This is one of Steven Covey’s foundational books on how to be effective and productive. There are many great tips and strategies in this book. One of the most common is the 4 box grid which helps identify the important vs. urgent. In our society today it is almost impossible to NOT get swept up in the urgent, reacting to all the things that pop up around us and demand our time. If you do not deal with the important eventually everything becomes urgent and a crisis.
You have a choice every day. Will your day run you or will you run your day? Will you live in the urgent or important? The feelings of unproductivity, insanity and chaos occur when you constantly live in the urgent. To shift and balance urgent with important and actually RUN your day, you must have a clear handle on what is important and know how to handle the urgent things that come up so they do not derail you from accomplishing the important. Check out this book to master your skills.
