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First Things First
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 professi...more
Hardcover, 373 pages
Published
by Simon & Schuster
(first published September 1st 1993)
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Dec 02, 2008
Greg
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
personal-development,
professional-development
Another terrifically helpful book from the pen of Stephen Covey. I personally found especially useful the two-by-two matrix he discusses as a way to organize yourself. The four resulting quadrants include:
1. Important and Urgent
2. Important, Not Urgent
3. Urgent, Not Important
4. Not Urgent, Not Important
Simply put, most people spend far too much time in quadrants 3 & 4. We also spend too much time in quadrant 1, not that those issues are unimportant, but because we don't manage our prioriti...more
1. Important and Urgent
2. Important, Not Urgent
3. Urgent, Not Important
4. Not Urgent, Not Important
Simply put, most people spend far too much time in quadrants 3 & 4. We also spend too much time in quadrant 1, not that those issues are unimportant, but because we don't manage our prioriti...more
This book was a slow read for me, it was really hard for me to get into it, I especially had a hard time with all of the different "quadrants" of organization and such, I'm just not into that. Although, there were a lot of things that I did like about the book. One point brought up is that we use busy-ness as a way to validate ourselves and to feel important, and I think that's very true, and I am starting to realize that it really doesn't matter. I don't have to be involved in a million differe...more
كم من الناس وصلوا إلى ماكانوا يصبوا إلية ؟! وهل بعد الوصول راحة وسعادة ؟! كيف نستطيع أن نجد أنفسنا كما نود في كــل أدوار الحياة من دون أن نـخل بأحدهـا؟
بعد أن قرأت هذا الكتاب الرائع الذي لم يحوي فقط على معلومات ونظريات وإنما على حلول يمكن تطبيقها على أرض الواقع أجبت على أسئلة كانت تدور بخلدي و أدركت أن أولى أولويات أي شخص أراد تحسين أدواره بالحياة أن يقرأ هذا الكتاب أولاً ...
بعد أن قرأت هذا الكتاب الرائع الذي لم يحوي فقط على معلومات ونظريات وإنما على حلول يمكن تطبيقها على أرض الواقع أجبت على أسئلة كانت تدور بخلدي و أدركت أن أولى أولويات أي شخص أراد تحسين أدواره بالحياة أن يقرأ هذا الكتاب أولاً ...
проблемы, с которыми вы сталкиваетесь, нельзя решить за счет простого увеличения способности делать больше дел за меньшее время.
призму срочности или призму важности
Лучшее не совпадает с хорошим
Борьба начинается, когда мы ощущаем разницу между часами и компасом, когда наша деятельность не способствует тому, что мы считаем главным в жизни.
Управление временем похоже на управление проектом - важно не как можно быстрее сделать больше вещей, а важно делать самое важное
Вы управляете „вещами», но руково...more
призму срочности или призму важности
Лучшее не совпадает с хорошим
Борьба начинается, когда мы ощущаем разницу между часами и компасом, когда наша деятельность не способствует тому, что мы считаем главным в жизни.
Управление временем похоже на управление проектом - важно не как можно быстрее сделать больше вещей, а важно делать самое важное
Вы управляете „вещами», но руково...more
"إدارة الأولويات .. الأهم أولاً" .. تجوب خلال صفحاته الخمسمائة .. يشحذ أفكارك ويملأ رأسك بإلهام طاغ .. يجعلك تؤمن بأنك قادر على بذل المزيد .. ليس في عملك الذي لا بد أنك تبذل فيه الكثير .. ولكن في بيتك .. .. كتاب يبحث عن السلام الداخلي والتوازن النفسي والعاطفي .. يساعدك على إيجاد البوصلة داخلك مهما كانت وجهتك. هذا الكتاب يدعو إلى الجيل الرابع من إدارة الوقت .. بعد أن أثبتت الأجيال السابقة قدرتها ضمن الأطر الزمنية المختلفة .. وفشلها في التكيف مع المتطلبات العصرية المرتبطة بتسارع الحركة على حساب ال...more
For me, this was a new way of looking at "a balanced life." Sometimes we focus so much on the urgent things, that we forget about the important things that aren't necessarily so urgent. Very insightful. It made me think that I need to focus left on getting things done, and more on getting the important things done!
Mar 05, 2009
Martina
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
my-classics,
self-help
Love it! It expands on the chapter in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This has helped me live a more quality driven life vs. filling my time with lots o' crap. :)
A deeper reflection on one of the 7 Habits, this book develops the "4th generation" of time management. Such skill involves knowing inherently one's value and then creating quadrant II space to achieve what is most important. The Laws of Life, such as the principle of the Farm and emotional bank accounts must be considered. The book frequently challenges the paradigm that busy = success and instead replaces it with the value of the compass over the clock, i.e. why scramble in the wrong direction...more
This is a great book to keep yourself focused on working life with a possitive outlook. Many books out there tell you to just press on and/or to have faith. I liked this book because he walked you through the processes...a great one to take your time with...let the process change and prepare you for success.
May 26, 2007
Alex
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone, leaders, teachers
Shelves:
h2w2-collection
Teaches you the art and craft of time management. Move away from reactive day to day to do list planning and gets you to view your time as the week proactively scheduling in your priorities with the compass card. The principle of the clock and the compass is right on.
Aug 20, 2008
Ladyjexie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
behaviorism
Taught me about keeping the first things, the most important things, first.
To keep most of my time on what is important and not urgent. Preparation, prevention, planning, and relationships.
To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy
To keep most of my time on what is important and not urgent. Preparation, prevention, planning, and relationships.
To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy
Not as big a jump for me personally, as this book is a bit of a refried 7 Habits. There are some decent tips/pointers.
I recommend skimming this one rather than intently reading it.
I recommend skimming this one rather than intently reading it.
on page 5..yes it is "self-help" season in my life...maybe I should be a little more discrete about it...i challenge you to reveal your "self-help" secrets...step one...
it gives me hope that I can hit the things I want to in life, without feeling too bad for not doing everything.
I did not give this book five stars because it might lead one to think that this book is as good at Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which it isn't, but to say that a book is not as good as Seven Habits is a faint damning. The Merrills, Covey's sister and brother-in-law, improve the book by giving a wider set of anecdotes, though it seems to me that the quality of the book is uneven (I figured Covey's parts were better than the Merrills' parts.).
Talks about how people are most important
This is a great book to give you an overview of setting priorities. While I like the quadrant concept for setting priorities that Covey espouses in the book, the program that he sets up to achieve them is too time consuming. Following his guideline, I spent more time planning than doing. I've used his basic idea to setup a daily planner, but don't use the A-F grading system. Works well, and is much quicker that the book. You can download my daily planner at http://successbeginstoday.org/wordpre....more
In basic concept this book really hits home. It's important to get the important stuff scheduled on your calendar before everything else takes its place. However in practice it seems like it would be fairly impractical since you can't really focus on your "quadrant 2" stuff all the time, or even most of the time, without ending up on the street. Leave it to Mr. Covey to be one of the first to make his millions by selling planners and time management paraphernalia only to turn around now and say...more
على الإطلاق أفضل ما كتب في إدارة الوقت !
أحب أولئك الذين يكتبون بتفاني ، بثقة ، وبتواضع
ستيفن كوفي أحدهم
قبل أن يحدثك عن فلسفته الخاصة في وضع البوصلة أمام الساعة
يتكلم عن أربع أجيال لإدارة الوقت ، إيجابياتهم ، أخطائهم ، وسلبياتهم
وتأثير هذه الطرق
ففي المناهج التقليدية لإدارة الوقت تتحول الجودة الشاملة إلى مجرد " إنجاز الشهر!" بدلاً من تفجير الإبداع الحقيقي والتحول المستمر في الجودة !
ستيفن يعلمك كيف تجد الشمال الحقيقي وتتجه نحوه
يخبرك أن تتأكد قبل أن تصعد بسرعة أن السلم مسنود على الحائط الصحيح
يعل...more
أحب أولئك الذين يكتبون بتفاني ، بثقة ، وبتواضع
ستيفن كوفي أحدهم
قبل أن يحدثك عن فلسفته الخاصة في وضع البوصلة أمام الساعة
يتكلم عن أربع أجيال لإدارة الوقت ، إيجابياتهم ، أخطائهم ، وسلبياتهم
وتأثير هذه الطرق
ففي المناهج التقليدية لإدارة الوقت تتحول الجودة الشاملة إلى مجرد " إنجاز الشهر!" بدلاً من تفجير الإبداع الحقيقي والتحول المستمر في الجودة !
ستيفن يعلمك كيف تجد الشمال الحقيقي وتتجه نحوه
يخبرك أن تتأكد قبل أن تصعد بسرعة أن السلم مسنود على الحائط الصحيح
يعل...more
Aug 31, 2012
Cathy Allen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
whatiscathyreading-com,
personal-development
Though written and published nearly twenty years ago now, this remains one of the go-to books on my shelf. The simple act of putting first things first (also known as keeping the main thing the main thing) is one of the most empowering of the life habits Stephen R. Covey and his co-authors have been teaching us about with their many books. First Things First is a manual for those who want to know more about how they can make their priorities come alive, to actually spend the hours of their days...more
Stephen Covey’s book First Things First is an elaborated section of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. The book tends to focus on Human Habits through the guidance of a Compass rather than a Clock with its core principle of Quality versus Quantity.
The author helps people achieve habit by presenting the Four Quadrants:
Quadrant I – Urgent + Important
Quadrant II - Not Urgent But Important
Quadrant III – Urgent But Not Important
Quadrant IV - Not Urgent, Not Important
Covey recommends gradually...more
The author helps people achieve habit by presenting the Four Quadrants:
Quadrant I – Urgent + Important
Quadrant II - Not Urgent But Important
Quadrant III – Urgent But Not Important
Quadrant IV - Not Urgent, Not Important
Covey recommends gradually...more
Sep 16, 2008
Kristoffer
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
In this fast paced world, we often bury ourselves with the urgency of things. Deadlines, projects and to-do lists often constitute most of our busy lives. We often confuse efficiency for effectiveness and this ultimately leads to unfulfilled lives in other endeavors.
First things first tries to break that illusion. Through organizing and planning, integral action and through evaluation of our daily lives it compels its readers to be more effective rather than efficient. It weighs the difference o...more
First things first tries to break that illusion. Through organizing and planning, integral action and through evaluation of our daily lives it compels its readers to be more effective rather than efficient. It weighs the difference o...more
First Things First from a different perspective. While we are stuck with 'efficiency' and managing the stream of Quadrant III (Not urgent and not important) things that is coming at us each and every day, this books encourages us to focus on those Quadrant II things (Important but not urgent) that we seem to be neglecting.
To live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy. The book focuses on planning your week with these roles and human endowments in mind. Fulfilling these needs requires a caref...more
To live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy. The book focuses on planning your week with these roles and human endowments in mind. Fulfilling these needs requires a caref...more
Jan 20, 2013
Christine Engelbrecht
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
self-help
This book is actually a required read for my Advanced Secondary Instruction course at Vanderbilt, which focuses on classroom management skills, professional development and balancing professional and personal life.
This book is amazing. a book for those who take on too much and have trouble deciphering what is "urgent" from what is "important." A must read for every professional, but especially classroom teachers.
This book is amazing. a book for those who take on too much and have trouble deciphering what is "urgent" from what is "important." A must read for every professional, but especially classroom teachers.
I was a bit nervous about the book because I like novels so much but this book had so many insights and thoughts on how to put the best things first, not just the good things. I really liked how it emphasized the fact that if we follow our "true north" or our conscience that things will fall into place or fall out of our lives. That if we are not honest in one part of our lives it affects all aspects in the end. Finding a balance in life is what pretty much everyone desires, and this outlines ho...more
I think the take-home for me was Covey's graphic that helps us see how we prioritize things in our lives, and his emphasis that we need to focus on the quadrant of things that are "important, but not urgent." It's so easy to let a lot of things seem urgent but ultimately we should focus on those things that bring joy and fulfillment to ourselves, our families, and our communities.
I first listened to this audio version of the book back in the 90's. Now I revisit it every 5 years or so and I just listened to it again this last weekend. It's a terrific reminder of how important it is to prioritize what is most important to us. The program outlines through simple steps how to reorganize our lives to support those priorities. Excellent and freeing!
Change your thinking
Roadblocks: old ways of thinking (old scripts/motives)
Conditioning - Such as time management, > greater efficiency
- Faster harder smarter theory
A band-aid and quick fix theory. Short cut techniques
This is not necessarily correct way to think
There is no short cut to happiness
Clock (goals appointments) and Compass (internal guide) theory
Roadblocks: old ways of thinking (old scripts/motives)
Conditioning - Such as time management, > greater efficiency
- Faster harder smarter theory
A band-aid and quick fix theory. Short cut techniques
This is not necessarily correct way to think
There is no short cut to happiness
Clock (goals appointments) and Compass (internal guide) theory
This has been one of the most influential books I have read. I often return to my rather extensive notes to redefine my objectives and review my mission. Am currently reading a highly completmentary book by David Allen that starts with the opposite perspective - how to manage the stream of things that come into one's life, to prioritize and get the done.
Nov 07, 2008
Mtbike40
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
business-personal-growth
I first read this book in about 1990 and the content is as relevant today as it was back then. I learned so much from this book that has served me well for 19 years of professional work, and every time I reread a section it just reminds me how important if is to make sure you are doing first things first.
I feel that Covey has a great mind when it comes to achieving your personal best, and this book puts the rubber to the road. The materials in this book about setting goals, translating your goal...more
I feel that Covey has a great mind when it comes to achieving your personal best, and this book puts the rubber to the road. The materials in this book about setting goals, translating your goal...more
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Stephen Richards Covey was the author of the best-selling book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". Other books he wrote include "First Things First", "Principle-Centered Leadership", and "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families". In 2004, Covey released "The 8th Habit". In 2008, Covey released "The Leader In Me—How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One...more
More about Stephen R. Covey...
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“شجرة الخيزران الصينية تزرع بعد تجهيز الأرض جيدا. وفي أثناء السنوات الأربع الأولى يكون كل النمو الذي تحققه هذه الشجرة في الجزء الموجود تحت الأرض.
الشيء الوحيد المرئي منها طوال تلك المدة كرة صغيرة تخرج منها نبتة صغيرة جدا. في السنة الخامسة تنمو هذه الشجرة ثمانين قدما دفعة واحدة.
هذا النظام ينطبق على القائد الذي تقوم قيادته على مبادئ الحق ويعرف نظرية شجرة الخيزران الصينية، فهذا النوع من القادة يعرفون قيمة العمل ويعرفون قيمة تجهيز الأرض وزرع البذور ووضع السماد والماء والعناية التامة، وكذلك قيمة عدم التعجل بالنتائج مبكرا.
هؤلاء يعلمون أن المحصول الممتاز سيأتي لاحقا. ياله من حصاد رائع.”
—
1 person liked it
الشيء الوحيد المرئي منها طوال تلك المدة كرة صغيرة تخرج منها نبتة صغيرة جدا. في السنة الخامسة تنمو هذه الشجرة ثمانين قدما دفعة واحدة.
هذا النظام ينطبق على القائد الذي تقوم قيادته على مبادئ الحق ويعرف نظرية شجرة الخيزران الصينية، فهذا النوع من القادة يعرفون قيمة العمل ويعرفون قيمة تجهيز الأرض وزرع البذور ووضع السماد والماء والعناية التامة، وكذلك قيمة عدم التعجل بالنتائج مبكرا.
هؤلاء يعلمون أن المحصول الممتاز سيأتي لاحقا. ياله من حصاد رائع.”
“Consequences are governed by principles, and behavior is governed by values, therefore, value principles!”
—
1 person liked it
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Mar 21, 2013 10:46am