First Things First

Book Description

I'm getting more done in less time, but where are the rich relationships, the inner peace, the balance, the confidence that I'm doing what matters most and doing it well?

Does this nagging question haunt you, even when you feel you are being your most efficient? If so, First Things First can help you understand why so often our first things aren't first. Rather than offering you another clock, First Things First provides you with a compass, because where you're headed is more important than how fast you're going.

Amazon.com

What are the most important things in your life? Do they get as much care, emphasis, and time as you'd like to give them? Far from the traditional "be-more-efficient" time-management book with shortcut techniques, First Things First shows you how to look at your use of time totally differently. Using this book will help you create balance between your personal and professional responsibilities by putting first things first and acting on them. Covey teaches an organizing process that helps you categorize tasks so you focus on what is important, not merely what is urgent. First you divide tasks into these quadrants:

1.Important and Urgent (crises, deadline-driven projects)

2.Important, Not Urgent (preparation, prevention, planning, relationships)

3.Urgent, Not Important (interruptions, many pressing matters)

4.Not Urgent, Not Important (trivia, time wasters)

Most people spend most of their time in quadrants 1 and 3, while quadrant 2 is where quality happens. "Doing more things faster is no substitute for doing the right things," says Covey. He points you toward the real human needs--"to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy"--and how to balance your time to achieve a meaningful life, not just get things done.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　--Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly

This is the latest time-management book from the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

From Library Journal

Covey ( The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People , LJ 3/15/90) and Roger and Rebecca Merrill here create a new paradigm for taking control of busy lives. Unlike the dozens of self-help books that focus on the clock or the way people spend their time, they offer a "principle-centered" approach to time management that emphasizes what "represents our vision, values, principles, mission, conscience, direction--what we feel is important and how we lead our lives." The authors argue that central to our lives are "four needs and capacities--to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy." The ideas here are not only clearly explained but are reinforced by scenarios from the authors' lives and self-directed activities for the reader. Introspection and self-reflection play a larger role here than in most time management books. Highly recommended for all types of collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/93.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　- Jane M. Kathman, Coll. of St. Benedict Lib., St. Joseph, Minn.

From Booklist

Time management isn't enough, say Covey and his co-authors, Roger and Rebecca Merrill. But it's an effective starting point, so first lay out your life in four quadrants labeled urgent, not urgent, important, and unimportant. That is, a task may have a deadline, but not much importance; or a task may be important, but require preparation and planning. You should stop doing what's unimportant and without urgency. Where the important and the urgent intersect is where you need to expend most of your energies. Assuming that urgency announces itself, the real question is knowing what's important, and Covey and the Merrills draw from a variety of sources to guide you toward determining just that. Much of their argument goes beyond the linear time of time management and centers on quality time; to properly prioritize and spend one's moments happily and productively, one sets goals--or principles--from which all else flows. These goals embody a perfect balance of the mental, the physical, the spiritual, and the social--that is, you need a challenging job, you need to exercise, you need a system of beliefs, and you need someone to love you. Covey, whose The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People has sold 4,000,000 copies, with the aid of the Merrills again offers common sense for those who are working like dogs and, in the bargain, living dogs' lives.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　John Mort

Book Dimension :

length: (cm)21 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)14