Outline of First Things First by Steven Covey

Title: First Things First

Author: Steven Covey

Length: 384 pages

Published: 1994

ISBN-10: 0671864416

ISBN-13: 978-0671864415

People have conflicting daily demands

Instead of traditional time techniques, learn how to dedicate our energies to the things that are important

Tremendous daily struggles to put first things first

Why aren’t first things put first? There is no silver bullet to do it all (trying harder, being more organized)

Most people imply efficiency means more life balance

Principle-centered paradigm to transcend the traditional efficiency myth

Quality of life cannot be achieved by taking the right shortcut – because there is no shortcut – but there is a right path.

Need to examine life, scripts, motives, and what are the first things in your life.

Ability to close gap between what is deeply important to you and how you spend your time.

Power is in the principles.

Clock and the Compass

How many people on their deathbed wish they spent more time in the office?

Baby story

a result of her expectations
spend quality time with her for now
life should be unbalanced in the short term
be governed by your internal compass, not some clock on the wall or some planner

We feel torn by the things that we want to do or responsibilities

Can mostly see differences between good and bad, problem comes in differentiating best from good

Consider Unique Gifts You Have

What things are getting in the way of these ‘best things’

Simple contrast: clock and compass

clock represents committments, appointments, goals, schedules, activities, what we do with and how we spend our time
compass represents our vision, values, principles, mission, conscience, direction, what we feel is important, and how we lead our lives
struggle -> gap between clock and compass
might see this gap when a crisis occurs
sometimes this is the only way that we will actually try to address the gap

Most people then turn to time-management to try to fix this gap

people are turned into a means rather than an end (transactional (give something, get something))
however, the greatest joys in life are transformational relationships
something new is created, and neither person is controlling it
not due to efficiency, but rather from sharing understanding
time management is management, not leadership perspective; you manage things, cash, inventory, you lead people.
put leadership before management
instead of asking, “Am I doing the right things?” – ask “Am I doing things right?”

Urgency Addiction

urgency versus importance
doing the things that are important versus urgent is a key to putting first things first
urgency has its own thrill and energy associated with solving the problems
many traditional time-management focus on urgent
however, the things that really contribute to overall objectives and give meaning and importance to life often don’t seem urgent at all
we must act upon them

Activity Matrix (four quadrants)

upper-left - both urgent and important

soothe irate client
meet deadline
get necessary heart surgery
fix broken-down car
help hurt child

upper-right - important but not urgent (“quadrant of quality”)

We must act on this quadrant

anticipate and prevent problems
broaden our mind through reading and professional development
envision how to help struggling son or daughter
prepare for important meetings
invest in relationships through deep and honest listening

lower-left - urgent but not important (“quadrant of deception”)

Phone calls, meetings, drop-in visitors

lower-right - not urgent or important (“quadrant of deterioration”)

reading addictive light novels
watching mindless tv shows
gossiping

Big Questions

What can I do consistently well that would have a significant postive results on my personal life?
What can I do consistently well that would have a significant postive results on my professional life?
- these things will be in quadrant II
- we might not do them because they are not urgent – we have to act on them

First things

What are the first things, and how do we put them first in our lives?

Fulfillment of needs and capacities - to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy

Maslow hierarchy
important to realize that all needs are interrelated
balancing all needs is like lighting a fire of desire and passion

The way we seek to fulfill them with quality of life

function of how our lives are aligned with external laws or principles
“which way is true north?”
an external indicator, there regardless of whether we can recognize it or not
common to every great person, institution, society
are not talking about values, practices, or religion
are talking about the law of the farm - natural laws or principles govern the work and determine the harvest
this also applies to social things
- although shorcuts and cramming may appear to work in the short term, in the long run, the law of the farm is true
- cannot expect results overnight for a process that takes time and dedication
- difference between succeeding in social system of school and succeeding in development of mind, thinking analytical
can you cram and suddenly become a person of integrity, courage, and compassion?
what about personal health cramming?
what about marriage health cramming?
what about any relationship cramming, especially children?
in the short term, we might rely on tricks or deceptions

Capacity of four human endowments

distinguish us from animals (AJP: arguable?)
self-awareness
- examine our own thinking, actions, habits, scripts, etc.
conscience
- connects us with wisdom of ages and wisdom of heart
creative imagination
- power to envision future state (modelling)
- mission statments/goals
independent will
- capacity to act and to be outside of any rule system
these things live in space between stimulus and response
create ultimate human freedom
empowers us to align our lives to true north
must exercise and nurture them on a continuous basis
personal journal is a quadrant II item that significantly increases self-awareness and the synergy among them
- write about results and consequences flow from root causes
- analyze self-defeating behavior
- doing things your parents did
educate your conscience by learning, listening, and responding to it
- read and ponder over wisdom literature text to see where true north lies
- take time to be still and listen to deep inner voice and act in accordance with that inner voice
strengthen willpower by making and keeping promises
- increases our trust in ourself
- start small
- body is the only way we interact with the world, if you cannot control the body, how can you control the expressions that come through your body and your mind?
- emotional life evens out and allows us to make promises to each other
develop creative imagination through visualization
- used by top athletes and performers
- use it to nurture your endowments
- imagine good or difficult times and your response to them based on the principles you know to be good (courage, compassion, etc.)

Put first things first

Step 1 - connect with vision and mission

what is most important to your life as a whole?
context gives meaning
consider the big picture
must clarify
- what is most important?
- what gives me meaning?
- what do I want to be and to do in my life?
- what kind of a person, what kind of contributions do I want to make?
written personal creed or mission statement
principles that I value, upon which I will act
list three or four things that are most important, long-term goals, relationships, important responsibilities, desired contributions, desired overall feelings, how you would spend the next week if you knew that you only had six months to live,
try to connect with inner compass and with true north to define what you will do for the next seven days
establishes and taps the power of vision
single most important factor was the idea that there was something important left to do in the world
vision -> highest manifestation of creative imagination and primary motivation of human action
ability to see beyond current reality, to invent what does not exist, to become what we are not yet
we can live out of our imagination rather than our memory
gives purpose and direction and empowers us to perform beyond our resources
makes life an adventure, a deep burning “YES!”, and what allows us to say “no” peacefully, confidently, and smilingly, to the less important things in our lives
transcend fear, doubt, and discouragement, the things that keep us from accomplishment and contribution
mission statement becomes a constitution for every decision that you make

Step 2 - identify your roles

we live our life in terms of roles
represent responsibilities, relationships, and contributions
most of pain in life comes from thinking that we are succeeding in one role at the expense of another, even more important role
roles create natural framework for balance and growth
balance does not mean spending time in each role, but that these roles work together for the accomplishment of your mission
another role: sharpen the saw
- energy for increasing capacity in four fundamental areas (physical, mental, social, spiritual)
- so busy sawing that we forget to sharpen the saw
- organizing weekly improvement exercises
all roles are not distinct, they are interrelated
perspectives from which to examine to for balance and harmony
balance more important than prioritization
single-minded purpose often takes balance away
- AJP: I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, to get the work-sleep-fun balance more correct. I see that it’s more complex than this
compartmentalizing and dichotomization (Buddhism)

Step 3 - select quadrant II goals in each role

what is the most important thing that I could do in this role in this week to have the most positive impact?
consult the wisdom of your heart and your mind
use the compass instead of the clock
power of goals
focus
without principles, goals will never have the ability to produce positive quality-of-life gains
the right thing for the right reason in the right way

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