The Principle of Focus
Habit 3: Put First Things First is about protecting time for what’s most important to us. Habit 1 focuses our effort on what we can influence. Habit 2 aims us in the right direction. Habit 3 is the day in, day out, moment-by-moment work that takes us to that vision.
It’s common to think that managing our time is about managing the clock, but it’s really about managing the compass. Our personal mission is true north. Every decision we make about how to spend our time should be oriented toward what’s most important. That means carefully assessing our roles and goals and protecting time for the Big Rocks every week so they don’t get overwhelmed by all the other things fighting for our attention.
The Four Quadrants of Time Management
We spend our time in one of four quadrants depending on the urgency and importance of what we’re doing.
Whether or not something is urgent depends on how soon it needs to be done. A ringing phone is urgent because it won’t ring for long.
Important things, on the other hand, contribute to our mission, values, and high-priority goals.
The best return we can get on our time is to spend it on things which aren’t urgent but are important. For example, planning, creative thinking, and learning and renewal.
It’s easy for our top priorities to get crowded out by things that feel urgent but aren’t very important—or by things that waste our time and potential.
“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.”
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Focus and act on what you can control and influence instead of what you can’t.
Define clear measures of success and a plan to achieve them.
Prioritize and achieve your most important goals instead of constantly reacting to urgencies.
Collaborate more effectively by building high-trust relationships.
Influence others by developing a deep understanding of their needs and perspectives.
Develop innovative solutions that leverage diversity and satisfy all key stakeholders.
Increase motivation, energy, and work/life balance by making time for renewing activities.