TIME would you need to work on it, estimated, to make SOMETHING happen?
b) If that's more than you have, DOES IT BELONG in someday maybe?
5. IS THERE A WAY of BRINGING IN DEADLINES even if not naturally there?
6. IS THERE A NATURAL WAY TO BREAK IT UP into less scary pieces?
7. CAN YOU MAKE IT LESS SCARY from an emotional standpoint?
8. CAN YOU GET HELP WITH IT? (Maybe even just a little bit of help?)
9. CAN YOU FIND ACCOUNTABILITY?
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Jenni Kayne: Find perfect transitional spring pieces at at jennikayne.com. Use code PLANS at checkout to get 15% off your first order and support the show!
Factor: Delicious and fresh already-prepared meals delivered to your door. Head to factormeals.com/plans50 and use code plans50 to get 50% off your first box plus 20% off your next box!
PrepDish: Super convenient and delicious meal plans straight to your inbox! Check out PrepDish.com/plans for your first two weeks, FREE!
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Those Projects That Just Won't Go Away EP 197

Today's episode is a planning-adjacent topic! Sarah opens with a bit about her own decorating and organizing challenges and then interviews author Myquillyn Smith, an expert on decorating and creating functional spaces within the home.
They chat about many planning-related aspects of big home projects, including how to get started when it all seems daunting, tools for tracking home projects, and an incredibly useful framework for order of operations. Myquillyn prizes functional decorating and creating a home that truly works for then ways you use it.
Her beautiful new book, House Rules: How to Decorate for Every Home, Style, and Budget can be found wherever books are sold.
Find Myquillyn at thenester.com and @thenester on IG.
Episode Sponsors:
Factor: Visit factormeals.com/plans50 and use plans50 to get 50% off your first box, plus 20% off your next month!
Jenni Kayne: Find perfect transitional spring pieces at at jennikayne.com. Use code PLANS at checkout to get 15% off your first order and support the show!
PrepDish: Super convenient and delicious meal plans straight to your inbox! Check out PrepDish.com/plans for your first two weeks, FREE!
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Decor, Cozy Minimalism, and Creating a Functional Home with Myquillyn Smith EP 196

In today's episode, Sarah provides a more in-depth review of two NOLTY April-start monthly planners, and then provides updates on the latest releases from Erin Condren (some excited changes to their Daily Duo!) and Simplified (so pretty).
She then shares her own planner switchup for Spring!

Episode Sponsors:
Jenni Kayne: Find perfect transitional spring pieces at at jennikayne.com. Use code PLANS at checkout to get 15% off your first order and support the show!
Factor: Delicious and fresh already-prepared meals delivered to your door. Head to factormeals.com/plans50 and use code plans50 to get 50% off your first box plus 20% off your next box!
PrepDish: Super convenient and delicious meal plans straight to your inbox! Check out PrepDish.com/plans for your first two weeks, FREE!
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Spring Planner Releases (Erin Condren, Simplified, and NOLTY) + Some Planner Switchups! EP 195

Today's episode features a planner peace submission that was so intriguing that it warranted an entire episode! Our listener Erin has a lot on her plate (full time job, 2 kids, volunteer work, caring for relatives, and more!) -- and she has put together and incredibly comprehensive system that brings her to a current state of Planner Peace! Rather than a stack, she's combined digital and physical elements from her favorite tools to create a streamlined system.
Products Discussed:
1) The Remarkable2 Tablet: https://remarkable.com/store/remarkable-2
2) Day Designer Monthly: https://www.bluesky.com/collections/day-designer-for-blue-sky
3) Organize 365 Sunday Basket: https://organize365.com/sunday-basket/
4) Artful Agenda (she syncs with Google Calendar): https://artfulagenda.com
5) Trello: https://trello.com
6) MaskeLife: http://makselife.com
7) Clean Mama: https://cleanmama.com
You can find Erin (and submit questions to her directly!) through her family's photography account, @lukepearson.photography !
Episode Sponsors:
Jenni Kayne: Find perfect transitional spring pieces at at jennikayne.com. Use code PLANS at checkout to get 15% off your first order and support the show!
Factor: Delicious and fresh already-prepared meals delivered to your door. Head to factormeals.com/plans50 and use code plans50 to get 50% off your first box plus 20% off your next box!
PrepDish: Super convenient and delicious meal plans straight to your inbox! Check out PrepDish.com/plans for your first two weeks, FREE!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Planner Peace: Remarkable2 + Digital/Paper Hybrid System with Erin Peth EP 194

Welcome to April's Q&A/Tips episode!
Sarah shares a brief recap of her family vacation (and getting back into life!) and then brings April's Q&A + Tips.
Topics:
1) Quarters in the Southern Hemisphere - an Australian listener reports back!
2) Cool idea for repurposing an unused planner into a paper Second Brain/Collections Notebook/Master Planner
3) App rec for routine building for those with ADHD/time blindness: Brili https://brili.com
4) 5 Year Journal Recs
Midori: https://www.jetpens.com/Midori-5-Year-Diary-Embroidered-Beige/pd/29115
Hobonichi: https://www.1101.com/store/techo/en/5year/
Unbound: https://unboundplanner.com/products/five-year-journal
Levenger: https://www.levenger.com/collections/journals/products/5-year-journal?variant=43396629627029#
5) Convincing others to plan and work on routines in a household with multiple members that have ADHD
6) Listener feedback with ideas for planning an international move - use time horizon AND category and try a shared list platform!
7) Idea for life planning workbook for the listener in career transition: The Silk & Sonder Life Workbook: https://www.silkandsonder.com/products/life-workbook

Find show notes + contact info at theshubox.com
Newsletter: theshubox.com/newsletter

Episode Sponsors:
Jenni Kayne: Find perfect transitional spring pieces at at jennikayne.com. Use code PLANS at checkout to get 15% off your first order and support the show!
Factor: Delicious and fresh already-prepared meals delivered to your door. Head to factormeals.com/plans50 and use code shu50 to get 50% off your first box plus 20% off your next box!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Planner Chat with Bloom Cofounder Michelle Askin EP 105

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