Best Laid Plans

In 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 are attempting to delegate (with a listener tip as one possible answer!)

To-be-read list management

Struggles with planning vs execution

Resources + Links:

Simplified planners: emilyley.comHobonichi April start: https://www.1101.com/store/techo/en/lineup/Episode with Cal Newport: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LejRmFRxXbY&t=3702sEpisode on The Gap Between Planning and Doing: https://theshubox.com/2025/04/ep-245-the-gap-between-planning-and-doing.htmlCourses: BLPA2.0 is almost full - details at theshubox.com/coursesOUR 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 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 find images of the tracking spreads she talks about on the show notes page at theshubox.com!Interested in BLPA2.0 this summer? Course info available at theshubox.com/coursesAPRIL SPONSORS:

IXL: Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at https://www.ixl.com/plansMint Mobile: Shop affordable cell phone plans at mintmobile.com/BLPGreen 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 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 BLPA2.0? Be sure you are getting Sarah's newsletter, out in early April with signup details. Visit theshubox.com/newsletter!

Episode Sponsors

IXL:  Make an impact on your child’s learning, get IXL now. 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 meals that fit your nutrition goals (and are delicious too!).  Head to Greenchef dot com/50bestlaid and use code 50bestlaid to get fifty percent off your first month, then twenty percent off for two months with free shipping. 

Mint Mobile:  Save money by changing your wireless plan to Mint Mobile!  Shop plans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠mintmobile.com/BLP⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

PrepDish: Healthy meal plans straight to your inbox (and now with easy Instacart ordering!).  Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠prepdish.com/plans⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠for a free 2-week
trial.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 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 all of the planning systems she talks about on this podcast (and in her book!). How does one begin to build a system - all at once, or piece by piece?Useful references mentioned:Airtight Task Management Episode: https://theshubox.com/2026/02/blp-ep-288-your-guide-to-airtight-task-management.htmlAnnual Planning Episode: https://theshubox.com/2024/11/ep-226-your-mini-guide-to-2025-annual-planning.htmlSeasonal Planning Episode: https://theshubox.com/2024/03/blp-episode-189-diving-into-quintile-2.htmlMonthly Planning Episode: https://theshubox.com/2025/05/blp-ep-252-monthly-planning-rhythms-completist-mini-review.htmlWeekly Planning Episode: https://theshubox.com/2020/08/day-140-blp-ep-2-weekly-review.html (note: this is the SECOND EVER ep of BLP, so stay tuned for a renewed weekly planning episode coming soon!)Daily Planning Episode: https://theshubox.com/2021/02/blp-ep-28-daily-planning-routines-and-crowding-out-bad-habits.htmlThen, Sarah interviews September Gerety, an CEO in her empty nest phase who has found herself with a thriving community and social life -- and it all started with some planned. She shares her story (as well as a bit about her current systems!). If you have questions for September, you can find her via this episode's show notes at theshubox.com.

Episode Sponsors

IXL:  Make an impact on your child’s learning, get IXL now. 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 meals that fit your nutrition goals (and are delicious too!).  Head to Greenchef dot com/50bestlaid and use code 50bestlaid to get fifty percent off your first month, then twenty percent off for two months with free shipping. 

Mint Mobile:  Save money by changing your wireless plan to Mint Mobile!  Shop plans at ⁠⁠⁠mintmobile.com/BLP⁠⁠⁠. 

PrepDish: Healthy meal plans straight to your inbox (and now with easy Instacart ordering!).  Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠prepdish.com/plans⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠for a free 2-week
trial.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 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 there are visual aids (please see the show notes @ theshubox.com for photos!).Steps in her weekly planning process:

Looking back - reflection & review (including migration/review of any prior undone tasks, plus a look at the monthly list)

Looking ahead - upcoming calendar integration

Look around - ensure inboxes are up to date enough & check sneaky sources

Look within - mood and energy assessment

Generate weekly task list and record

Add weekly ops that feel necessary (plus: FUN AUDIT)

Remember the upcoming weekend - think it through

Plan for communication

Episode mentioned where Sarah clears her email on air: https://theshubox.com/2025/11/ep-278-empty-your-inbox-with-me-and-hemlock-oak-daily-weekly-monthly-planner-review.html

Newsletter: theshubox.com/newsletter

Episode Sponsors

IXL:  Make an impact on your child’s learning, get IXL now. 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 meals that fit your nutrition goals (and are delicious too!).  Head to Greenchef dot com/50bestlaid and use code 50bestlaid to get fifty percent off your first month, then twenty percent off for two months with free shipping. 

Mint Mobile:  Save money by changing your wireless plan to Mint Mobile!  Shop plans at ⁠⁠mintmobile.com/BLP⁠⁠. 

PrepDish: Healthy meal plans straight to your inbox (and now with easy Instacart ordering!).  Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠prepdish.com/plans⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠for a free 2-week
trial.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices