Putting first things first in your life

First Things First; Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, Rebecca R. Merrill; 360 pages; Published by Simon & Schuster, New York, New York; Dahulukan Yang Utama (Indonesian translation); 450 pages; PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta.

JAKARTA (JP): Ever get frustrated that you never seem to have enough time to do everything you're supposed to do, not to mention the things you actually want to do? Ever wondered why it is that, in spite of careful planning in scheduling your activities, you still don't feel all right at the end of the day? Ever felt that your family life is getting in the way of your career, or that you're missing out on family life because of your career?

Take some time out and get a copy of First Things First to get some answers that could transform your life. The book, on time management, virtually commands you to change your way of life and your way of looking at life.

My initial reaction on seeing the title of the book was: "So what else is new? It's a question of getting your priorities right. Right?" Wrong. The book says you have to do more than just get your priorities right. It tells you to continually examine your vision, your goals in life, and then to organize your life, and time, accordingly.

Rather than scheduling your priorities, you should prioritize your schedule, the book says. Almost every day, we're rushed into doing things that are urgent. But very often the urgent things we do are not important, or are not the most important things in our life. We do them simply because they are urgent, because we have a deadline to meet. We never stop to question their relative importance.

Stephen R. Covey, author of the best selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, has teamed up with A. Roger Merrill, a well known leader in time management, and his author wife Rebecca R. Merrill, to put together a book that attempts to change the way people manage their time in this modern, high- pressure, business-like rat race.

In essence, the authors' message is that our life should be governed by an inner compass, and not by a clock; that we should have principles in life and that we should live by those principles. They tell us to set our goals in the various roles that we all have -- in the office (as boss and subordinate), in the family (as spouse, child and parent) and in the community. If we organize our lives properly in accordance with our goals, these various roles will enhance one another, rather than compete with one another, for our time and attention. At least, so they argue.

Here is a book on time management that tells us to strive for effectiveness rather than efficiency. It is a major departure from the conventional time management concept that tells us to aim for efficiency -- to do as much as possible within the shortest time possible.

Easier said than done. Sure it is. But First Things First doesn't just say it. It guides the reader, step by step, in understanding as well as in applying this new concept. It's even got a game plan -- the weekly chart -- which, if you decide to follow the system, should be used as your planner.

It's got a number of exercises -- one of them testing the reader's urgency addiction. Don't be surprised to find that your life has been governed by urgency rather than by importance, or by clock rather than by compass. There is also a brief workshop in an appendix that helps you define your mission statements.

To put across their point, the authors use a matrix that divides daily activities into four parts:

Quadrant I for both urgent and important, dealing with crises, pressing problems, deadline-driven projects, meetings, preparations.

Quadrant II for important but not urgent, dealing with preparation, prevention, values-clarification, planning, relationship-building, true recreation, empowerment.

Quadrant III for urgent but not important, dealing with interruptions, phone calls, mail, reports, meetings, and many proximate, pressing matters and popular activities.

Quadrant IV for not urgent and not important, dealing with trivia, busywork, junk mail, phone calls, time wasters and escape activities.

Most people spend too much of their precious time on either Quadrant I and Quadrant III, the authors argue. They say that we should spend more time on Quadrant II, which they call the "quadrant of personal leadership".

In determining what's important, the authors say each person has four basic needs to fulfill: to live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy. They say we have four capacities with which to fulfill these needs: self-awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. Using and developing the four endowments to meet the four needs is the basis of their time management concept.

First Things First presents what the authors call the "Fourth Generation" of time management. It takes the best out of the three previous generations, they claim, while leaving behind their weaknesses.

I could not help feeling that at least certain parts of the book were imbued with religious values. The authors, having already come across the charge that their ideas smack of religion, are quick to explain early in the book that they are not talking about "religion". This is probably acceptable if we take the narrow definition of the term. But using the wider definition of religion as a way of life, as it is understood by, say, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism, the book does have some of the universal religious traits.

The authors even write in the epilogue:

"Above all, we feel a sense of reverence for God, whom we believe to be the source of both principles and conscience. It's our own conviction that it is that spark of divinity within each of us that draws us toward principle-centered lives of service and contribution."

The book is filled with examples of the authors' own experiences, as well as those of their students, in their work places and in their families.

Several chapters are devoted to applying the time management concept in family circles and in corporate organizations and on how to empower yourself and those around you.

First Things First is compelling and powerful, yet easy reading, for people with a very busy schedule but one which leaves enough spare time to read its 360 pages.

-- Endy Bayuni