full focus planner review cover features a navy coiled planner on a light wooden background
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Full Focus Planner Review – What You Need to Know

In this Full Focus Planner review, learn about the best features, pros and cons, whether it is worth the money and alternatives. Find more planner reviews here.

Note: This post contains affiliate links or referral links. Purchases from these links provides a small commission or discounts towards future purchases to me at no extra cost to you. Refer to my Full Privacy Policy and Disclaimers here.

The Full Focus planner is a great quarterly goalsetting and daily planner for people who want to set and achieve big goals “just outside their comfort zone”. This planner helps you set SMARTER goals and schedule the actions steps you need so you actually get it done. The planner is undated and includes spaces for 13 weeks of planning and productivity.

In this Full Focus Planner review, I’ll walk you through the following to help you decide if the Full Focus planner is right for you and your goals:

  • the best features that make the Full Focus planner unique
  • pictures inside my full focus planner
  • pros and cons of the Full Focus planner
  • helpful Full Focus Planner pdfs and resources
  • if the Full Focus Planner is worth the money
  • and Full Focus planner alternatives

For detailed specifications and additional features and pages not mentioned below, please visit Full Focus planner‘s website.

Best Features of the Full Focus Planner

Here are my favorite features of the Full Focus Planner that makes it stand out in the planner market. I have the navy coil linen standard planner which is shown in the pictures below. The planner also comes in leather covers, book bound planners, pocket size planners and portfolio size planners.

Weekly Preview Full Focus Planner

The weekly preview in the Full Focus planner is pure gold to me and has been since I read planner creator Michael Hyatt’s book, Free to Focus at the beginning of 2021. If you’re on my planning and productivity email list, you’ve probably heard me gush about the book and this process. It’s really both a weekly review of the previous week and a plan for the next week.

full focus planner review - wire bound planner with cream colored paper is open to the weekly preview pages with spaces for big wins, after action review, list sweep checklist and weekly overview
full focus planner review - wire bound planner with cream colored paper is open to the weekly preview pages with space for weekly overview, self care planner and top 3 priorities for next week

I love that weekly preview dedicates 4 pages per week to document:

  • biggest wins
  • what worked/keep doing
  • what didn’t work/stop doing
  • list sweep to make sure all your lists are updated and complete
  • next week’s weekly overview space for personal and professional tasks
  • next week’s weekly overview by day
  • next week’s big 3 priorities
  • next week’s self care planner with spaces to plan out sleep, food, movement, connections and relaxation time!

So many times moms slack on the self care if it isn’t specifically blocked in our calendars. That rejuvenation time as Hyatt calls it is has been pivotal in making me feel better physically and emotionally and making time for the things that matter.

This weekly preview method has been so effective in fact, that even if I switch planners, I build this Full Focus weekly preview into my planner. It’s my favorite part of the week and I make time for it every Sunday night or Monday morning. It helps me uncover both the big and little things that help me succeed in my goals and learn and improve to make things better or easier for me.

Rolling Quarters Full Focus Planner

Since the Full Focus Planner is undated, there are no year at a glance or dated pages (I actually like that because I don’t use the year at a glance anyway). The rolling quarters pages replace the year at a glance and are intended for you to write in your events, appointments and deadlines for the next 4 quarters. For example, if you are currently using your Full Focus planner for Q3 of 2022, then you would use the rolling quarters pages to show important dates for Q4 of 2022 through Q3 of 2023.

I keep all my appointments, deadlines and events in Google calendar so I can move them around if needed. So Google calendar is my year at a glance and source for future planning. Appointments move frequently so I don’t write in my appointments into my paper planner until the week/day it happens.

If you are like me and don’t need your rolling quarters pages for future planning, here are some other creative ways you can use these pages:

  • a year in pixels to track mood, reading, or what you did to bring you joy
  • home cleaning and laundry tracker
  • home maintenance tracker
  • bill tracker
  • expense tracker
  • joy tracker (list what you did to bring you joy each day)
  • Reading tracker(list books you are reading each day)
  • gratitude journal
  • a word a day you are learning
  • a small victory a day journal
  • a line a day journal
  • goal tracker
  • Acts of encouragement. kindness or service tracker (either that you did or someone did for you)

As you can see, I really like pages like these to be more creative and I enjoy adapting planner pages to meet my needs.

Full Focus Planner Quarterly Preview

full focus planner review - wire bound planner with cream colored paper is open to the quarterly preview pages with questions and lines for responses

The Full Focus Planner quarterly preview is a comprehensive tool to make sure you reassess your goals and that they still align with your life and yearly goals. This quarterly review exercise sets you up to be ready for the next quarter’s Full Focus planner. The first page asks the same sort of review questions as the weekly review.

full focus planner review - wire bound planner with cream colored paper is open to the quarterly preview page 3 with checklist steps to complete

But the second page encourages you to review your:

  • life plan
  • annual goals
  • monthly calendar
  • ideal week, and
  • daily rituals (routines)
  • and date your pages

I think these are valuable exercises if you’re a goal minded individual.

Full Focus Planner daily pages

full focus planner review - wire bound planner with cream colored paper is open to the saturday daily pages. the left hand page has daily big 3, rituals checklist, tasks and schedule. the right side page has a quote at the top and a lined notes page.

I love the Full Focus Planner daily pages because they are a day on 2 pages format, even for Saturdays and Sundays too. The left side page is for your top 3 priorities, schedule and task list. The right side page is for notes and in my case, journaling and health tracking. The daily pages give you ample space to write in whatever you need for your professional and personal life.

Since all the pages are numbered, it’s also easy to use your daily notes page for meeting notes and additional lists or bullet journal style collections. Then you can write the page number of the info in your index so you can find it easily later.

Full Focus Planner ideal week

full focus planner review - wire bound planner with cream colored paper is open to the ideal week pages. on the left page is 4 columns for the time in 30 minute increments from 5 am to 9pm and Monday through Wednesday. The right page has 4 columns labeled Thursday through Sunday

I like that the Full Focus Planner has pages to map our your ideal week. I need to think through what my ideal week looks like as the seasonal changes impact the weather (and consequently my health), the kids” sports activities and school schedules.

The Full Focus planner ideal week is broken down by 30 minute increments which is also an advantage. I feel like that works better for my time blocking needs since I switch tasks often. The schedule is from 5am to 9pm which works well for me and my productive time. I like that there is an equally sized space for Saturdays and Sundays too.

Full Focus Planner workday startup and workday shutdown routines

Another key takeaway from Free to Focus is the development of daily “rituals” (I call them routines). Hyatt suggests 4 rituals/routines:

  • morning routine
  • workday startup routine
  • Workday shutdown routine, and
  • Evening routine

As a SAHM and running this blog business, I don’t have a typical “workday”. But I do know that for my job of caring for our home, family and finances, that I need a tidied space (one where everything is back in its place) so that my job isn’t made harder by the overwhelm and frustration of clutter. I know what I need to feel my best to start off the day so I make sure my workday startup routine has those things in it.

I’m not as good at the workday shutdown routine, but this routine is for tying up any loose ends from today’s to do list and leaving things as well as you can to start your next workday. For me, my workday ends with feeding the hungry boys dinner and cleaning up the kitchen. Afterwards, I update my planner with another list sweep and write in small victories, happy memories and gratitude, check out tomorrow’s appointments in google calendar and then shower.

Getting into those workday routines has helped me get into the right mindset to do my best for my family in the morning and then end my exhausting day with some mindful and intentional tasks to reflect and wrap up my day and be ready for tomorrow. I know these routines would be game changing if I still worked outside the home.

Full Focus Planner Goalsetting Pages

I love setting goals to help me focus on what’s important to our family. The Full Focus Planner goalsetting pages are great for breaking down goals you know are important to you. There is one page for annual goals and 8 goal detail pages to break that goal down.

The Full Focus planner encourages you to write SMARTER goals…That means taking SMART goals two steps further to make sure you are stretching to achieve your full potential.

full focus planner review - wire bound planner with cream colored paper is open to the goal detail pages, one on each side. the goal detail pages includes goal summary, type of goal, key motivations, next steps, your reward and 3 streaktrackers to keep track of daily habit progress for each month in this quarter.

goal detail pages include:

  • your goal summary
  • key motivations
  • the first few action steps to get started on the goal
  • your reward, and
  • a goal streak tracker so you can mark off each of the days you work on your goal to encourage making it a daily habit. Don’t break the streak!

Full Focus Planner pros and cons

Full Focus Planner pros:

  • goalsetting AND quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily planning all in one book
  • spiral bound or book bound options
  • classic and minimalist design (all black font on the inside) looks professional
  • all those pages I listed above!
  • I think the weekly preview/review pages are the best of any planner I’ve seen because it walks you through each step each week so you don’t forget anything
  • the list sweep ensures none of your tasks or notes falls through the cracks
  • the self care planner each week ensures you schedule time for your self care
  • because it is undated you can use it whenever you want/need it.
  • it is the best goal planner for people who know what goals they want to achieve

Full Focus Planner cons:

  • cream paper in the linen planners may be a con if you want bright white paper (the leather planners have bright white paper)
  • the paper is 60#, it’s not super thick so ghosting/shadowing may occur if you use inky gel pens
  • wire binding might bend on the spiral bound version – if you are going to carry it in your bag daily, I recommend a planner pouch or get a bookbound planner
  • undated may be a con if you don’t want to take time to date your planner (I like these cute date stickers or foiled date stickers to make it easier and add some color to your planner)
  • not enough space for my master task or master project list (there’s one key projects page). (but I started keep both of these lists in Notion so that I don’t have to rewrite it in my planner each quarter or year)
  • cost – because it’s quarterly you’ll need 4 books to get a full year (I recommend getting one to start and then signing up for the subscription to save money if you love it)
  • if you don’t know what goals to pursue, this planner will not help you pinpoint it (I recommend Powersheets for that).

Full Focus Planner PDF

The Full Focus Planner does not come in a PDF or digital version right now.

There are some helpful printables that are accessible when you buy the book Free to Focus (and it explains more in depth the science behind why this method works). There are also free printables and video tutorials you have access to when you buy the Full Focus Planner itself.

Full Focus planner discount code

I am an affiliate with Full Focus Planner (and this review is 100% my honest opinion), and they have graciously given me an exclusive discount code to share with you. Use the code TANYA10 when you buy the Full Focus Planner here to get 10% off your first purchase.

Is the Full Focus Planner Worth It?

My general thought is any planner is worth it if you commit to using it and giving it a good run. The Full Focus Planner is a complete productivity system and working through each piece may take time initially but it will feel like a well oiled machine when you get it in place. I think that any planner that helps make life easier for you and helps you achieve your goals is worth it. I bought one and have been very happy with it as you can see from this review. I’ve seen and worked through a lot of planners and the Full Focus Planner is the only one that helps you establish and work through an effective productivity system each week. I think it’s worth it if you commit to doing the work of setting it up and trying each page.

Full focus planner alternative

These planners are similar to Full Focus Planner and have goalsetting, reflection and planning pages.

More Planner Resources

I’ve given you lots to think about but here are just a few more planner resources I’ve compiled to help you decide which planner is right for you.

I think the Full Focus Planner is a powerful and comprehensive tool that you can use to setup an effective productivity system and achieve your most important goals, whether personal or professional. If you still have questions about this planner, drop me a comment and I’ll be happy to help however I can. Happy planning!

3 Comments

  1. I come from a Franklin Covey system where my yearly calendar contains events written on them.

    I am just wondering how you might use the Focus system with regard to the yearly calendar events. Is it a separate calendar that accompanies the Focus Planner or a digital version?

    1. Hi Billy,

      The Full Focus planner has a section called Rolling Quarters which I would use for the next 3 quarters in the year. Full Focus has an updated version (the linen evergreen green and finch yellow covers i know have it) that omits the rolling quarters and shows a year at a glance on two pages which could be used for marking events also.

      I hope that helps. I have a Franklin Planner system too so I’m not sure which yearly calendar you mean…the 3 years at a glance at the beginning of the planner with small calendars or the lined year at a glance at the end which is for future planning (that’s similar to what the green and yellow full focus planner have). You could use the year at a glance pages in the full focus at the front for this year and then copy those pages and tape them into the back of the full focus if you also needed that type of calendar for future planning.

      Let me know if you still have questions!Hope that helps

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