Best Laid Plans

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/plansGreen 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.
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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/id1525311647Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3GPjMOr1PxYfZCSLbS6sZ3Keep 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:

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/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

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