This book would be wonderful for parents who feel overwhelmed. Kendra Adachi hosts one of my favorite podcasts and I love her “kind big sister energy.” The pep talks at the end of the book are a wonderful touch!

I have followed Kendra for quite awhile through her podcast and have read both “The Lazy Genius Way” and “The Lazy Genius Kitchen,” which were easily 5 stars. After finishing “The Plan,” I was left with a derpy look on my face. The writing style was clearly Kendra but it didn’t feel like her normal brain child. It’s difficult to explain so I will leave you with a pro/con list:

PROs:
- Conversational writing style
- Recaps at the end of each chapter
- Pep talks

CONs:
- Alphabet soup of acronyms
- Watered down Lazy Genius concepts
- Unexplained rage against the patriarchy

If you are considering picking up one of Kendra’s books, I would point you to the two mentioned above.

THIS! This book is saving me right now. All the stress and ideas bobbing around in my head keeps me up at night. Kendra has found a way to read my mind, put in into a book and into tangile bite sizes that I can understand and process. Finally a time management book that doesn't waste our time and efforts!!

In American society, we have forgotten how to be human and not just some cog in a productivity wheel. My expectation was that this book was going to be kinder version of the same narrative we have heard thousands of times growing up. However, this take on time management caught me by surprise and was not at all what I expected. In a good way! Kendra, through this book, coaches the reader to find ways to place time management into the rhythm of our daily lives as opposed to adopting new systems that ultimately fail. I am thankful to have read this book because it has freed me from the guilt of feeling that I have failed in taking charge of my plans and empowered me to make decisions that reflect who I am and what matters most to me.

Fans of Kendra Adachi will enjoy the latest entry in the Lazy Genius series. Steeped in her typical brand of practical wisdom, Adachi tackles time management from a woman's perspective. If your goal is not to conquer the world, but simply and wholeheartedly embrace and live your own, The Plan might be the book you've been waiting for. The book shows you how to look at your life holistically and accept yourself for where you are at this stage in life, rather than chasing the "someday there'll be greatness if I just do these ten things" carrot of most time management books. As you learn to PLAN (prepare, live, adjust, and notice), you'll learn to do so while giving yourself grace and compassion. The approach is refreshing and specifically directed at women who need to learn that they don't need to do it all, have it all, and be everything to all people in order to have a productive and successful life.

I am not a fan of Kendra Adachi. I am not a fan of the Lazy Genius. That isn't to say that I don't like either, more so that I'd simply never heard of either. What drew me to The Plan was the idea of a time management book written by a woman, for and about women. As Adachi discusses, there are many time management books out there, some even written by women, but almost none of them take into account that a woman's life, motivation, and physiology is different from a man's, and therefore influences how she addresses time management quite differently.

The Plan is written to address the parts of women's lives that get overlooked, ignored, or, at the very least, downplayed in most time management books. Even without Adachi's overly enthusiastic diatribes about THE PATRIARCHY, women know that historically, they are the ones who will be staying at home with sick kids, caring for ailing family members, and dealing with the majority of the things that happen to disrupt the smoothly running plans of the days typically addressed in time management books. The Plan encourages women to step into that realization with full acceptance of the limitations they face, not with guilt, but with compassion. Women are implored to accept how flagging energy and hormonal shifts can easily hijack a day (or seven). Being gentle with oneself is possibly the uppermost theme in the book. That said, the book is not for everyone. Women who are menopausal or childless might not find much in here that speaks to them. Anyone looking for a quick fix and easy solutions, isn't going to be happy either. There are lists and acronyms galore. Redemption is found in the summaries that tie each chapter into a slightly less confusing bow. Those looking for a comprehensive plan that they can implement all at once might also not be the best candidates for the book. This is one best read in its entirety and then, after taking careful notes, the chapters that speak to you most should be implemented one at a time for best success.

For myself, I like the book in theory, even if I wasn't the target audience (she says all women, but really its probably best for those aged 20 - 45). There were a few things that I could implement and find some success in. I could have done without all the patriarchy bashing from someone who espouses acceptance and compassion. We know what we face as women, state it once clearly and them move on. Overall, I think the book is a worthwhile read and one worth recommending. It was certainly enough to make me learn more about both Kendra Adachi and The Lazy Genius.

Thank you to NetGalley and Convergent Books for an ARC. My opinions are my own.

I am a huge fan of Kendra and the Lazy Genius. I’ve read her other books and I’m an avid podcast listener. I was so excited for this one.

It was witty and funny and I was highlighting things right from the Introduction - that’s how soon useful nuggets were identified. It was short so seemed promisingly “to the point” but just didn’t quite deliver on that.

There a few too many pneumonic devices and sometimes it felt like the same information was being given via a different pneumonic. I felt a bit overwhelmed.

Not a bad read, just not quite the straightforward jumpstart to planning I was hoping for.

The Plan by Kendra Adachi
This book is something that I know that I’ll come back to time and again, like her first book, the Lazy Genius. Kendra is gifted with the knack of helping the reader figure out the season that she or he is living in and what matters in that season. She is clever with her catchy acronyms to help us check in on what’s happening in the different seasons of life. The title of the book, the PLAN, stands for Prepare, Live, Notice and Adjust.

Kendra helps us discover what is important in our own lives, how to plan with the energy we have for the day, the week, the month and the season. She gives us hope that we can organize our busy lives by organizing our tasks and systems and putting them in their proper place. This is a book that can help us all find balance and peace in the struggle to get it all done. Thank you, Kendra.
#netgalley

Kendra is brilliant! I had given up on books in this category because they always flood me with shame, motivate me to try harder, and then fall apart because none of it is written for normal people living normal lives. Kendra is one of us - a person trying to be kind, generous, and wise, and leads the way in all of it.

Loved this book - great addition to the Lazy Genius collection! Appreciated the clear laying out of how hormonal shifts impact our energy levels.

I really enjoyed this book. Although not a requirement, I would advised reviewing the Lazy Genius Way before reading this book. Kendra continues to bring her kind, big sister energy and gives insightful perspective and guidance. I would highly recommend the print version of this book as you will want to go back and reference as needed.

I have been a big fan of Kendra Adachi for several years now so I knew I had to get my hands on this book. I’m so glad I did. With a compassionate tone, kind words, and realistic expectations Kendra outlines how we can better manage our time and our to-do list as women. Very few time management books talk about the whole of a woman’s hormonal cycle so it was refreshing to see Kendra take it on. I can’t wait to gift this to the busy women in my life.

I appreciate this female-focused view of planning while living in the now, shared from Kendra Adachi's relaxed and practical perspective. The PLAN begins by underscoring the reality that the world has been built by and for men, and even for those of us who believe that women can (and should) do anything, Adachi reminds us that there are differences that are important to take into account in planning and goal-setting. It's not wrong to have goals and direction, but if every moment is lived in service of the next big thing, when do you get to enjoy the moments along the way? When we harness that knowledge and let those differences guide us along, we can use them as a springboard to success AND enjoy where we are right now. Echoing the principles in The Lazy Genius Way (although both are stand-alone reads), The PLAN builds on them and creates a new and flexible framework for getting stuff done, managing the inevitable bumps in the road, and listening to yourself as you build a life that matters to YOU.

The Plan is an invaluable guide for anyone looking to master the art of planning, whether for small daily tasks or larger life goals. Kendra’s writing feels like a conversation with a close friend—warm, relatable, and encouraging. I especially appreciated how she tailored the book specifically for women, acknowledging the unique challenges we face, including how hormonal changes can influence our approach to planning. As a fan of her podcast, I was eager to read this book, and it did not disappoint. The Plan is a resource I’ll return to often for both practical advice and a reassuring voice.

A complementary copy was provided by publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I've listened to the Lazy Genius podcast since it was on episode 25 and have read and liked Kendra's Lazy Genius Way and Lazy Genius Kitchen. This book was exactly like I thought it would be and I love it. I found it a little overwhelming to read in one go, but I suspect I'll come back to it again and again (much like I do to the Lazy Genius Way and Lazy Genius Kitchen)

I've read all 3 of Kendra Adachi's books and she has improved with each one. This is the most sophisticated, which means both helpful in a very detailed (as opposed to vauge) way and... a little overwhelming. There's a lot of acronyms and systems. To use any of them, I think I'm going to have to refer to the book step by step. In that way it's like a home repair encyclopedia I own; it can teach you how to do about anything, but no one would suggest reading the whole thing straight through and memorizing. I read The Plan over four months and expect to refer back to it many times - you're going to want a hard copy, not the audiobook or ebook!

This was a nice, short and sweet self-help book on time management.
I really liked the way the author put things into perspective about how we all feel we are in some rat race of time and how our lives got to be so chaotic no matter how many planners we buy, thinking that it will help us sort it all out only to be left feeling very far behind.
The productivity obsession is REAL. Then enter the view that we are in a white-man-made world. There are things I agree with and disagree with here but the points made are still very intriguing.
I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who feel like they need more time. Always need more time and form your own opinions. You're not alone in feeling "you can rest when you're dead". I really enjoyed this quick read. Be the Lazy Genius!

First off I want to say I enjoy Kendra Adachi's writing and yet, I am not 100% sold on the idea of this book until I began reading it... wow, oh wow. As forty-five-year-old woman who began my career at the age of eighteen in the military. When I became a mother at the age of twenty-five I struggled with balancing my career and home. Often times I felt like I was not digging hard enough or pushing myself far enough to accomplish my goals. Kendra breaks down why the old ways of achievening goals work for me and how women struggle with them because we are different. This book gave me language for this struggle and the guided me towards changing the way I think about my life with regards to goals. I will be talking about this book for a long time.

Thanks to Convergence Books & Netgalley for the review copy.

As a big fan of Kendra Adachi's previous books and her podcast I was looking forward to reading her next book, The Plan. I think it might be a combination of right book wrong time, but The Plan didn't quite meet my expectations for a number of reasons.

First, this book is solidly aimed at female readers. Kendra frequently references women and has a whole chapter dedicated to menstruation. Her rationale is super solid, basically no other planning books are written by or for females so I applaud her in this regard. I don't think Kendra excludes males exactly, she just really is passionate about her audience and that really shows. All this isn't to say that there aren't nuggets of wisdom and truth that anyone can learn from in this book.

Secondly, The Plan is so well done that I experienced being overwhelmed with all of Kendra's lists/acronyms/suggestions to the point where by the time I finished this book I was so exhausted and didn't want to start my own planning journey. She says as much in the book and I think this can work as a great reference book for various times in a readers' life. As a standalone planning book, reading it all in one go can be quite overwhelming.

Lastly, I can't help but feel like The Plan is filled with rehashed details from Kendra's Lazy Genius method, a tool that's already quite extensive. I can see how each tool complements the other but I think The Plan might have worked better as a shorter, supplemental tool to her first book. I can see how if someone hadn't read that book, The Plan has all that information; but I have a feeling Kendra's core audience has already read everything else she's done and might come away feeling like they already knew a good chunk of this information.

I love Kendra's affirmations, and The Plan has them in droves. I found myself soaking truth nuggets in time and again. Like I said before, The Plan was probably the right book at the wrong time for me. I'd recommend this for females who haven't read anything else by Adachi and are looking for a tool unlike anything else on the market.

I am a huge fan of Kendra Adachi's podcast, The Lazy Genius, and of her two previous books, The Lazy Genius Way and The Lazy Genius Kitchen. As a perfectionist, I appreciate how she finds systems and solutions for every day problems while also emphasising the need to realistically assess the season of life and deciding what expectations need to go.

Her new book, The Plan, applies these principles to time management in general. Written by a woman for women, this book emphasises the need to move away from the patriarchal values of efficiency and greatness, focusing instead on how to manage a life where many elements are out of our control, including our hormonal cycle. The first part focuses on Principles (the theory), the second part is Strategies (application), and the final section presents a few pep talks (for instance when we have no motivation or when plans fall through). Throughout the book, Kendra emphasises the need to be kind to ourselves and to notice our physical and emotional needs so that plans can be made to fit them and not the other way around.

A recommended read for fans of the Lazy Genius podcast, Kate Northrup's Do Less, and practical self help for women.

Thank you to Netgalley and Convergent Books for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.