Let's face it: We have a tendency to be overconfident about what we can remember. We think we'll remember the important ideas from that meeting or the date of that event or the email that you have to send. By simply relying on our memory to get us through our lives, we put some of our most important goals and priorities at risk. Blake, Courtney, and Verbs offer two reasons that you should trust your memory less and trust your pens and pencils more. After that, Courtney speaks with Full Focus Pla...
Mar 06, 2023•32 min•Ep. 182
Understanding your personality type is a helpful tool to unlocking ways to become more productive and satisfied. Of course, the Full Focus Planner is a great tool for everybody, but in this episode, we break down every Enneagram personality type and how you can leverage the planner to achieve your best results. Courtney talks with Terrie Power . Terrie is both a Full Focus Planner Certified Pro and certified Enneagram Coach so she's the perfect person for this episode. They'll go through every t...
Feb 27, 2023•27 min•Ep. 181
This is the last episode in our three-part look at the Weekly Preview. We previously talked about the Weekly Big 3 and the After Action Review. Our focus this time is on planning the upcoming week. This is the moment where you take all of the lessons learned from your After Action Review and combine those with the Weekly Big 3 tasks that you've already decided are essential. A properly planned week can be the difference between feeling great about what you've achieved and simply surviving to the...
Feb 20, 2023•25 min•Ep. 180
Because goals are something that we often set for ourselves, we forget that we don't have to achieve them alone. Reaching out to family, friends, colleagues, or mentors can provide you with valuable feedback and motivation that can push you through the messy middle and get to the finish line. But, in order to get that support, you have to be honest with others about the help you need. Blake, Courtney, and Verbs offer three common confessions that you can share with your community to help you ach...
Feb 13, 2023•29 min•Ep. 179
Megan Hyatt Miller, CEO of Full Focus, drops by to explain why your mindset is maybe the most important element of achieving your goals. You can do everything right when it comes to writing a goal. It can follow every step of the SMARTER Goal framework and it can be recorded down on your Goal Detail page in your Full Focus Planner. However, if your mindset is not in the right place, then you're not going to get very far. Courtney talks with Megan about what this all means and how you can make su...
Feb 06, 2023•33 min•Ep. 178
As we continue our exploration of the Weekly Preview, this week we turn our attention towards the After Action Review (AAR). Completing your AAR is a critical step in building momentum towards accomplishing your goals, but you have to make sure you think critically as you fill it out. In this episode, Courtney and Verbs talk you through the four questions of the After Action Review and provide both the rationale and some helpful tips to help you get the most out of filling it out. Also, Courtney...
Jan 30, 2023•34 min•Ep. 177
The Weekly Preview is essential to the Full Focus System and it's one of our users' favorite tools. In order to really dig into who and why it works, we're starting a three-part miniseries all about the Weekly Preview. First up: Setting your Weekly Big 3. While this actually happens at the end of your Weekly Preview, it is perhaps the most important step in the process. Courtney and Verbs share three considerations that you should use when setting your Weekly Big 3. Also, Nick and Courtney talk ...
Jan 23, 2023•29 min•Ep. 176
We’re well into January and might be starting to feel some friction on our goal journeys. After a couple of weeks of the new year, good intention and effort alone are no longer enough to see your goals through. Now is the perfect time to let your processes and strategies carry you forward so you can build some momentum. Verbs and Courtney talk about a key strategy to help make progress on your goals: keeping them visible. After that, Courtney is joined by Erin Perry to talk about the Quarterly P...
Jan 16, 2023•29 min•Ep. 175
So, you have your goals set and you've figured out what the next steps are to help you start moving towards those goals. What's next? Well, now is the time to start focusing on the foundational tool of the Full Focus Planner: The Daily Big 3. Even if you've used your planner for years, it's always good to refresh your memory and build upon your own experiences. To help you with that, Blake and Nick explain the Daily Big 3, why it works, and best practices for setting them. In this episode, you w...
Jan 09, 2023•20 min•Ep. 174
Happy New Year! It's 2023 and it's time to make sure that you've set yourself up for success. Every year, in order to start off on the right foot, it's important to take a step back and plan your year with some very simple actions that will build up speed and propel you all the way until December 31 with a list of completed goals. Courtney and Blake talk you through three questions that you can ask yourself to give yourself some quick wins at the start of the year. They also talk through how Bla...
Jan 02, 2023•30 min•Ep. 173
Sometimes the quickest way isn't the best way. While it would be very fast to simply write a list of goals on December 31st and then just hope that they work out, the research proves that it's not an effective way to reach your goals. The Full Focus System is built on the idea that you have to slow down at the beginning (and periodically throughout the year) so that you can achieve your goals both faster and with less stress. Blake and Courtney share with you two allies that you can use to help ...
Dec 26, 2022•27 min•Ep. 172
So often the areas we want to set goals are areas we’ve tried to set goals before - and failed. We’ve become discouraged. We’ve lost hope. We don’t want to try again. Along the way, we’ve turned those "failures" into limiting beliefs. We say things like, "I simply can't reach that goal." But the truth is that it's the limiting beliefs themselves that can hold us back from achieving a goal or from even setting it in the first place! Courtney, Verbs, and Blake provide you with three steps to help ...
Dec 19, 2022•32 min•Ep. 171
As a kid, did you ever wonder, "When will I need to know what a verb is?" Well, the answer to that question is: today. How you write your goals is a crucial element of your ability to achieve them. A poorly-worded goal can leave you feeling adrift and like you've failed. A correctly-worded goal not only helps you accomplish what you've set out to do, but you'll feel great about the person you've become in the process. Blake, Courtney, and Verbs talk about the power of verbs (the part of speech -...
Dec 12, 2022•26 min•Ep. 170
Sometimes goal-setting can feel overwhelming. It can certainly feel like there are too many choices that you have to make before you can accomplish your goals. However, of all of the open questions that you need to answer, there is one that is more important than the rest. Blake, Verbs, and Courtney share that most important question, why it is so important, and share their experiences in answering it. In this episode, you will learn: How to use one question to shape your goal-setting journey Th...
Dec 05, 2022•20 min•Ep. 169
While the holiday season is wonderful, it can also disrupt all of the routines and rituals that you've spent all year developing. With more family, more events, more time with friends, more gifts, more meals - there's seemingly not enough time to devote to pursuing your quarterly and annual goals. When there's so much "more" happening in our lives, it's important to look for strategies of "less" to help be both peaceful and productive. In this episode, Courtney, Verbs, and Blake share one strate...
Nov 28, 2022•27 min•Ep. 168
The research tells us that gratitude makes us both happier and healthier. With that in mind, it's easy to say, "Okay. I'll just be more grateful then!" However, forced gratitude runs the risk of just being robotic. So, how do you create the feelings of gratitude without forcing it? Verbs, Courtney, and Blake provide you with two tips to help you integrate gratitude into your weeks. Also, Courtney speaks with Full Focus Planner Certified Pro, Jeremy Clopton, about using the planner as a workaholi...
Nov 21, 2022•34 min•Ep. 167
The question, "When you set your Daily Big 3?" is perhaps the most debated and most personal choice that every planner user has to grapple with. Should you set your Daily Big 3 during your morning ritual, the workday startup, your workday shutdown, or even the (apparently) controversial evening ritual? Courtney and Blake identify the four potential opportunities to set your Daily Big 3 and share the pros and cons for each one. Also, Nick asks Courtney to detail her morning ritual. In this episod...
Nov 14, 2022•29 min•Ep. 166
"You're a mixture of the five people you're closest to." That's how the saying goes at least. We believe that the same thing is true for the things that we pay attention to. The movies we watch, the books we read, the hobbies we participate in all change both who we are and who we will become. In today's episode, Courtney and Blake explore two tactics that will help you leverage the power of attention to accomplish your goals. Also, Nick has another segment of "Videos that the YouTube algorithm ...
Nov 07, 2022•25 min•Ep. 165
Everybody loves a good costume - even your tasks! There are things we do every day that might feel like productive work, but they're actually tasks that are simply filling your time and keeping you from accomplishing the goals you've set for yourself. The question is: How can you tell the difference between actual productive work and the downhill tasks that find a way to monopolize your time? Also, Courtney answers a community member's question about how long to track habit goals. In this episod...
Oct 31, 2022•26 min•Ep. 164
The good news is that most smartphones now have built-in apps that will tell you how long you've used your phone and what you're using it for. The bad news is that people tend to avoid looking at the numbers. The reality is that everyday you probably spend hours on your phone - those are hours that could be used to accomplish the big goals you've set for yourself! Today, Courtney, Blake, and Nick talk about their own phone usage and they tackle three ways to set some simple boundaries around scr...
Oct 24, 2022•23 min•Ep. 163
Journaling is the type of activity that most people seem to recognize would benefit them, but they don't know where to start. When do they write? And, more important, what do you actually write while you're journaling? In this episode, Courtney and Blake give you two questions that will jumpstart your journaling practice and get you going on the right track. Also, Nick gives Courtney a very important quiz. You will learn: What barriers people often feel when they start to journal The importance ...
Oct 17, 2022•28 min•Ep. 162
If developing a habit were easy, then everybody would just snap their fingers and enjoy their life with their new awesome habit. However, that's not how it works. Developing any habit takes time and repetition. The goal is that a habit requires no decision-making so it frees up your mind to focus on the tasks and projects that will help you reach your goals. Verbs and Courtney give you two tips that can help you develop your new habits faster. Courtney also speaks with Dave Yankowiak, Technology...
Oct 10, 2022•26 min•Ep. 161
One of the most common questions in the Full Focus Planner Community is "How can I use the planner to manage my ADHD?" In this episode, we're giving you some initial thoughts to help steer you in the right direction. First, Verbs, Blake, and Courtney talk about three questions that you can ask yourself to help improve and streamline your Ideal Week. Then, Courtney talks with Full Focus Planner Certified Pro Cindy Wolford about how she uses the planner to manage her ADHD. In this episode, you wil...
Oct 03, 2022•29 min•Ep. 160
For many people, Q4 is the busiest time of the year. There are so many events and holidays that happen between October 1 and December 31 that it can be difficult to make sure that your goals are on track. This is why it's important to make the most out of your upcoming Quarterly Preview! This is the time to make sure that all of your ducks are in a row so that you can finish the year out strong. Blake, Verbs, and Courtney offer you two hacks to help level-up your Quarterly Preview game. Also, Co...
Sep 26, 2022•27 min•Ep. 159
A planner is a great way to stay organized and the Full Focus Planner is an excellent way to both stay organized and achieve the goals you've set for yourself. The planner is full of boxes and circles to to mark off your progress, but you don't get the full benefits of the planner unless you use them. In this episode, Courtney and Marissa Hyatt talk about the power of actually checking off all of the boxes. Also, in our new Certified Pro segment, we talk with Jake Brown about how he coaches crea...
Sep 19, 2022•29 min•Ep. 158
One of the most common questions we hear is: "How do I integrate the planner with my project management system?". We all know the value of using the Full Focus Planner to not just stay organized, but to help us conceive and achieve our goals. What happens when you want to take the insights from the planner and use it with Asana, Trello, ClickUp, or whatever project management system you use? Well, you're in luck because today Courtney is joined by the Corporate Project Manager at Full Focus, Ann...
Sep 12, 2022•27 min•Ep. 157
Have you ever had a plan for your week only to have a conversation with your boss that changes everything? In the blink of an eye, it seems like all of your plans have been ruined and you'll spend days trying to catch up. The truth is that you have more control over these situations than you might think. Blake, Courtney, and Verbs give you four steps that you can follow the moment your boss tells you they need something ASAP. In this episode, you will learn: The value of taking a moment before r...
Sep 05, 2022•20 min•Ep. 156
With summer vacations wrapping up, school starting again, and various pumpkin-flavored drinks being consumed, that can mean only one thing: fall is upon us. A change in seasons means a change in your routines. Luckily, the Full Focus system gives you the chance to rethink the rhythms and rituals that help you be successful. Blake, Verbs, and Courtney provide you with three rhythms that you can use to transition into fall without missing a beat. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the shorter days...
Aug 29, 2022•24 min•Ep. 155
We've all been there. The day is ending and you're just feeling the whiplash of a day that required a seemingly endless list of decisions and tasks. While it can feel like you have no control over how your day plays out, the truth is that there are some tasks that you will do repeatedly. Those tasks are perfect candidates to be batched. Batching means less time transitioning between tasks and more time getting them done quickly. It's a win-win situation! In this Courtney-approved episode, Courtn...
Aug 22, 2022•31 min•Ep. 154
It seems like the moment you try to do important work is always precisely aligned with the moment that the whole world suddenly needs your attention. Your boss might need you. Your kids might need you. Your own thoughts interrupt you and pull your attention away from the important work at hand. The good news is that it doesn't have to be like this. In today's episode, Courtney and Verbs give you the tools you need to defeat distractions and interruptions. If you implement just a couple of these ...
Aug 15, 2022•29 min•Ep. 153
