1. What is Focal (tldr)?

Focal is a system for focus, built for Notion.

• Focal is the architecture your Notion workspace demand. Focal is a Life Operation System that provides you with the structure to set goals, reflection on progress and organise all aspects of your life through using a system of ‘Spheres and Arcs’.
• How does Focal work?
  1. You setup your structure to cover the key aspects of your life (Spheres and Arcs)
  2. You set identity goals (the person you want to be)
  3. You set time-based goals (e.g. goals to achieve over the year, quarter, month and week)
  4. You set daily tasks (micro actions that help you achieve your yearly, quarterly, monthly and weekly goals)
  5. You set habits (repetitive actions such as meditating, journaling, exercise)
  6. You reflect on your progress (on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis)
• Focal is efficiently automated with built-in templates for goal setting, habit tracking, meal prepping and more, so you can spend more time focusing on progressing your goals and less time on reshuffling your Notion workspace.

2. Does your Notion not look like the Youtuber's setup?

Does this sound familiar?

• You're busy but you're not making any progress
• You’re constantly revamping and tweaking your Notion workspace
• You're not clear on your priorities and don't have a system for goal setting
• You're bad at tracking progress and feel like you're just 'winging it'
• You never do weekly or monthly reviews
• You're overwhelmed with the options and functionality of Notion
• You want to use Notion but don’t have time to invest in setting up a workspace
• You don't have a clear system and you don't know where to start

Did any of the above resonate with you? I’ve been in your exact position and that’s why I built Focal!

3. Tell me more about Focal!

Stop being busy and start being purposeful. Bring clarity to digital chaos with Focal.

• Focal helps you to:
  • Simplify and declutter your Notion workspace using a system of Spheres and Arcs (see more below).
  • Break down big goals into manageable tasks by laddering up daily tasks to weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly goals. Stay focused and motivated by only showcasing daily and micro tasks to complete on the home dashboard.
  • Stay accountable to your goals using the built-in reflection templates across the weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly timelines. Finally, start doing those weekly reflections on a consistent basis!

How does Focal work?

• 
  
  1. You setup your structure to cover the key aspects of your life (Spheres and Arcs)
     • The concept of Spheres and Arcs is the overarching framework of Focal. Think of Spheres and Arcs as the key aspects or pillars of your life.
       • Spheres are the high-level pillars e.g. Health, Work, Side Projects, Study.
       • Arcs are the sub-level pillars e.g. Meal planner, project planner, notes library.
  2. You set identity goals (the person you want to be)
     • Identity goals are the non quantifiable goals outlining the type of person you want to identify as.
  3. You set time-based goals (e.g. goals to achieve over the year, quarter, month and week)
     • Time-based goals are quantifiable and time-bound goals that seek to close the gap between the person you are and your identity goals.
  4. You set daily and micro tasks (micro actions that help you achieve your yearly, quarterly, monthly and weekly goals)
     • Daily tasks are small actions that ladder up to achieving your time-based goals. However, not all tasks ladder up nicely to goals, particularly the small households chores or random to do’s.
     • That’s where micro-tasks come into play! Micro-tasks are small items such as doing laundry, groceries, booking appointments, cleaning etc. These tasks should not be the focus of the day (hence not a daily task) but they still need to be done (hence micro-tasks)!
  5. You set habits (repetitive actions such as meditating, journaling, exercise)
     • A habit is different to a goal or a daily task. Whilst daily tasks ladder up to achieving a specific goal, habits are small actions that you take on a frequent basis (e.g. daily). They can, but don’t necessarily have to ladder up to a specific time-based goal, however they may be reflective of your identity goals.
  6. You reflect on your progress (on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis)
     • Reflections are where you reflect and set goals for the corresponding time-frame. Within Focal you are encouraged to reflect (using built in templates) on the following timeframes:
     • Each time-frame template includes prompts for you to reflect and learn from your actions and progression as well as set your goals for the upcoming time-frame.

What's included in Focal?

• Everything in Focal is automated so you can achieve more, with less.
  • Focal is completely customisable so you can define your own Sphere’s and Arc’s. To get you start the following Sphere’s and Arc’s have been built in:
    1. Health (Sphere)
       • Meal planner (Arc) - save recipes, track ingredients and plan your meals for the week ahead
    2. Learning (Sphere)
       • Eve (Arc) - save and reflect on books, articles, podcasts, videos and more
    3. Personal (Sphere)
       • Goals & Reflections (Arc) - set goals and track progress across built-in templates for the year, quarter, month and week
       • Habits (Arc) - receive automatic prompts for habits each day and track progress
       • Morning Journal (Arc) - 5+ built-in templates for morning journal reflections
    4. Business (Sphere)
       • Lean Canvas (Arc) - lean canvas prompt questions to help you kickstart your next side project
• The above spheres and arcs are just intended to serve as a foundation to get you started in Focal. You are highly encouraged to customise it to suit your needs!

FAQ

• Does this work with a free Notion account?
  • Sure does! Just hit duplicate and you're good to go!
• What if I already have Notion pages set up?
  • You can merge these with Focal! Focal will not replace your existing Notion workspace but rather provide it with a structured and efficient house to live in. There will be guidance in the onboarding guide on how to do this.
• What if I’m new to Notion?
  • Focal includes 2 versions:
    • Focal is for those who are new to Notion and do not make use of any advanced features (like databases etc).
    • Focal + is for those more familiar with Notion and utilises some of the more powerful features (like databases and sync blocks).
  • You have the option to onboard onto either version and can always change your mind!
• Are free updates included?
  • Yes! All updates are free and included!
• How will I know how to use the template?
  • There is a dedicated onboarding guide to help you set up your Sphere, Arc, and goals and give you a rundown of the best way to maximise Notion.

Hey! Let's connect.

I'm a Notion ambassador and obsessed with optimising Notion spaces!

Want to get in touch or have any feedback? Please send me a message on Twitter.

Happy to answer any questions you have!

Thanks!

Hugh ✌🏽