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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 own. The best ideas come from community, and this week we’re taking a cue from you on how to get further, faster. In this episode, you’ll discover— Another way to use the rolling quarters page A color-coding method so you get a sense of the week at a glance How to set yourself up to more easily find the notes you need  A strategy for syncing up with your team every week Resources: Focus on This Episode 88: “Three One-of-a-Kind Ways to Use That Weekly Preview Page”

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 coworkers. They help you remember what was hard when you first started but also why the results are more than worth it—so you can offer the same transformation to those close to In this episode, you’ll discover— Possibility questions to ask that cast a vision for a different future Why treating it like an experiment lowers pressure and increases buy-in How to proactively remove obstacles to starting the planner The power of creating rhythms of using the planner together Resources: Shave 10 Hours Off Your Workweek guide

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 weekends, so you set yourself up for the energy and clarity you need to succeed in the coming week.  In this episode, you’ll discover— Why the Ideal Week and Daily Big 3s are not just for work The value of creating weekend rituals for your family How scheduling your Weekly Preview frees you to let go and relax That rest is not a reward but an asset that helps you produce results  Resources: Guided Weekly Preview

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 as a mistake. Before it was named the best daily planner by Forbes magazine, this is how the Full Focus Planner went from idea to finished product. In this episode, you’ll discover— The many steps between concept ideas and a planner in your hands How changes and new iterations of the planner are executed What factors are considered when creating a new planner The 3 buckets of idea sorting and how to react to each one Behind-the-scenes stories of the Full Focus Planner’s early days Resources: Adam and Verbs starring in the Full-Fail Meetings videos

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 routines and how they plan rejuvenation into their schedules, so they can be the kind of parents they want their kids to experience while also advocating for each other’s rest.  In this episode, you’ll discover— Why creating varying Ideal Weeks helps you adjust in different seasons The importance of scheduling a weekly day of rest for the family How to reframe rest, so you experience holistic restoration 2 vital practices for syncing up with your spouse to plan for margin

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 rest you need and what to do when you have a deficit. She will unpack how to identify where your deficits are and what you can do to stop living burned out but instead live restored, energetic, and passionate. In this episode, you’ll discover— The distinction between sleep and rest Why rest is more than cessation of activity How you may unconsciously experience sensory overload What factors play a role in your fatigue and recovery time Practical ways to integrate rest as a part of your lifestyle Resources:   Sacred Rest by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith   Personal Rest Assessment

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, so you can more consistently engage in self-care and be at your best from day to day—and not just when you finally have the chance to go on vacation.  In this episode, you’ll discover— Strategies for winding down at night and getting enough sleep  Why the people you connect with impact your energy The value of giving yourself the freedom to play 5 tips for filling out the self-care section of the Weekly Preview Resources: Guided Weekly Preview chiliPAD Moment app Cook Once, Eat All Week by Cassy Joy Garcia BreakHIIT

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.

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 steps for planning the fully unplugged vacation of your dreams, so you can leave with confidence and return refreshed and ready to jump back in. In this episode, you’ll discover— How casting a vision for what you want turns hopes into actual plans A step-by-step plan for equipping your team to cover your bases Why it’s necessary to define “emergencies” before you leave The value of blocking off 2–3 days to tie up loose ends and get to inbox 0 Resources: Vacation Optimizer

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 technology in conjunction with their Full Focus Planners. They offer 3 tips for figuring out a personalized hybrid system that works for you, so you can streamline and integrate a productivity system that empowers your most important work. In this episode, you’ll discover— 4 questions to consider while customizing your own system Why you should limit the role of multi-function digital tools The case for deleting work apps from your phone When to use digital tools versus your planner for maximum productivity Resources: Things task manager app

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 tool for identifying the work you love How to leverage your thinking to change your experience An often overlooked reason you might not be enjoying your work When—and how—to approach your boss Giveaways that it’s time to look for work elsewhere

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 see your year at a glance. In this FAQ episode, we’ll dig into a question from our Facebook community, sharing tips and tricks for how to get the most out of this planner tool. In this episode, you’ll discover— How to set up your Rolling Quarters page Ideas for events and happenings to track Courtney’s favorite part of her past job One strategy for leveraging Rolling Quarters to track your goals Another round of the Review Corner For a full tutorial on how to set up your Rolling Quarters page, visit fullfocusplanner.com/start.

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 best to tailor it to your needs. Because there is no “one size fits all,” but there are all kinds of ways to leverage this page as you prepare for the week and set yourself up for success. In this episode, you’ll discover— How to set mini-milestones toward your Weekly Big 3 4 ways to track the execution of your routines The value of setting healthy expectations for the week ahead How to get in sync with your spouse on a weekly basis Resources: Full Focus Planner® Community on Facebook Verbs’s workout video using BreakHIIT by Darren Wong 

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 tips they personally employ and show you how to make the system work for you so you can move forward with confidence to achieve your goals. In this episode, you’ll discover— 5 steps for keeping your goals relevant quarter to quarter How to reset in the middle of an off day Which pages of the Full Focus Planner to zero in on to “go big” Best practices to build awareness of life’s open loops for list sweeps How to use the Full Focus system away from work on the weekend  Resources: Focus on This Episode 54: “How to Reevaluate Your Goals and Make Them Exciting Again” Focus on This Episode 84: “Blending an Ambitious Career with a Meaningful Life” Win at Work and Succeed at Life by Michael Hyatt & Megan Hyatt Miller Focus on This Episode 61: “The Power of Journaling” Full Focus Journal Day One journaling app

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 quality sleep is essential for high performers.  In this episode, you’ll discover— Why sleep is an asset—not a liability—to your productivity The impact sleep quality and quantity has on performance How sleep refreshes your emotions and disrupts the cycle of stress Pro tips for shutting down at night and sleeping better  Resources: Focus on This Episode 83: “The Life-Restoring Magic of Daily Rituals” iPhone Bedtime feature DOHM sound machines Sleepcasts by Headspace Win at Work and Succeed at Life by Michael Hyatt & Megan Hyatt Miller

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 help you find renewed creativity and energy for both work and life. In this episode, you’ll discover— The power of active rest  The benefits of letting your mind wander How being new at something leads to the greatest gains Examples of activities that give you energy Resources: BreakHiit Win at Work and Succeed at Life by Michael Hyatt & Megan Hyatt Miller The 4 GIFs of Having a Hobby: Innovation - https://giphy.com/embed/pOAJ9UVzFLHTnhhjOJ A Beginner’s Mindset - https://tenor.com/view/learning-cant-wait-to-learn-gif-9334907 Rejuvenation - https://tenor.com/view/bear-charging-gif-10139371 Enjoyment - http://gph.is/1dsY23l

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.

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 their new book, Win at Work and Succeed at Life. They walk you through the intentional strategy that improves results both at home and at work, so you can take back control of your life and find freedom and margin and more opportunities than you ever thought possible. In this episode, you’ll discover— 3 nonnegotiables to set as you design your Double Win Why the issue is not quantity of time but intentionality How to create breathing room when you’re in survival mode Strategies for proposing a Double Win experiment to a skeptical boss Resources: Win at Work and Succeed at Life by Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller

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 feel successful and energized—even in the middle of life’s inevitable chaos.  In this episode, you’ll discover— Why rituals provide stability when everything else is in disarray The value of intentionality as seasons shift The benefits of seeing rituals as a part of your job for the day How to design rituals that reduce stress This episode is brought to you by Michael and Megan's newest book, Win at Work and Succeed at Life. Enjoy Michael and Megan exploring what it takes to achieve the Double Win, recounting stories that bring joy and some that sting, while laying out how you can win at work and succeed at life. Preorder your copy today at www.winandsucceedbook.com.

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 create rhythms that set the tone you want for your days. In this episode, you’ll discover— Why it’s vital to clarify the end result you’re looking for Questions for reassessing what’s working and what’s missing 2 strategies for tweaking your ritual when it’s not working for you The power of experimentation in creating the experience you want When to do reviews to regularly optimize your rituals Resources: Break HIIT