Kendra Adachi’s newest book, The Plan, is a little different than her previous titles. The Lazy Genius Kitchen was full of practical tips and advice and a regular reference or resource for experienced and brand new home cooks alike. Rather than give a litany of checklists, The Plan asks questions. Kendra is full of grace for those of us who’ve been failed by prescriptive self-help books because they’re targeted mostly at people wanting to achieve more in their careers, rather than balance in their lives. Kendra’s gentle direction guides the reader through her “Lazy Genius Principles” in order to create individualized strategies for making each week, month and season manageable and more liveable. This is not a book about how to streamline your life or how to make the most money or advance further in your career. This is a book to encourage you to enjoy the life you’re living now and help you focus on what matters to you.

Love this book overall! It’s a life organization book for women by a woman. It’s definitely a book to go back to time and again as you try to integrate yourself fully into your life.

I find Adachi's podcast very helpful and practical, and the book is mostly a collection of her approach to time management. I like having it all in one place. Some parts, such as her underlying philosophy, would deliver better in audio form, but the implementation ideas are things I could put to use quickly ("start small", in her words) even while feeling overwhelmed by day-to-day life.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of The Plan! I have been listening to The Lazy Genius podcast for a few years now, and Kendra’s way of life has changed mine.

This book is the natural continuation of The Lazy Genius Way and draws on both that book and a few external sources to create a planning framework that accounts for the variances in a woman’s (though it could apply to men as well) priorities, needs, and energy levels. The best part for me was the quick reference guide in the back, featuring all the diagrams and mantras introduced in the book.

I found this book to be empowering as it gives the reader the ability to determine what is important to them and gives them a method to prioritize what matters to them, while other planning books seem to be telling the reader what should be important to them if they want to be “successful”.

I'm never a fan of self-help books. I find they are guilt-inducing, constrictive, and full of ideas that sound great but don't translate well practically to "real-life". When I was recommended Kendra Adachi's first book "The Lazy Genius Way" a few years ago I was skeptical but read it anyway, and I'm not trying to be dramatic but it was truly life-altering and illuminating! So when I was granted a chance to read an ARC copy of THE PLAN, I immediately jumped right on it. I was excited to see how she would tackle time management with her signature refreshing "Kind Big Sister Energy" and I was not disappointed! Her approaches are SO compassionate. The highlight for me personally was how the majority (93% to be exact) of these types of books are written by-men, for-men. She acknowledged the need for a framework to work for women, and how rather than the goal being the widely-preached greatness, it should instead be integration and to start from where you are. She also stressed that time-management for women should be based on fluctuations with energy throughout menstrual cycles, and that had me pumping my fist up in the air with a resounding YES!! WHY is this not the default?! But, I am getting a wee bit ahead of myself, so let's dive into how this book is organized and what you can expect.

This book has three parts, each with a specific purpose and to be read in order as the aspects slowly layer on themselves. The first part lays the foundation for the general ideology, the second part gets into the nitty-gritty with specific, practical tips, and the third part features mini pep talks to be read when you are struggling with a component of time management. As someone who generally has trouble remembering what I have read, I appreciate that Kendra uses a lot of acronyms, imagery, and metaphors that actually make sense to teach the general principles. The Plan in and of itself is an acronym, and having imagery to teach how it all works together really drove the point home.

The highlights for me in each section were to:
1. Think of your day as a painting rather than a puzzle. As a recovering perfectionist this really hit the nail on the head, and I even put it to use already after a washing machine broke this week. Boo!
2. Use the TODAY framework acronym to help plan your day, and how it was interchangeable depending on whether you woke up with low or high energy levels
3. The pep talk about when you don't have help. As someone who had their nearby support system move this last year, this one felt especially poignant.

As always, Kendra expertly wove in such tenderness and kindness throughout and encourages you, the reader, to do the same. I am a big library borrower, but I loved this book SO much and think having a hard copy to annotate and refer back to would be useful, so am planning on picking up a copy when it releases. THE PLAN by Kendra Adachi is out October 8, 2024.

The voice here is so undeniably Kendra that I could hear her voice as I read. I think the basic framework in The PLAN is useful, but there were also so many different lists that were forgettable and not a lot of real content. The endless menstruation references were awkward, too much, and felt like an oversimplification for writing for an intended female audience.

Kendra Adachi writes in a way that takes what the reader thinks she knows and then flips it around. “That Plan” is a book that I will be reading over and over. This is a book that everyone who has anything to-do. I am always in awe of what Kendra Adachi thinks up and then how she can explain it in a way that is so brilliant. This is one the best time management book I have ever read.

Another great book by The Lazy Genius! This one is written in true Kendra fashion — funny, relatable, and so, so practical. I love how she breaks things down in such simple ways, and I love her outlook on life and productivity. This one will stay on the shelf to refer back to!

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I thought this would be another book on time management, and am glad I was wrong! Not a hustling book on getting it all done, but a fun concept on managing time the lazy genius way. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review.

This unique book gave me much to think about, as a female boss and as a boss of women. It spoke to facts of life that every other business book I’ve ever read has completely ignored. I found myself talking about that aspect with employees before I even finished the book. It’s worth the read for that viewpoint alone. But it’s also worth the read for the many ways it touches on leadership and organizational skills unique to women in general. Very glad I read it, and I plan to find opportunities to give it to my other boss friends!

I highly recommend The Plan by Kendra Adachi to anyone who has felt like other time management books sounded good but didn't deliver. This is written in such an approachable and down-to-earth voice that I really connected with. Kendra points out that most productivity/time management books are written by men and this clearly makes all the difference as I have read many and identified with none until The Plan. I really appreciate her strategies and advice that I can actually use and feel applicable to my life. Three words to describe this book are: empowering, real, friendly.

Really enjoyed this book, and found multiple strategies to be incredibly helpful. There are a ton of strategies to remember, so this is one of those books that I wouldn’t recommend as an audiobook- I’d want to be able to easily screenshot or take a picture of steps in some of the processes suggested in the book. One thing that I truly appreciated was the in-depth explanation as to why so many time management books written by men are not easily followed by women. It just makes sense. Thank you, Kendra!

A fun sweet read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

Let me preface this review by saying that I enjoy the author's Lazy Genius podcast and first book, The Lazy Genius Way. However, I did not feel like this latest book from Kendra Adachi reflected lazy genius qualities. Part rage against the patriarchy, part nervous squirrel energy, The PLAN presents a convoluted approach to planning and time management that I did not find particularly helpful. An effective strategy should be simple and easy to remember, and this was not. I believe that, as the author herself would say, she built the machine too big. However, I did enjoy the way the author related the phases of the menstrual cycle to planning stages, and the pep talks at the end of the book were a lovely touch that I can see myself referring to in the future.

Thank you to Convergent Books for gifting me with an ARC to review! All opinions are my own.

This is a fabulous anti-time management book. I was nodding along through the first few pages, as it completely resonated. The concepts we are taught for time management don't work for women and this book clearly explains why and what to do instead. I can see it being game changing for some readers, so if you're struggling with how to do it all, this is the last book you'll ever need to tell you how to get your life back into control. Highly recommended.

Elizabeth Harrin, author of Managing Multiple Projects. I received an ARC of this book.

If you're a woman who wants to learn how to manage your time better, pick this book up! I started reading this book because I am a big follower of Kendra's Lazy Genius Way Method and book. When I saw the eArc on NetGalley, I was excited to see what Kendra had to say about time management. I love her writing style - it makes for an easy, relatable read.

I feel like I have a pretty good grip on time management in my current season of life but we do have a big move coming up. I found strategies in this book to use to help me break down the chaos of the million things that need to get done before we move. I especially found the chapter on Projects to be helpful. I just need to remember to name what matters, and break it down into smaller pieces.

This is definitely a book that I'll go back to reference again and again.

I have been guilty of listening to podcasts, reading books or buying planners in pretty regular 'let's organise my life' phases so I was really interested in how Kendra would approach this in her book having been a fan of the lazy genius podcast for a few years.

Kendra's book looks at how to move away from that January or start of the week energy into sustainable steps that you can take, and put down and pick up, without having to reinvent the wheel each time.

Almost everyone by now has seen the online clip where someone divulges that the 'secret' to a lot of self hep guys and productivity gurus amazing time management is simply that they have a wife!! It was nice to read a productivity book for women by women, which acknowledged that our lives do not, and cannot, look the same as theirs. I mean it was the first productivity book I have ever read which acknowledged and addressed the massive impact that our hormones have in our lives and how they can't simply be disregarded. Instead you should, as far as you can, factor them in and not feel guilty about doing what actually serves you.

I really enjoyed the book and I feel like I will come back to it as priorities and seasons change and will continue to benefit from the book and it's approach for years to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and Convergent Books for providing me with an e-ARC copy of this book.

The PLAN by Kendra J. Adachi is a refreshing look at time management. I found myself nodding along as the author talked about how different time management is for women. I took lots of notes as I moved through each chapter. I feel inspired to reframe my time and make it count in ways that are perfect for me! I enjoyed the friendly and thoughtful writing style. This is one I need to buy in paperback, as I know I will go through it again and again. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author, for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Kendra’s words in both books and her podcast have been such a gift to me, offering both kindness and practical frameworks and principles to help with all that life can throw at us. When I heard the announcement for this book I was so excited, and I was even more excited to get an eARC from NetGalley so I could read it early. I wanted to both race through it and take it slowly, trying things out as I went along, and will certainly come back to this book as a reference guide, for practical help, and for the pep talks and Kind Big Sister Energy that Kendra has so graciously offered to us! This is a book worth buying to have on hand and to give as a gift to the women in your life who feel overwhelmed but can’t just quit everything (which, unfortunately, is a lot of us).