First Things First Book Summary - First Things First Book explained in key points

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First Things First summary

Name: First Things First
Rating: 4.6 (715 reviews)
Author: Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill and Rebecca R. Merrill

Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill and Rebecca R. Merrill

To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy

4.6 (715 ratings)

14 mins

Brief summary

First Things First by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill and Rebecca R. Merrill is a self-help book that teaches how to prioritize tasks and balance work and personal life effectively. Covey's Time Management Matrix and the Four Quadrants theory are highlighted.

Topics

Routines & Habits Goals Decision-Making Meaningful Living Time Management Focus Effectiveness Success

Table of Contents

First Things First
Summary of 10 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 10

What’s in it for me? Learn how to maximize your quality of life and focus on what matters most.

Here’s a question for you: How do you live a happy and meaningful life? What’s the secret?

Alright, you probably don’t have the answer. But it’s something we'd all like to know. In our modern stressful, busy lives, it seems that we don’t have time for happiness or meaning. Wouldn’t it be great if we could turn things around?

Help is at hand.

In these blinks, we’re going to share the key ideas from First Things First. It’s by Roger Merrill, Rebecca Merrill, and the self-help master himself Stephen Covey -- so surprise, surprise it’s a bestseller. In the blinks, we’ll go through some very clear and very easy to adopt principles. These principles can help you and all of us live happier and more meaningful lives.

Living a meaningful life isn't about doing things as quickly as possible – it's about doing “first things” first.

Imagine a fairy offered you the ability to do everything 20 percent faster. Would you accept? Most people probably would, but think about it – would that really solve all your problems?

Many of us would accept the offer, because we strive to do as many things as we can, as quickly as possible. But actually, this isn't the best way to manage our time. Unfortunately, many self-help books reinforce the myth that it is by encouraging us to make to-do lists and cross off items as we achieve the bullet points.

That sort of thinking only pays attention to one side of the coin: your commitments, objectives and itineraries – what we can call the “clock of our lives.” It often neglects the other side, the “compass of our lives” – your values, principles and conscience.

Actually, living a meaningful life isn't about crossing things off a list; it's about using the compass of your life to identify the first things that have a long-lasting, positive impact on your happiness.

For most people, the first things are personal relationships with family and friends. Have you ever heard of a person looking back and wishing they'd spent more time at the office?

For instance, imagine that you focus on your career, work your way up in your company and earn a top salary – only to realize that you're now too old to have children. If you've always wanted a family and it's now too late, your career wasn't truly one of your first things. If you're not aware of your first things, you may end up making decisions that make you unhappy in the long-run.

So after all, you'd be better off not accepting the fairy's offer. Instead, try to identify the first things that give your life the most meaning, and make those things your priority.

Instead of focusing on what's urgent, focus on what's important.

Most people arrange their daily schedules by doing things they think are urgent and important, such as going to work or visiting family.

The problem is that often the “urgent” and “important” things in our lives aren't the same. When we have to choose between doing tasks that are urgent, and tasks that are important, most people choose the urgent ones.

Having a high quality of life depends on meeting your needs and focusing on your principles.

So what's the first step in focusing on the important things in life? Well, you need to identify what those things are!

To increase your quality of life, you have to fulfill your four basic human needs:

Develop a strong vision for the future, and use it to know where you're headed.

Have you ever wondered how some people make decisions easily, while others take forever considering alternatives? Being able to make decisions easily depends on how future-oriented you are.

Having a clear vision for your future makes it easier to make choices and generally improve your quality of life. Your desire to achieve your dream will be stronger than negative feelings like fear or doubt, so you’ll get over them easier. For example, consider how Gandhi's life was guided by his vision of having an egalitarian society. Before he devoted himself to that goal, he was shy and nervous about public speaking, even in his early days as a lawyer. However, he overcome his social anxiety as he began to commit to his dream, as his shyness was unimportant compared to his vision.

Only goals based on principles and a vision for the future are likely to be reached.

Have you ever made a New Year's resolution you didn't end up completing? On New Years many people set personal goals, such as studying or exercising more, only to quickly fall back to their old habits.

Whether it's New Years or any other time, people often set goals they don't end up reaching. Sometimes, even if a goal is reached, the outcome can still be disappointing. For example, the Soviet government put restrictions on alcohol sales in the 1980s, hoping to decrease alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption did decrease, but narcotics consumption increased, as people just turned to narcotics instead. The goal was reached, but at a high cost.

Making the right decisions depends on finding the right perspective, and acting with integrity.

To take nice pictures, a good photographer uses different lenses, getting the right perspective for each one. In the same way, you need to use the right perspective when making your important decisions.

Most people use only one perspective when making decisions or plans. They'll use a “close-up view” for immediate needs, such as deciding what to have for dinner. Or they'll use a “wide-angled view” for long-term goals, such as planning where to be in five years.

Focus on interdependence and cooperation, not independence and competition.

Throughout life, we're constantly compelled to compete: we worry about who's got the best grades, the best job, or who's smarter or prettier than us. This unhealthy focus on independence and competition impacts us negatively.

Trying to achieve everything alone and in competition makes us rush to get things done. People “rush to live” by getting fast food while running to an appointment, instead of taking time to eat healthily. Others “rush to love” by moving from one relationship to another – ending things when difficulty arises, rather than working through it.

Be a strong personal leader by empowering those around you.

We all play leadership roles for others in our lives sometimes. As a parent, it's your relationship with your children. As an employee, it's your relationship with your colleagues.

To be a good personal leader in such situations, you must strive to empower those you lead. While it's not possible to directly instill empowerment in anyone, you can create conditions that allow them to empower themselves. Conditions such as trust, respect and honesty will naturally lead to empowerment in others.

Picture your different roles and tasks as parts of one whole, not as separate pieces.

Strong principles are essential for improving your quality of life. They'll guide you in deciding how to spend your time, and generally move you in a fulfilling direction.

One of the most important principles that provides this guidance is balance. A good sense of balance gives you a more productive view of life. Most people view their lives as having separate compartments: work, family, free time, etc. They view the roles they play and the tasks they perform as falling into these independent categories. But actually, viewing our lives this way can be limiting.

Striving to improve your quality of life and putting “first things first” will result in inner peace.

Do you consider yourself to have inner peace? Does your life have balance, joy and meaning?

If you aren’t fully satisfied with your life, it's likely that discouragement, pride or unrealistic expectations are the problem. They are the three most common preventers of inner peace, which is necessary to have a high-quality of life.

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What is First Things First about?

This title provides you with valuable insights and guidelines that will help you focus your life on the things that are truly the most meaningful. You’ll learn how to set your priorities, make the best decisions, and develop a keen vision for the future. If you’re looking to create positive change in your life, this book is a great place to start!

Who should read First Things First?

Anyone who feels a lack of inner peace, balance or meaning in life
Anyone who wants to use his or her time more effectively
Anyone who has a hard time making big decisions
Anyone who wants to improve the quality of his or her life

About the Author

Stephen R. Covey was an American professor and author who focused his work on self-help literature and religion. His best-known work, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. He was listed as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Americans” by Time magazine in 1996.

Categories with First Things First

Management & Leadership Career & Success Productivity Motivation & Inspiration

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