Habit 3:
Put First
Things First ®
The Habit of Personal Management
Prioritize and achieve their most important goals, instead of constantly reacting to urgencies.
Balance key priorities.
Eliminate low priorities and time-wasters.
Execute strategy.
Use planning tools effectively.
Use effective time-management skills.
The Four Quadrants of Time Management
We spend our time in one of four ways, depending on the two factors that define an activity: urgent and important. Urgent means it requires immediate attention. Urgent things act on us and are usually visible. For example, a ringing phone is urgent. Important things, on the other hand, have to do with results. It contributes to our mission, values, and high-priority goals. We react to urgent matters. Important matters that are not urgent require more initiative, more proactivity.
Putting first things first means organizing and executing around your most important priorities. It is living and being driven by the principles you value most, not by the agendas and forces surrounding you.
-- Dr. Stephen R. Covey