seven habits of highly effective people summary

SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE SUMMARY HOW TO
SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE SUMMARY UPDATE

When tackling a problem or negotiation with someone, always strive to find a mutually beneficial solution. Habit 4: Seek Mutual Benefits Habit Description

SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE SUMMARY UPDATE

Rather than creating a weekly schedule, as Covey recommends, the GTD system emphasizes a weekly review to update to-do lists and calendars and review scheduled appointments and priorities for the week ahead.

Reviewyour calendar and to-do list frequently your calendar determines the structure of your days and weeks, while your to-do list tells you what to tackle between scheduled appointments.Įngagewith the task in other words, get it done. Organizeeach item: File reference items and things to reconsider, hand off delegated items, write action items on a to-do list, and put scheduled items on a calendar. The five steps of the GTD system are:Ĭaptureevery problem, idea, reminder, and to-do in a designated in-tray.Ĭlarifywhat you need to do with each item: throw it away, keep it for reference, delegate it, do it, schedule it, or save it to reconsider later.

SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE SUMMARY HOW TO

Habit 3 takes a big-picture approach to time management, but the Getting Things Done (GTD) system offers more specific advice on how to gather, assess, organize, and address the relentless flow of emails and demands.

When things come up unexpectedly, evaluate how they fit your goals and schedule.

Build in open, unscheduled time for the unexpected.

Schedule time for activities that renew and revitalize you.

Identify one or two goals you want to achieve for each role in the next week.

Identify your roles (such as employee or volunteer).

Research suggests that this matrix is a useful tool, but it doesn’t develop all of the three skills necessary for effective time management, each of which is equally important:Īwareness that your available time is limited-the matrix doesn’t measure the accuracy of your time estimates for tasks, nor does it improve how you allocate your limited time.Īrrangement of your time through goal-setting, planning, and scheduling-the matrix is most effective in this category because it helps you prioritize the most important tasks to schedule accordingly.Īdaptation of your time while carrying out tasks, particularly when you’re interrupted and have to shift priorities-the matrix potentially improves adaptation by providing a system to gauge priorities on the fly if your work is interrupted with an urgent request.Ĭovey asserts that weekly planning is the most effective way to manage your time and achieve your goals: A weekly schedule is narrow enough to ensure important tasks get done promptly, and it’s broad enough to be flexible when things come up unexpectedly.įollow these steps to create your weekly plan:

Category 4: Neither Urgent nor Important-These leisure and entertainment activities contribute nothing to your life, and effective people tend to avoid them.ĭevelop Time Management Skills to Complement the Tools.

Category 3: Urgent, but not Important-These activities are typically things that other people want you to do but that aren’t important to you.

Category 2: Not Urgent, but Important-This is where you should spend most of your time, because it includes activities that could easily be put off, but that bring great benefits in the long term (like exercising).

Category 1: Urgent and Important-The crises and problems in this category eat up your time and distract you from preventing future crises, creating a vicious cycle.

The matrix has four task categories, which Covey refers to as quadrants: To prioritize the tasks that will have the biggest positive impact on your life, Covey promotes a time management matrix originally designed by President Eisenhower that categorizes tasks based on their urgency and importance (meaning that they contribute to your goals, values, and personal mission statement). (Shortform note: To help you apply Covey’s advice, we’ve included organizational strategies later in this guide from the more detailed, systematic approach described in Getting Things Done.) Why It Matters

Prioritize your time and actions in order to live up to your personal mission statement. Habit 3: Prioritize Important Over Urgent Habit Description

Seven habits of highly effective people summary