Living Life by Design

Have you ever asked yourself…”Would a Franklin Covey Planner work for me?”

The Franklin Covey System was inspired by Benjamin Franklin and popularized by Stephen Covey. This time tested system help you focus on your goals and then ensures that you spend much of your time on these priorities only.

Using the right system is important as you don’t want a something that will cramp your individual style or hamper your productivity. In this blog we’ll discuss:

• Franklin Covey planner basics
• The tools included with the planner
• Who would get the most from using the FCP?

Franklin Covey Planner Basics

The Franklin Covey Planner (FCP) is focused on a balance between a compass and a clock. The compass is about what you decide to do and the clock is about how you decide to do it. Say that a couple times so it sinks in. This is one of the most important concepts using the FCP.

The “what” is about effectiveness, and the “how” is about efficiency…the “what” being the more important concept.

And this make perfect sense. Why expend effort in the wrong direction of your goals and priorities.

In the FCP system, you must be very clear on your life goals and this then determines your priorities in the short term. These goals are clear before you plan for, or carry out, your tasks.

For the highest level of productivity Steven Covey instructs us to spend as much of our time in quadrant 2 as possible…see matrix below 

In real life, it’s difficult spending most of your time in quadrant 2. Most of us have busy work lives dealing with day-to-day, or moment-by-moment urgency. Part of the process is to constantly look at what you’re doing and evaluate in which quadrant you are operating in. Also, it’s important to schedule activities from quadrant 2 into your weekly planner or calendar in advance, and then review on a daily basis to make sure you are spending enough quality time on the things that are most important.

The tools included in the system

The FCP System can be either a set of paper tools or electronic tools that walk you through the process of developing your own personal mission statement, goals, and tasks in a pragmatic, methodical manner.

Over the years I’ve tried using my own tools…calendar, goal planning sheets, and a notebook but I always found it just too difficult to do. I’ve been using Franklin Covey’s flagship system for over 20 years. The signature Franklin Covey Planners comes with a number of important planning tools such as a master task list, the monthly index, and the weekly compass – which makes it seamless &.easy to move forward in a logical way.

Who would get the most from using the FCP?

Let’s face it, it’s inspiring to focus on a personal mission statement. Only 1% of performers do this. So, this system would best suit those people who have enough control over their day-to-day tasks to be able to spend the time to set their goals.

Also, you will need to be able to switch between Big Picture thinking and then more detailed thinking. It would suit people who can do this quite easily.

In my travels as a productivity / success coach, it’s become very apparent that this system works best with people who have a high level of organizational support or a high level of support from a team. It would suit also suit those people who are disciplined to check in on their priorities, on a daily and weekly basis.

This system requires you to step back from the day-to-day and to consider the bigger picture of your life and overall mission. Incredibly important but for those people who struggle to do this then this would be a sticking point.