Put first things first

What are first things? Covey says, "First things are those things that you, personally, find most worth doing. They move you in the right direction and help you achieve the purpose expressed in your mission statement." First things are the big rocks. Anyhting else detracts and distracts you from yor mission. Covey uses the big rocks illustration to show how the tyranny of the urgent and the trivial can get us off track.

First things are what you choose to say, "Yes", to. Anything else you say, "No," "later," or find some one else to do it. We have already established that we can make choices. We can respond and not react. Yes, there are consequences to every choice we make, however, we need to choose which consequences we want to live with. With every choice you make you are saying, "This is how I will spend my time." Many say that there lives are centered around family, but spend more time building there careers and businesses than they do with their family. Don't lie to yourself. If you spend 8 hours a day at work, and spend another four hours a day between traveling and preparing for work. That is twelve hours or half a day. Am I saying you should quit your job? No. I am saying you should perhaps try to schedule more things with your family. Quit the board, the sitcoms, sport watching, and hanging out with the boys or the girls.

Yes, their will be a crisis. However, if you invest time in your loved ones, chances are they will be supportive when you need to take care of the crisis. How about some down time or some solitude time? If you give them some time they will be more likely to consider your needs and leave you alone for a while.

Next week, God willing, we will cover a graphic quadrant that will help us identify what should be a priority.