“Put First Things First” is the third habit in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. What exactly does that mean?
To me, it means that you have to put things like religion (or spirituality), family, and health first. Without those things, there is nothing else. You cannot be an effective leader without having your own house in order. It simply is not possible to focus on work, career, and the world outside of your home if you do not first take care of your family, health, and religion.
My 5 Tips to Put First Things First:
- Schedule regular exercise
- Schedule time to sleep
- Schedule time to prepare and eat healthful meals
- Schedule time to spend with your spouse, significant other, children, and parents
- Schedule time to pray or meditate regularly
By putting my body, my spouse, and my children first in my life, I’m able to focus on the most important things in my life. At the end of the day, what matters is health, family, and wisdom. If you do not take care of your health by getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating nutritional meals, your health will suffer.
If you do not put your spouse, children, and extended family first, then you will do irreparable harm to your relationship with them. After all, children are only little once. Don’t miss their childhood because you didn’t put first things first.
I’m sure that there are more. What are your tips for putting first things first?