Full Focus Planner and Nozbe: How to run a hybrid-system

Interaction between the Full Focus Planner and Nozbe

I tried to work completely paperless for years – but bought in the end of 2017 the Full Focus Planner: I’m a hybrid now!
Michael Hyatt, the originator of the handy Full Fokus Planner (FFP), told us how his hybrid system works.
I will show how my hybrid system works and how i use the benefits of both worlds.

1. Full Focus Planner: Advantages of a paper based planning tool

On paper i can work distraction free. To write something physically down deepens my commitments. Even transferring the calendars by hand ut my soul well. Of course that costs time – but I also have the good feeling to have an overview of the next quarter. The transfer – whether in the monthly calendar or on the daily page – I have learned to understand as a helpful exercise and not annoying repetition.
And for me as an 47 year old it’s like return home.
For all other benefits of paper i recommend the article from Erin Wildermuth.

2. Nozbe: Advantages of a digital Projectmanager

The advantages of a digital system are well known:
– All the stuff is searchable. In Nozbe you can set easily create a searchhistory.
– I can set reminders.
– Collaborate with others.
– Integration of my favorite online-tools (Evernote, dropbox…).

3. How FFP and Nozbe interact together

But now to the test: How can these different systems work together and support each other?
In general:
– I use the FFP to reach my yearly goals and to keep focus for that particular day
Nozbe is the base where i do my daily tasks.
And here is how it works alltogether:

3.1 weekly workflow: identifying my Weekly Big Three and break them down to get a next action list for achieving my goals

Backbone of my planning is the weekly review.
Formerly i went through my projectlist in Nozbe. Now i start with the weekly review pages in the FFP. This helps my to polish my goals for this year. I review my „Annual Goals“ and rewrite the next steps on the first pages of the FFP. Then i choose my new weekly big three. I break them down further in 2-3 subtasks, so i get small pieces i can accomplish the next week. In nozbe i have for each goal one project. All goal related projects are held together with the label „!goals2019“. In nozbe i update these projects first to sure that my weekly big three are on my priority list for the next week. I set the filter „!goals2019“ so i can see only the these goal related tasks. I give them the tag „#Daily Big Three“.
After revising my goals i do my weekly review in nozbe: that’s keep my focus sharp during rework my projects. In all active projects i chose one ore more next actions (i mark them with the star). After that the priority list has become a next-action-list for the following week.

3.2 daily workflow: make it happen „#today“ with the priority list

The daily exercise is to transform these next-action-list to a priority list again. It needs only a few steps using the amazing filter functions in Nozbe – so the fun begins:

3.2.1 The Urgent

Each morning i set the filter of my priority list to „due today“: I check them – are all this tasks really due today? If not i delete the due date- the task will stay on the list because of the star. All really due today tasks get now the tag „#today“.

3.2.2 The Right

I remove this filter and set it on „!goals2019“: i now choose out of the three to nine goal related tasks my „#Daily Big Three“ and give them the tag „#today“.
Now i set the filter „#today“ – and i have a list of urgent and important tasks – a priority list!

3.2.3 Other Tasks

If my calendar left enough space for some other tasks, i tag them too- nozbe shows me the time i will need to accomplish them! First i filter the tasks without duration and estimate a time for each of them.
At least i structure my day with my daily-routine-tasks at begin and end.
Ready for take off!

3.2.4 Get Focus – Doing – Staying Tuned
FFP: Getting Focus

Now i copy these tasks in my FFP – even my calendar appointments. On one simple page in the FFP i can overlook my day completely to get focus.

Nozbe: Doing

But the main work i do out of the Nozbe app:
– If i want to start with my daily big three first, i choose simply in addition to „#today“ the label filter „!goals2018“.
– If i want to start with the urgent task, i use in addition the due date filter „today“.
During the day i work out of my nozbe priority list.

Stay Tuned

In the end of the day i compare the nozbe-„#?today“-list with the daily page in FFP and do so a little day review.

4. Summery: The workflow

Here you find my implementation in a nozbe-how-template!


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