First Things First

Stephen R. Covey offers a categorization scheme for the hundreds of time management approaches that are on the market today.

First generation: reminders

Devotees of this approach limit their time management efforts to keeping lists and notes. They see these papers as reminders. Items that are not done by the end of the day are transferred to the next day's list in the evening.

Second generation: planning and preparation

People in the second generation use calendars and appointment books. They will note where meetings are held and identify deadlines; this is sometimes even done on a computer. As opposed to the first generation, the second generation plans and prepares, schedules future appointments, and sets goals. This in turn saves their time.

Third generation: planning, prioritizing, controlling

Third generation time managers prioritize their activities daily. They use detailed forms of daily planning on a computer or on a paper-based organizer. This approach implies spending some time in clarifying values and priorities.

Fourth generation: being efficient and proactive

Stephen R. Covey, in his book First Things First, refers to his approach as the 4th generation time management, and stresses the difference between urgency and importance in planning. What are the most important things in your life? Do they get as much care, emphasis, and time as you'd like to give them? Far from the traditional "be- more- efficient" time- management book with shortcut techniques, First Things First showed us how to look at our use of time totally differently. Covey teaches an organizing process that helps you categorize tasks so you focus on what is important, not merely what is urgent. First you divide tasks into these quadrants:

1. Important and Urgent (crises, deadline- driven projects)

2. Important, Not Urgent (preparation, prevention, planning, relationships)

3. Urgent, Not Important (interruptions, many pressing matters)

4. Not Urgent, Not Important (trivia, time wasters)