My Journey With the Full Focus Planner

Hello. My name is Caryn Ann, and I am a planner addict. Fortunately the State has not yet made them a Schedule 1 drug, though, it is an over-achiever, and the year is young. Despair falls eternal. Each new year, for decades, I determine to be a better planner for that upcoming year with various levels of success if one is optimistic and various levels of failure if one is not. Is it Eyeore or Pollyanna today?

There are plenty of unboxing videos for the Full Focus Planner (I am not sponsored or getting anything out of this), and since I like the experience of putting the tactile into the written word, I will write rather than vid.

It comes in a very nice box--one that will probably get thrown away--but there is something special about a nice box. But for the notebook itself, I will give some initial pros and cons.

Full Yays

• Sturdy cover with a diary-like feel (does anyone else not like the word “diary”- whenever I say it, my tongue immediately wants to channel my inner 12-year old boy and follow it “uh” and giggle. Or I think of milk.) Textured cover that gives a bit of under-stated elegance (though admittedly under-stated is not my strong suit [cough]pink hair[/cough])
• The binding is hand-sewn and not glued, so it will not fall apart during the breaking-in process.
• Great set-up. On first impression, the structure and technique actually look like they might work rather than just turning into another thing to check off a to-do list? Today’s to-do list? Make to-do list. DONE! But we shall see. And I will go into more detail on that as I progress.
• It is undated and set up in a simple weekly workflow. I love that. A world of my own making.
• Its just for one quarter out of the year. Yes, that is a negative too, but here is the plus: If you give up after a few weeks, about the same time that the gym membership becomes a sheer profit source for the gym, you only have to look at it for -- at most -- four months.
• It has two coloured ribbons to bookmark (I could be catty and say it needs a few more. Or that one should be pink. Which it should.)
• It has a few features reminiscent of fancy-pants Moleskin notebooks, specifically the book girdle and a back pocket.
• There are quotes sprinkled throughout that you can pull out and look smart. For instance, Life is long if you know how to use it (@Seneca). #stoicsmartass

Half-Full Yays

• Thick paper.... much better than the typical “Office Depot” type planner with the kittens or the flowers, but not quite thick enough or smooth enough. Think of the luxury of printing on 24lb paper instead of the typical 20lb paper. That’s what I want. I want to stroke the paper in the candlelight. I want to think of pina coladas and walks in the rain.
• It almost lays (or is it lies--- I HATE YOU ENGLISH SOMETIMES), let’s just go with newspeak; at times it is unflat. Which is ungood. There is a tutorial with tips on how to get it to assume a flat state of being while opened which is helpful.... but There’s. A. Tutorial. On. How. To. Keep. A. Notebook. Open.

Nays

• No pen holder loop. Yes I can make one with elastic and a hot glue gun, but if I had time for elastic and a hot glue gun I wouldn’t need a planner. I can’t remember ever being that bored.
• Expensive. Yikes, it will set you back $30 or so. That doesn’t sound so bad, right? Wrong, that is for just one quarter of a year. Do the math.
• No calendar. I know, its a planner, but umm, appointments are part of the plan. This is a huge nay for me.
• It is not pink. That is self-explanatory.
• Needs more cowbell.

Feature or Bug? You decide.

• The “executive” feel of it makes it feel pretty absurd to decorate it with stickers and hearts :{

Okay that’s it for my initial impressions. More to come.