Time Management and Putting First Things First

One of the most common issues that comes up in our coaching programs is time management. More specifically, people feel they don’t have enough of it. They tend to schedule things to get done but feel like the important relationships in their lives aren’t being attended to.

Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People addresses this so well. He says that we’re making a mistake by thinking we can manage time, and that we should reframe the effort as one of managing ourselves.

The reason our calendars often get filled up with stuff that don’t leave room for the most important relationships in our lives is that we’re not putting the relationships or the key roles that we have in life first.

So, his recommendation is that you first make a list of the key roles you have in life. That could be spouse, parent, child, manager, friend and any other thing that’s important to you.

Then identifying the goals that you have within each role. And then schedule those goals first, because when they get on your calendar first it shows that they’re important.

It make time for you to attend to those relationships in a way that benefits you and the other people around you.

It leads to a more fulfilling life because it puts the most important things first.

Once you do that, the rest of life’s other demands seem to fall right into place.