Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (3)

Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of those books everyone’s heard of, many people own, and far fewer have truly applied. That’s a shame—because beneath the big ideas is a very practical framework for working better, leading better, and living with less friction.

1/21/20261 min read

Time management - priorotise what matters, not what's loud

Time management - priorotise what matters, not what's loud

Habit 3. Put First Things First

Prioritize What Matters, Not What’s Loud

This habit is where intention meets time management.

Covey distinguishes between what’s urgent and what’s important. Most people live in urgency, emails, notifications, and last-minute fires.

Effective people protect time for what actually moves the needle.

Examples of 'first things':

Planning instead of reacting
Relationship-building instead of damage control
Skill development instead of constant task switching

A practical rule: if something matters in the long term, schedule it. If it’s not scheduled, it will be lost to noise.