Habit #3 - Put First Things First

This habit is hitting very close to home, as over the past couple years I have always felt I’m in crisis mode.  Covey would say I’m the procrastinator, managing by crisis, always in quadrant I.  I had slowly realized over the past few years that I’m effective in doing the things I have to do, and also doing many of the things I want to do, but I’m terrible at doing the things I should do.  Covey would say I’m spending all of my time in quadrants I (things I have to do) and IV (things I want to do), without ever visiting perhaps the most important quadrant: quadrant II (things I should do).  As fate would have it, I noticed Covey’s 7 Habits book while at the library with my kids a few months ago.  Knowing I needed to get better at prioritizing, I perused the table of contents.  When I saw a chapter on “Putting First Things First,” I knew I had to read it!  So having recently read this very chapter, I already have a strategy ready to try with my students.  Covey’s advice to increase time in quadrant II is to actually schedule the important/not urgent tasks (or as I call them, the “should do” tasks) right into your weekly calendar.  I tried it myself, and it worked OK.  I’m sure if I keep trying it, it will slowly get better.  To teach this, I’m going to have my students make three lists about the upcoming couple weeks.  One list of things they have to do, another of things they want to do, and a third list of things they know they should do.  Then I’ll direct them to actually schedule at least one task from list #3 into their phone calendars, with the hope that this reminder will help spur them on toward accomplishing a task they know they should get done!