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Drive by any high school near the end of the day, and you will likely see an outpouring of happiness that comes with freedom after the bell.
You’ll see groups of kids linking arms and jostling each other in friendship. You’ll hear their laughter and shouts, mixed with honking horns and the deep vibration of music as cars peel out of the parking lot. Most every person will have a cell phone in hand, connecting with peers while simultaneously scrolling through whatever social media seems to have the most hits.
At first glance, it all looks great. But, under the surface of that end-of-day exuberance is a growing sense of anxiety about having turned the corner into this next year. Spring isn’t far off, and then it’s Graduation Time.
I recently asked my seniors what they were looking forward to this year. They stared at me, unsure what I was asking. “But you’re graduating high school!” I prompted, expecting that reality to jar them into a more awakened and opportunistic state.
But, wouldn’t you know, my students weren’t all that thrilled to be graduating! Even though they knew they’d be moving on from the lockstep schedule they’d been following for twelve years, there was something unnerving and overwhelming about being released and crossing that threshold into a bigger life.
“It’s all happening so fast.”
“I’ve got a senior project due.”
“I’m behind in my other classes.”
“I don’t know if I can go to college. I need to work.”
I sympathized with their plight and tried to remember my own angst as I came closer to graduating from high school. But that was a long time ago, and choices were simpler. There was no internet, with its millions of choices for what to do or where to go. Still, it was a stressful time, complicated by my teenage brain going through the motions of pruning away unnecessary things at the same time it was networking a million more.
Feeling bad for introducing a topic that unexpectedly bummed everyone out, I decided to pivot and teach my students a way through their troubling situation. This is an approach to my life and work that I have been implementing for several years, so I knew it worked. It’s from the Full Focus Planning System, and it’s called the Daily Big 3.
The idea is to choose three things–personal or professional–that I absolutely want or need to accomplish TODAY. I build my schedule around those three things and check them off so I experience “the win.”
Here was my impromptu twist on that formula with my class:
ONE
“Think of one thing you have to or want to get done today before your head hits the pillow,” I instructed, walking around the room and handing out index cards. “Just one task that, if you do it, you’re gonna love yourself tomorrow.”
The room got quiet. I watched my students rubbing their foreheads, staring at the ceiling to find a thought, then scratching out an idea. Then erasing it and starting over. There was a lot of sighing.
TWO
After two minutes, I gave the next instruction. “What’s your first step for getting traction on your task, and when will you start?”
More scratching and erasing. Lots of furrowed eyebrows and checking phones.
I nudged my students to think through the second step or third–as many as it took to accomplish their task, even if it was merely a part of a larger project.
THREE
“Now, imagine you are about to start on your task, or you’re halfway through and you get distracted by something like, well, like your phone.” Chuckles and smirks travelled around the room.
“It’s going to happen, right? So the third thing is for you to decide what you’re going to do when that happens, so you don’t lose your momentum. How can you prepare yourself for the likely event of someone interrupting your focus, or even YOU interrupting yourself?”
More scratching and erasing. But I caught a few smiles.
“That’s the 1-2-3 approach,” I summarized. “One is your task, two is your first steps, and three is your plan for avoiding disruption or getting your focus back.”
If class hadn’t ended at that moment, I might have asked students to share their ideas with each other. But time ran out, and I knew I had violated one of the cardinal rules in teaching, which was to bring closure before students leave the room.
Interestingly, there was closure of a different kind, brought about through the students’ comments on their way out.
“Thanks, that helped.”
“Yeah, I’ve been dreading this one thing, but now I know I can at least start.”
“That was easier than I thought it would be.”
That very short exercise convinced me to start teaching pieces of the Full Focus Planner to my students. The Full Focus Planner is WAY MORE than a planner. Most “planners” are places for our endless list of tasks. But the Full Focus Planner is a SYSTEM for setting goals and achieving them one day at a time, one step at a time. You set annual goals, quarterly goals, weekly goals, daily goals. And they are all connected to bring you into the life of your dreams — the life you were meant to live.
Do you have a teenager graduating soon?
You can help them help themselves through these next several months to graduation, and beyond, setting them up for the best life ever. Isn’t that what all parents want — To see their child succeed, no matter what it looks like. One step at a time.
Go to my Services tab and select Full Focus Planner!