First Things First Book Report
First Things First
In his book First Things First, Stephen Covey describes setting priorities as the most important aspect of successful (personal) improvement. No matter how efficient you do your work, if you´re doing the wrong thing, nothing will really improve. Covey compares the difference between efficiency and setting priorities with a compass and the clock: how fast you go is not as important as where you´re going.
In the first part of the book, SHORTCOMINGS OF TIME MANAGEMENT are discussed, based on three generations of theory:
1. Priority is what is happening now
2. Priorities are deducted from calendars and goals
3. Priorities derive from values and goals
All three generations of theory lack the same thing: importance. Even though …show more content…
put the big rocks in first, which represent important, non-urgent matters
2. Then add up as many gravel as possible, important and urgent matters
3. add sand to the pot to fill the little pieces of space in between, the urgent, unimportant matters
4. finally, you will find that there is still room for some water, the unimportant, non-urgent matters
Note that it could be possible to fill the pot entirely with water, and it would be impossible to add big rocks to the pot, because it would overflow. The pot represents our calendar. The big rocks symbolize the activities that are important to you on the long term and should be planned in your calendar before anything else, because like with the water in the pot: there will be no time for the important stuff left if you put the urgent unimportant stuff first.
The next step in setting priorities is then HOW TO DETERMINE WHAT STUFF IS IMPORTANT. The tool which can be used to help defining what is important to person is to write down a so called ´personal mission statement´ which include the following
1. An acquittal of your personal talent
2. A contribution to a higher goal than yourself
3. A description of needs divided in all four dimensions described above (physical, mental, social and
In his book First Things First, Stephen Covey describes setting priorities as the most important aspect of successful (personal) improvement. No matter how efficient you do your work, if you´re doing the wrong thing, nothing will really improve. Covey compares the difference between efficiency and setting priorities with a compass and the clock: how fast you go is not as important as where you´re going.
In the first part of the book, SHORTCOMINGS OF TIME MANAGEMENT are discussed, based on three generations of theory:
1. Priority is what is happening now
2. Priorities are deducted from calendars and goals
3. Priorities derive from values and goals
All three generations of theory lack the same thing: importance. Even though …show more content…
put the big rocks in first, which represent important, non-urgent matters
2. Then add up as many gravel as possible, important and urgent matters
3. add sand to the pot to fill the little pieces of space in between, the urgent, unimportant matters
4. finally, you will find that there is still room for some water, the unimportant, non-urgent matters
Note that it could be possible to fill the pot entirely with water, and it would be impossible to add big rocks to the pot, because it would overflow. The pot represents our calendar. The big rocks symbolize the activities that are important to you on the long term and should be planned in your calendar before anything else, because like with the water in the pot: there will be no time for the important stuff left if you put the urgent unimportant stuff first.
The next step in setting priorities is then HOW TO DETERMINE WHAT STUFF IS IMPORTANT. The tool which can be used to help defining what is important to person is to write down a so called ´personal mission statement´ which include the following
1. An acquittal of your personal talent
2. A contribution to a higher goal than yourself
3. A description of needs divided in all four dimensions described above (physical, mental, social and