An Underlying Principle:Effectiveness requires balancing important relationships, roles and activities.

Key Paradigms:“Things which matter most should never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”“I fulfill my mission by acting on important goals in my key roles.”

Control Your Own Destiny Control Your Own Destiny Or Someone Else WillOr Someone Else Will

Habit 3: Put First Things First

WHAT’S MY LOCUS OF CONTROL?

(What controls my choices)

• High Internal – I am the master of my fate – I control my choices

• High External – I am a pawn to my fate – Other people or things control my choices

Habit 3 Put First Things First

Prioritize

Actions flow from that which is important.

Use Your Assignment Notebook DAILY!

Habit 3: Put First Things FirstI am a:• Procrastinator – I always

put things off• Yes-man – I say yes to

everything but don’t always follow through

• Slacker – I don’t do anything

• Prioritizer – I use my assignment notebook and do what I need to do

Procrastinator Prioritizer

SlackerYes-Man

As I go through them, ask yourself, “Which quadrant do I spend most of

my time in?”

.

Procrastinator: All things are both urgent and important. They put things off until they are a ‘stress case’ They are addicted to urgency. They often say they thrive under pressure. Results - stress and anxiety, burnout, mediocre performance.

The Yes-Man: Things are urgent but not important. Usually trying to please others. Loaded down with activities that are important to other people but not important to themselves - would like to say no…but don’t. They often cave into peer pressure because they do not have enough courage or backbone to turn others down. Results - reputation as a ‘pleaser’, lack discipline, feel like a doormat.

Slacker: Nothing is important or urgent. The professional loafer who is often a big couch potato or a walking TV guide. Wastes a lot of time. Results - lacks responsibility, guilt, flakiness.

Prioritizer: things are important but not urgent. EXCELLENCE! Takes a little more planning. They have got it together and do their best work. Avoids stress and burnout. People who matter come first and life is balanced. Can say no with a smile. Resist peer pressure and come to be respected for it. Results - control of life, balance, high performance.

We all spend time in each quadrant, key is to get into the Prioritizer!

Habit 3 ... a demonstration.What is the lesson?

1. Identify big rocks(Prioritize important tasks) and schedule these FIRST!

2. Fill in (other tasks) pebbles/sand/water

Plan weekly: take 15 minutes Sunday night to plan your week. Step one: Identify your BIG rocks. What are the most important things you need to do this week? 10-15 at the most.

Step two: block in time for the big rocks. Step three: fit in the pebbles, the little everyday things that suck up your time - chores, phone calls, computer time, tv

Step four: start to identify the SAND in your life, those little things that can negatively take up a lot of time and become really bothersome if allowed to persist.

Step five: Remember there is always room for water (special occasions/emergencies) even if you think your life is full!

Adapt daily: be flexible, you may need to rearrange - one of the few things that cannot be recycled is wasted time.

The Time Management MatrixNot UrgentNot UrgentUrgentUrgent

No

t Im

po

rtan

tN

ot

Imp

ort

ant

Imp

ort

ant

Imp

ort

ant I The ____________I The ____________

•Exam tomorrow•Friend gets injured•Late for work/class•Project due today

I The ____________I The ____________•Exam tomorrow•Friend gets injured•Late for work/class•Project due today

II The _____________II The _____________•Planning, goal setting •Paper due in a week•Exercise•Relationships/relaxation

II The _____________II The _____________•Planning, goal setting •Paper due in a week•Exercise•Relationships/relaxation

III The _____________III The _____________•Unimportant phone calls•Interruptions•Other people’s small problems•Peer pressure

III The _____________III The _____________•Unimportant phone calls•Interruptions•Other people’s small problems•Peer pressure

IV The ___________IV The ___________•Too much TV•Endless phone calls•Excessive computer games•Mall marathons•Other time wasters

IV The ___________IV The ___________•Too much TV•Endless phone calls•Excessive computer games•Mall marathons•Other time wasters

Ineffective (doesn’t work well)

• Crisis Management– Running around

putting out fires

CRTN_A-H

The Time Management MatrixUrgentUrgent

Imp

ort

ant

Imp

ort

ant I The ProcrastinatorI The ProcrastinatorI The ProcrastinatorI The Procrastinator

Results:•Stress•Burnout•Crisis management•Always putting out fires

The Time Management Matrix

UrgentUrgent

No

t Im

po

rtan

tN

ot

Imp

ort

ant III The Yes-manIII The Yes-manIII The Yes-manIII The Yes-man

Results:•Short-term focus•Crisis management•Reputation-chameleon type character•See goals and plans as worthless•Feel victimized, out of control•Shallow or broken relationships

The Time Management Matrix

Not UrgentNot Urgent

No

t Im

po

rtan

tN

ot

Imp

ort

ant IV The SlackerIV The SlackerIV The SlackerIV The Slacker

Results:•Total irresponsibility•Fired from jobs•Dependent on others or institutions for basics

• Jump to Others– Wait for others

to tell me what to do

Ineffective (doesn’t work well)

Ineffective (doesn’t work well)

• Whimsical– Do whatever you

feel like doing

Ineffective (doesn’t work well)

• First Come - First Served– Handle tasks in the

order in which they arrive

Ineffective (doesn’t work well)

• Priority Meandering– Start on task a– get distracted– resume on task b– get distracted– jump to task c

The Time Management MatrixNot UrgentNot Urgent

Imp

ort

ant

Imp

ort

ant II II The PrioritizerThe PrioritizerII II The PrioritizerThe Prioritizer

Results:•Vision, perspective•Balance•Discipline•Control•Few crises

Habit 3: Put first things first.Urgent Not Urgent

Important

Not Important

Quadrant ICrisesDeadline driven projectsPressing Problems

Quadrant II: PreparationPreventionCommitmentRelationship building

Quadrant IIIUnimportant phone calls, email, meetings or reportsInterruptions

Quadrant IVTriviaBusy work Time wasters

• We want Quadrant II > Quadrant I.• Quadrant II comes from Quadrants III and IV.

Estimate how much time you spend in Quadrant II (and what IS Quad IV for you?) ... How do you plan your day? Datebook? Palm Pilot? How much is your timeyour time worth to you, in dollars/hour?

GoalsGoals

Long - Term Organizing

RolesRolesMission Mission StatementStatement

PlansPlans

Weekly Organizing

Schedule

GoalsGoalsRolesRoles

Delegate

Quote From Mr. Echols…

“To get the best value from your education, do all of your homework to the best of your ability and

turn it in on time!”

The END