FIRST THINGS FIRST

MARIA CLARA HIGH SCHOOLIN-SERVICE TRAINING

MAY 27, 2013

“ If working harder,

smarter, and faster won’t

solve it, what will?

FIRST THINGS FIRST

If you were to pause and think seriously the “first things” in your life---- the three or

four things that matter most--- what would

they be?

Are these things receiving the care, emphasis, and time you really want to

give them?

THE BIG ROCKS OF TIME

HOW TO DO IT?1. Break the group by department.2. Read the selection “The Big Rocks of

Time”.3. Have the group discuss what they have

read.4. After reading, work alone. Get a piece

of paper and divide it into two columns: LIFE and WORK.

5. List down the most important priorities in the respective column. If priority spans both columns, draw a line into the next column to show the priority is both a life and work priority.

THE BIG ROCKS OF TIME

Will the items that span both list be the easier ones to accomplish?

How will you handle the items that might contradict each other? For example spend more time with family vs. Work harder to get promoted?

Which column(s) contains the most items and most important items? Why?

What must you do to ensure these big priorities get accomplished?

“ In THE BIG ROCKS OF TIME, Stephen R. Covey uses jars as a metaphor for the amount of time we have and rocks for the tasks that must be prioritized ( the

bigger the rock, the more important it is). And just as a jar can only hold so many rocks, we only have so much time in a day to get the right things done, thus it is important that we decide which tasks are the big ones ( the most important) to

ensure they fit within our “time jar”.)

THE BIG ROCKS OF TIME

FIRST THINGS FIRSTWhy is it that so often our first things

first aren’t first? For years we’ve been given methods, techniques, tools, and information on how to manage and control our time. We’ve been told that if we keep working harder, learn to do things better and faster, use some new device or tool, or file or organize in a particular way, then we’ll be able to do it all. So we buy the new planner, go to new class, read new book. We learn it, apply it, try harder, and what happens? For most of the people we meet,

The result is increased frustration and guilt.

WHY?1. I need more time!2. I want to enjoy my life more. I’m always

running around. I never have time to myself.3. My friends and family want more time of me–

but how do I give it to them?4. I’m always in crisis because I procrastinate,

but I procrastinate because I’m always in crisis.

5. I have no balance between my personal life and work. It seems like when I take time from one for the other, it just makes matters worse.

6. There’s too much stress!7. There’s too much to do---and it’s all good.

How do I choose?

THINK...“My life is hectic. I’m running

all day--- meetings, phone calls, paper works, appointments. I push myself to the limit, fall into bed exhausted, and get up early the next morning to do it all again. My output is tremendous; I’m getting a lot done. But I get this feeling inside sometimes, “So what? What are you doing that really counts? “ I have to admit , “ I don’t know.”

Understanding these underlying paradigms of time management is vitally important because our paradigms are the maps of our minds and hearts out of which our attitudes and behaviours and the results in our lives grow. It creates a “see/do/get” cycle.

See

Get Do

If we want to create a significant change in the results, we can’t just change the attitudes and behaviors , methods or techniques; we have to change the basic paradigms out of which they grow. When we try to change the behavior or the method without changing the paradigm , the paradigm eventually overpowers the change.

URGENCY

N S A Behavior/Attitudes

1. I seem to do my best work when I am under pressure.

2. I often blame the rush and press of external things for my failure to spend deep, introspective time for myself.

3. I am often frustrated by the slowness of people and things around me. I hate to wait or stand in line.

4. I feel guilty when I take time off work.

5. I always seem to be rushing between places and events.

6. I frequently find myself pushing people away so that I can finish a project.

7. I feel anxious when I am out of touch wuith the office for more than a few minutes.

8. I am often preoccupied with one thing when I am doing something else.

9. I am at my best when I am handling a crisis situation.

10. The adrenaline rush from a new crisis seems more satisfying to me than the steady accomplishment of a long-term result.

URGENCY INDEXDirections: Encircle the number along the matrix that most closely represents

your normal behaviors or attitudes regarding the statements below. ( 0= Never, 2= Sometimes, 4= Always).

11. I often give up quality time with important people inmy life to handle a crisis.

12. I assume people will naturally understand if I have to disappoint them or let things go in order to handle a crisis.

13. I rely on solving some crisis to give my day a sense of meaning and purpose.

14. I often eat lunch or other meals while I work.

15. I keep thinking that someday I’ll be able to do what really want to do.

16. A huge stack in my “out” basket at the end of the day makes me feel like I’ve really been productive.

INDICATORS:

0-25 = Low urgency mind-set26-45 = Strong urgency mind-set46+ = Urgency addiction

Anything less than conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment

to the unimportant.

Now we know that real life is not as neat and tight and logical as the four quadrants would suggest. There is continuum within and between each quadrant. There’s some overlapping. The categories are a matter of degree as well as kind.

ANECDOTE

Putting FIRST THINGS FIRST is an issue at the very heart of the life. Almost all of us feel torn by the things we want to do, by the demands placed on us, by the many responsibilities we have. We all feel challenged by the day-to-day and moment-by-moment decisions we must make regarding the best use of our TIME.

Decisions are easier when it’s a question of “good” or “bad”. We can easily see how some ways we could spend our time are wasteful, mind-numbling, even destructive. But for most of us, the issue is not between the “good” and the “bad” , but between the “good” and the “best”. So often, the enemy of the BEST is the GOOD.

THANK YOU and GOD

BLESS US ALL!