You’re getting into the rhythm of using the Full Focus Planner, but you wonder if there are more strategies or ways to use it that would take you even further. What great ideas are out there that you haven’t thought of yet? How do people from various backgrounds and in different stages of life use the planner? In this episode, we listen to 12 planner hacks from you , the Full Focus Planner community! Courtney and Blake respond to your tips and tricks and find inspiration for some hacks of their ...
Jul 26, 2021•30 min•Ep. 106
You’ve found a transformational tool in the Full Focus Planner, but you’re confused why stakeholders in your life don’t share your enthusiasm. You want to be able to pursue goals together, improve your teamwork, and get on the same page. But how do you persuade them to give it a try? In this episode, Courtney and Blake answer the often-asked listener question about how to get your people on board with the Full Focus Planner. They offer 4 tips for persuading your friends, family members, boss, or...
Jul 19, 2021•35 min•Ep. 105
You’re looking forward to getting some rest and rejuvenation over the weekend, but it goes by in a flurry with this event and that errand and those late-night hours binge-watching the latest show. Before you know it, it’s Monday again, and you don’t feel rested at all, much less ready to face the week. Is there a better way to do weekends? In this episode, Courtney, Verbs, and Blake discuss why what you do on the weekend matters. They walk you through 4 tips for getting the most out of your week...
Jul 12, 2021•33 min•Ep. 104
Ever wondered how the Full Focus Planner came to be? Every spec, from type of binding to paper quality to the cloth wrapped around the covers, has been specially selected to enhance the end user experience. How does that all happen? In this episode, Courtney, Verbs, and Blake talk with Adam Hill, director of product development and design, about the nuts and bolts behind the Full Focus Planner. They’ll share stories, processes, how decisions are made, and even how the oatmeal planner started out...
Jul 05, 2021•29 min•Ep. 103
As a parent with kids at home, you feel on demand 24/7. You’re tired and overwhelmed, but your roles and responsibilities never stop. It’s affecting both your parenting and your work. You know rest is important, but how do you even begin to get the rest you need? In this episode, Blake interviews Courtney and her husband, Chase, and Verbs and his wife, Verna, as they share the strategies they’ve developed to maintain rest as a priority while raising kids. They share their daily and weekly routin...
Jun 28, 2021•39 min•Ep. 102
Your life looks good on the outside, but you wake up every day tired and overwhelmed. You know it’s an issue, but you don’t know what to do about it. Is there more you can do, beyond just getting more sleep? How do you find a deeper sense of restoration, so you don’t walk around every day in functional burnout? This episode welcomes Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a board-certified internal medicine physician, international wellness expert, and the author of Sacred Rest, to talk about the 7 types of r...
Jun 21, 2021•38 min•Ep. 101
You feel tired all the time and are not even sure when it started. You try to go on vacation once a year, but it doesn’t feel like enough. You’re concerned that this exhaustion is affecting your performance, both at work and at home. What can you do on a regular basis to stay energized throughout the week? In this episode, Courtney, Blake, and Verbs brainstorm ideas for the 5 categories of self-care and offer tips on building it into your week. They show you how to leverage the Weekly Preview, s...
Jun 14, 2021•31 min•Ep. 100
We're excited to share this excerpt of our Guided Weekly Preview with you. Hosted by Blake Stratton, this audio is designed to be played while you're filling out your weekly preview. Blake shares best practices, definitions, helpful tips, and personal stories to help you make the most out of this crucial Full Focus Planner tool. If you like what you hear and want to get the whole 22-minute guided preview for free , then visit www.focusonthispodcast.com/preview . See Privacy Policy at https://art...
Jun 10, 2021•9 min•Ep. 99
Have you ever returned to work after some time off and felt like you needed a vacation from your vacation? Maybe you were checking your phone and emails so often that you brought the office with you. Or you spent too much time doing and not enough time resting. Is there a way to go on vacation and return rejuvenated rather than just as tired as when you started? In this episode, Courtney, Verbs, and Blake talk about how to set up your time away from work to get the rest you need. They share 5 st...
Jun 07, 2021•31 min•Ep. 98
You set yourself up with all the latest productivity tools to get ahead of your busy days. But now you find yourself monitoring too many systems and never knowing where you put that one piece of information. You feel frustrated—and maybe even a little guilty—that you’re not using your planner the right way. You need a system that keeps you focused and tracks all the complicated, changing information that’s part of your job. In this episode, Courtney, Blake, and Verbs share how they each use tech...
May 31, 2021•30 min•Ep. 97
Week after week, you find yourself working on projects you dread. You don’t understand why they’re important. You’re not good at them. But if your boss is dictating your to-do list, it’s not as if you have a choice, right? You have more agency than you think. In this episode, we’ll dive into four strategies you can practice to start doing more work you enjoy and less work you dread. When you do, your company will benefit—and your career will, too. In this episode, you’ll discover— An insightful ...
May 24, 2021•32 min•Ep. 96
You missed your friend’s birthday—again. You completely forgot about your annual physical and double-booked yourself. Your anniversary snuck up on you, and now you’re trying to make last-minute reservations. You hate feeling the guilt and panic of losing track of dates that matter. What you need is a better look at the big picture. That’s why we designed Rolling Quarters. Rolling Quarters give you an annual view within your quarterly planner, so you can track important dates and commitments and ...
May 17, 2021•27 min•Ep. 95
You’re getting better and better at using the Full Focus Planner to help you organize your life and achieve more. But every week when you start your weekly preview, you feel unsure how to use “that” page, the one with a blank box for each day of the week. What exactly is it for? How can you maximize it to accomplish your goals? In this episode, Courtney, Verbs, and Blake zoom in on the page people ask about most often: the weekly overview page. They discuss 3 lenses to consider as you decide how...
May 10, 2021•25 min•Ep. 94
You have the Full Focus Planner and are already starting to see some progress toward your goals. But you keep running into situations you’re not sure how to handle. What do you do when you miss a goal? How do you stay on track when you’re in a season where life is out of balance? Where can you get advice on how to tackle all this? In this episode, Courtney, Verbs, and Blake answer ten questions from the Focus on This community on how to practically maximize the Full Focus system. They’ll share t...
May 03, 2021•32 min•Ep. 93
You’re at work early every day, because your to-do list is a mile long. You’re trying your best to hustle, using all the productivity strategies and apps, but you’re exhausted, your focus is scattered, and your patience is wearing thin. What’s missing? What else can you do? In this episode, Courtney, Verbs, and Blake discuss one of the most important productivity tools most people don’t talk about: sleep. They reframe the negative narrative around sleep and show you three reasons getting why qua...
Apr 26, 2021•32 min•Ep. 92
You feel stagnant, like life is an endless cycle of going to work and coming home. There’s nothing on your calendar you’re really looking forward to. Can you be burned out and bored at the same time? How can you escape this sense of being in suspended animation? In this episode, Courtney, Verbs, and Blake offer a counterintuitive solution to the stasis of burnout: adding something to your calendar. They’ll show you the four surprising gifts that come from investing in a hobby—and how that can he...
Apr 19, 2021•33 min•Ep. 91
Today's episode is an exclusive look at the first chapter of Megan and Michael's new book, Win at Work & Succeed at Life . It comes out on April 20, but you can preorder the book now at winandsucceedbook.com . Also, we're very excited to share that Michael and Megan will also be holding an event called "Win at Work and Succeed at Life LIVE" on April 20th. To get admission to this online event, all you have to do is pre-order the book at winandsucceedbook.com . See Privacy Policy at https://a...
Apr 15, 2021•28 min•Ep. 90
You’ve heard over and over that the key to success is to work harder and longer than everyone else—but you do so at the expense of your health and your loved ones. Or, perhaps you’ve determined the cost isn’t worth it. So you seek out a better sense of well-being but pump the brakes on your ambition. Can you really only have either a thriving career or a healthy personal life? Is there a third option? In this episode, the crew at Focus on This talk with Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller about...
Apr 12, 2021•27 min•Ep. 89
You are in a season of change and instability. Maybe you’ve moved, started a new job, or had a baby, and you’re feeling disoriented, struggling just to get by. You need something to anchor your days. But what can you do in the middle of, well, life? In this episode, Verbs and Blake welcome Courtney back from maternity leave and discuss how you can shift from being at the mercy of your life to purposefully setting the tone for your days. They show you how to leverage the power of rituals so you f...
Apr 05, 2021•31 min•Ep. 88
The days are starting to feel a bit off. You’re not completely sure when it started, but there’s an undeniable disconnect. It’s hard for you to start up and wind down, and the boundaries of your days are beginning to blur together. The likely culprit? Your rituals. Rituals are designed to be habitual, but they also need to be reexamined from time to time. Blake, Verbs, and Marissa will walk you through five steps you can take to ensure you’re getting the most out of your rituals—so you can creat...
Mar 29, 2021•33 min•Ep. 87
You spend your days managing details, scheduling meetings, and replying to emails—by the time you start on the “real work,” the workday is half over. Work bleeds into your personal life as you try to make up for lost time. You can’t go on this way, but it does all need to get done. How can you keep the business running without sacrificing your family and your well-being? In this episode, Verbs and Blake talk with Tricia Sciortino, Michael’s first virtual assistant and current CEO of Belay Soluti...
Mar 25, 2021•32 min•Ep. 86
The Double Win sounds great—but as a business owner flying solo, it feels out of reach. Your list of tasks is a mile long. You’re concerned about losing clients. You’re having to master new skills as you go. Is there really enough time in the day to take care of your business and lead a fulfilling life? In this episode, we tackle challenges that come with running your own business head-on. We’ll describe four common obstacles to the Double-Win and walk you through practical solutions you can sta...
Mar 22, 2021•38 min•Ep. 85
In the middle of meetings, details fly back and forth at rapid speed. You agree to take ownership of several next steps. But you’ve already forgotten one before you walk out the door, or it falls through the cracks of your overwhelming to-do list. How do you keep track of what you need to do and actually follow through? In this episode, Verbs and Blake interview Aleshia, Michael Hyatt & Company’s execution extraordinaire, to learn her tips, tools, and hacks for mastering the art of follow-up...
Mar 15, 2021•33 min•Ep. 84
When you have too many meetings on your calendar, the week feels like it’s half-gone before it even starts. How can you keep from falling behind on your most important tasks when you don’t have time to do actual work? You don’t want your calendar to run your life. But what’s the alternative? In this episode, Verbs, Blake, and Deidra will show you how to take back your time through the power of auditing your calendar. With plenty of personal examples—including an on-the-spot meeting cancellation ...
Mar 08, 2021•33 min•Ep. 83
Sometimes, just writing down everything you have to do is overwhelming. You feel discouraged before you even begin. And seeing it all in one place still leaves you stretched thin and running from one obligation to the next. But what if it didn’t have to be that way? This episode is an invitation to reevaluate your to-do list. We’ll walk you through four questions you can ask yourself to stop doing the work that drives you crazy and start making your best contribution to your business. When you d...
Mar 01, 2021•37 min•Ep. 82
There are few setbacks more discouraging than stalling halfway into a goal. It’s easy to think you need to “just try harder”—but sometimes, what you actually need is a little help. But how can you help someone help you on your goal achievement journey? Verbs, Blake, and Neal dive into this question in this story-filled episode. They’ll highlight four key contributions anyone can make to support your goal progress. You’ll finally be able to enlist help to get unstuck—or help someone you love do t...
Feb 22, 2021•36 min•Ep. 81
How do you align your rituals with your spouse? How can you make sure your Daily Big 3 aren’t at odds? How can you use the Weekly Preview to navigate the logistics of the coming week together? If you’re married, want to be married, or know people who are married, this episode is for you. We’ve heard your questions about using Full Focus tools with a partner—so today, Blake and Verbs are joined by their spouses to offer some answers. In this episode, you’ll discover— How the planner can keep home...
Feb 15, 2021•37 min•Ep. 80
The people you love matter more than anything else. But it’s easy to overlook setting relational goals, and hard to know where to start. You don’t want your relationships to drift aimlessly. But what should you do? We’ve got a few ideas. This practical, feel-good episode brings together new and old voices for a brainstorming session for the ages. We’ll walk through four categories to consider as you create relational goals—dropping in examples, stories, and encouragement that will inspire you to...
Feb 08, 2021•38 min•Ep. 79
You always knew pursuing your goal would be hard. But now, it really is. The excitement has ebbed. Roadblocks, old and new, are slowing you down. Discouragement is eating away at your motivation. You need to find a way forward. But how? We’ve been there, and we’ve discovered the solution in a simple principle: self-coaching. When you practice these four self-coaching essentials, you’ll be able to overcome obstacles and keep moving forward. Soon, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals...
Feb 01, 2021•32 min•Ep. 78
Sunday night can bring with it a sense of dread. You’ve enjoyed a brief reprieve from the chaos of the week, but now Monday is looming. You don’t hate your job; you’re just not ready to dive back into a mountain of tasks. The solution isn’t a longer weekend. It’s a better plan. This episode unpacks the Weekly Preview—the tool we’ve designed to help you start loving Mondays again. When you get into the habit of looking back and looking forward, you’ll start each week with the motivation, knowledg...
Jan 25, 2021•35 min•Ep. 77