Best Laid Plans

ADHD or Neurodivergent? Two Planner Mini-Reviews For You! EP 262

Sarah reviews two planners specifically designed to help those with different planning needs. First, she discusses the Order Out of Chaos Planner, designed by ADHD parent and ADDItude Magazine columnist Leslie Josel. This planner is designed for students and might be particularly helpful for those with ADHD, though it could definitely serve other students well, too! Link to the planners: https://ooocplanner.com/collections/academic-planners Second, she reviews the Fast Brain Friend Daily Productivity Planner, described as "an intentional design for the neurodivergent mind" by creator Alanah Purtell. These are Australian monthly planners with varying (and somewhat unusual!) daily layouts as well as monthly + weekly planning tools. Link to the planners: https://www.creatorsfriend.com.au/products/fast-brain-daily-productivity-planner-single For some visuals, visit the show notes at theshubox.com. IXL: Learning doesn't have to stop in the summer!  Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠⁠ixl.com/plans⁠⁠⁠.  Green Chef: Make this summer your healthiest yet with Green Chef. Head to ⁠⁠⁠greenchef.com/50BESTLAID⁠⁠⁠ and use code 50BESTLAID to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping. PrepDish: Healthy menu plans and prep instruction to take the mental load out of dinner!   Visit ⁠⁠⁠PrepDish.com/plans⁠⁠⁠ for your first 2 weeks, FREE.   Mint Mobile:  Affordable unlimited wireless!  Get your new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for $15 a month at ⁠⁠⁠mintmobile.com/BLP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Planner Peace + Efficiency Hacks from Seasoned Professor Sarah McConnell EP 261

It's not QUITE back to school season, but depending on where you live, it may be closer than you think! In today's episode, Sarah interviews Sarah McConnell, a professor of anatomy and histology for undergrads, graduate students and med students. Professor Sarah McConnell shares own current planner peace lineup and functional system, and then provides some fantastic tips for others in academic, from using templates to leaving helpful breadcrumbs so that each year builds on past experience without friction. Planner Sarah mentions: Proaction Planner https://www.alifemadesimple.com/proaction-planner/ BLP Review of Proaction Planner:https://theshubox.com/2022/01/blp-ep-79-qa-proaction-planner-review.html Newsletter: theshubox.com/newsletterCourses: theshubox.com/courses Episode Sponsors IXL: Learning doesn't have to stop in the summer!  Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠ixl.com/plans⁠⁠⁠⁠.  Green Chef: Make this summer your healthiest yet with Green Chef. Head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠greenchef.com/50BESTLAID⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code 50BESTLAID to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.  PrepDish: Healthy menu plans and prep instruction to take the mental load out of dinner!   Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠PrepDish.com/plans⁠⁠⁠⁠ for your first 2 weeks, FREE.   Mint:  Affordable unlimited wireless!  Get your new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for $15 a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠mintmobile.com/BLP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mental Load Expert Allison Daminger Answers Your Burning Questions About Planning and Household Management EP 260

In today's episode, sociology professor Allison Daminger joins Sarah for a fascinating discussion about mental load, division of labor, and the role of planning! She answers three great questions from listeners, tackling challenging questions about a partner not interested in long-range planning, a partner with little predictability to his job, and a partner with ADHD. Find more from Allison and her book, The Mental Workload of Family Life, at her website: https://www.allisondaminger.com/book, and she can also be found on substack at https://allisondaminger.substack.com. Submit your questions for Allison on the show notes page at theshubox.com! Episode Sponsors IXL: Learning doesn't have to stop in the summer!  Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠⁠ixl.com/plans⁠⁠⁠.  Green Chef: Make this summer your healthiest yet with Green Chef. Head to ⁠⁠⁠greenchef.com/50BESTLAID⁠⁠⁠ and use code 50BESTLAID to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.  PrepDish: Healthy menu plans and prep instruction to take the mental load out of dinner!   Visit ⁠⁠⁠PrepDish.com/plans⁠⁠⁠ for your first 2 weeks, FREE.   Mint:  Affordable unlimited wireless!  Get your new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for $15 a month at ⁠⁠⁠mintmobile.com/BLP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Real Talk: Podcast Behind the Scenes with Sarah EP 259

In today's episode, Sarah shares some real behind-the-scenes podcast talk with listeners. She chats about how Best Laid Plans came to be, how she chooses guests, how she tracks podcast logistics, what she outsources, how she handles listener emails, and much more! Visit her website, theshubox.com, if you haven't been for links to all of her prior episodes. Newsletter: theshubox.com/newsletterCourses: theshubox.com/coursesBooks Read in 2025: theshubox.com/2025-books Episode Sponsors IXL: Learning doesn't have to stop in the summer!  Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠⁠ixl.com/plans⁠⁠.  Green Chef: Make this summer your healthiest yet with Green Chef. Head to ⁠⁠greenchef.com/50BESTLAID⁠⁠ and use code 50BESTLAID to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.  PrepDish: Healthy menu plans and prep instruction to take the mental load out of dinner!   Visit ⁠⁠PrepDish.com/plans⁠⁠ for your first 2 weeks, FREE.   Mint:  Affordable unlimited wireless!  Get your new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for $15 a month at ⁠⁠mintmobile.com/BLP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July Q&A: Airtight Task Capture, Planning Time Away from Work, and More! EP 258

In today's episode, Sarah answers accumulated questions for July! Topics include: Laurel Denise + Full Focus is too much -- what do use instead? Task management (2 questions on various angles of this common challenge!) and how not to lose all of those great ideas that come to you that you want to see at the right time Discussion of the Alistair Method for the listener struggling to fit tasks into an unpredictable schedule (details on this method here: https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/bulletjournalist/projects-the-alastair-method Ways to structure/plan out a period of lighter work (sabbatical of sorts) As mentioned early in the episode, Sarah's Mid-Year Check In is available for viewing -- great for those looking for a mid-year boost! This 1-hour guided mid-year planning session is available for instant viewing for anyone who purchases access to Planning 2026 (Sarah's 4 hour annual planning course, held in December/January). Visit theshubox.com/courses for details! Episode Sponsors IXL: Learning doesn't have to stop in the summer!  Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ⁠ixl.com/plans⁠.  Green Chef: Make this summer your healthiest yet with Green Chef. Head to ⁠greenchef.com/50BESTLAID⁠ and use code 50BESTLAID to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.  PrepDish: Healthy menu plans and prep instruction to take the mental load out of dinner!   Visit ⁠PrepDish.com/plans⁠ for your first 2 weeks, FREE.   Mint:  Affordable unlimited wireless!  Get your new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for $15 a month at ⁠mintmobile.com/BLP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices