I have a confession.

I am really bad at focusing.

My attention span could win a gold medal in mind-wandering.

I sit down to work on something important – like outlining a new course module, creating some new resources, or writing an email to you – and within minutes I’m comparing five different types of notebooks I absolutely don’t need, wondering where I put that receipt from three weeks ago, or ordering magnesium foot soaks because I read somewhere that “they help with clarity.”

And as you probably know, creating an online course requires focused energy.

From shaping your content, to filming, writing, uploading… if your brain’s doing cartwheels every 3 minutes, it’s hard to get anything finished.

So I’m always testing ways to help my mind behave.

And when I come across a method that actually feels promising, I want to share it with you – because if it works for me (the human embodiment of a browser with 38 tabs open) then there’s a very good chance it’ll help you too, and that’s my goal…I want you to create and launch a successful online course!

This idea is from Dr. Jeff Spencer (shared via Nic Peterson), and it’s beautifully simple.

No app needed. No colour-coded planning system.

Just three little lists you do at the end of the day.

Dr. Jeff Spencer’s “Three Lists”

List 1: “Here’s what I got done today.”

This one’s surprisingly satisfying.

It gives your brain closure and stops it secretly fretting over whether you replied to that email or finished your proposal.

It clears the decks – mentally.

List 2: “Here’s what I need to do – and I know how to do it.”

This becomes tomorrow’s action plan. No figuring things out, no stalling. Just open your laptop and go.

(This is a great productivity win if you tend to faff for 20 minutes before doing anything. Yes, that’s me.)

List 3: “Here’s what I need to do—but I don’t know how yet.”

Here’s the genius bit.

Your subconscious works on this stuff overnight and in the background.

So that difficult issue you couldn’t figure out?

It might just come to you in the shower.

(And if your brain is anything like mine, possibly at 3:27am. But still… that’s progress.)

I’ve been trying this out for a few weeks and honestly, it’s made a huge difference.

I start the next day with momentum (thanks to List #2), and I’ve noticed solutions popping into my head for List #3 without the usual mental wrestling.

Give it a go.

It only takes five minutes and your brain will thank you for the breathing space.

Big thanks to Dr. Jeff Spencer for the technique and Nic Peterson for the great write-up.

And if you do try it, hit reply and let me know how it goes for you – I’d love to hear.

I also love hearing tips from you too…if you have found unusual or new ways to sharpen focus do drop me an email.