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On December 31st, 2021, I had a “Come to Jesus” moment with my To Do List and Academic Year Planner. (Jesus knows me well, and always shows up for these kinds of events.)
I spent almost $35 on my Academic Year Planner in the summer of 2021, thinking it would help me ONCE AND FOR ALL stay on top of the bazillion tasks I knew would come rushing at me when school started in September. You know — the tasks that would multiply like rabbits and not let up until June of the following year.
So, here I was, December 31, 2021, at the end of our particularly bizarre and complicated year as humans on the planet. I was cleaning out my home office and unearthed my Academic Year Planner from under a stack of file folders and a couple of books I intended to read during winter break.
One of the books, published by Harvard Business Review, was titled “On Managing Yourself.” The other book was “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear. Oops. I forgot to read those.
I flipped open my Academic Year Planner and searched for the last page where I’d written anything. “Ah, there it is,” I exclaimed. The date was October 3rd. And my typed To Do List (yes, I actually typed my To Do Lists) was folded and tucked into that page. I unfolded it. There were tasks on it from July and August.
“Well, I’ll be,” I scanned my list. “I don’t think I ever answered that one email. And I never got to creating that curriculum about good study habits for my high school seniors, did I?” I flipped through the rest of the planner — all of those pages with days of the week and times to schedule tasks — October, November, December. Eighty-nine days. All empty. What had I done with my life?!
“Maybe I can just pick up in January — start using this thing again,” I mumbled. But the idea suddenly drained me. Just holding the planner in my hands, I felt like I’d gained 10 pounds. There had to be a better way. This planner was just a place to list tasks. “I need a better system,” I said out loud.
That’s when I felt the Universal Nudge to stop lying to myself: I was actually not the organized, effective, and happy person I claimed to be. It was time to come clean. Time to be honest and do right.
So I scanned that To Do List with the thirty-something tasks divided into the five categories of my life as a high school teacher to make sure there wasn’t something I still needed to do (there wasn’t) and then tossed it in my recycle basket. A voice whispered in my ear, “Good girl. Now, let’s try something more useful and sustainable, shall we?” I nodded in agreement.
This moment of clarity refocused me, and I knew what I had to do next: Order a Full Focus Planner from Michael Hyatt & Company.
I had used the Full Focus Planner a few years ago when directing a teacher education program, and it saved my life. I was in the process of turning over the reigns to an interim director. After thirteen years on the job, I had amassed a lot of knowledge, and there were hundreds of loose ends I needed to tie up or delegate before leaving. The Full Focus Planner set me up so successfully that I was able to cross everything off within three months. The whole kit-n-kaboodle. Nothing forgotten, not one stone unturned. I retired from that position with a clear conscience and skipped happily into the next phase of life.
I didn’t really need a planner for a while, but then found myself drifting between entrepreneurial ideas and failed scams … more or less reacting to my circumstances instead of (as Michael Hyatt says) “designing my life.” A year later, I found myself back in the teaching landscape, where there are plenty of calendars and emails telling you what to do and when — and I found myself dissatisfied, disheartened, aimless, but still incredibly busy!
Hence, my blank Academic year Calendar from October 3 to December 31st. I finally realized that it wasn’t a tool for designing my life. It was merely a place to list a bazillion tasks, none of which pointed me in the direction of living with purpose, of “making a difference” in my students’ lives or advancing my own business as an educational coach, author, and speaker.
So why the Full Focus Planner?
First and foremost, this is a planner that actually guides your planning and progress. It is NOT a place for you to simply list tasks and cross them off. That’s not planning, that’s a hamster wheel. In the planner you’ll find:
- dedicated pages for daily, weekly, quarterly, and annual goals that sync together so you experience consistent progress, personally and professionally
- reminders for daily rituals and workday start-ups and shut-downs
- inspirational quotes
- a symbol ‘key’ for tagging tasks for deletion, postponement, delegation, or elimination
…. AND SO MUCH MORE.
The system that Michael Hyatt and his team have created shifts your mindset from “Life by To Do List” to Life By Design. There is a world of difference.
Prime example: I’ve been chipping away at a memoir for four years, allowing less important tasks and life circumstances sabotage my writing time.
But, since I started using the Full Focus Planner, I’ve finished the first full draft of my manuscript, found an editor, and am on track to publish in 2023.
I credit this planner with getting me out of the molasses of writer’s block and into full writing stride. Follow its system, and you cannot help but succeed.
THE FULL FOCUS PLANNER IS NOW INCLUDED IN MY B.E.S.T. COACHING PROGRAM. CONTACT ME TO FIND OUT HOW TO MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU.
If you find yourself dropping tasks, feeling overwhelmed, and just never getting to what’s really important to you, order a Full Focus Planner and reach out to me for 1:1 training or training for your team. (Use CONTACT link at top of this post or click here).
Order your Full Focus Planner at https://fullfocusplanner.com/
There are several rich colors, and I highly recommend the nifty little pen/pencil pouch! My newest version is Oatmeal Linen with a French Blue Pencil Pouch. It’s exquisite.
Get a Full Focus Planner ~ Design your life ~ Bring forth the best in you.