“ If working

harder, smarter,

and faster won’t

solve it, what

will?

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?

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.

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

Why 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.

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?

“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.

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.

Directions: 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-set

26-45 = Strong urgency mind-set

46+ = Urgency addiction

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.

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!