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First Things First  By  cover art

First Things First

By: Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, Rebecca R. Merrill
Narrated by: Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, Rebecca R. Merrill
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Publisher's summary

First Things First is a revolutionary guide to managing your time by learning how to balance your life. Traditional time management suggests that working harder, smarter, and faster will help you gain control over your life, and that increased control will bring peace and fulfillment. But in the first real breakthrough in time management in years, the authors of First Things First apply the insights of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to our daily problems of struggling with the ever-increasing demands of work and home life.

Rather than focusing on time and things, First Things First emphasizes relationships and results. And instead of efficiency, this new approach emphasizes effectiveness. It tells us why we feel a gap between how we spend our time and what's deeply important to us; how focusing on efficiency and control increases the gap instead of closing it; how to determine if what you're doing is really important, or only urgent; how to overcome the tremendous gravity of habit; how to put people ahead of schedules; and how to lead your life, not just manage your time.

Offering a principle-centered approach and the wisdom and insight that made The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People a #1 best seller, First Things First empowers listeners to define what is truly important; to accomplish worthwhile goals; and to lead rich, rewarding, and balanced lives.

©1997 Stephen R. Covey (P)1997 Covey Leadership Center, Inc.

Critic reviews

"I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be helped by reading it." (Larry King)

What listeners say about First Things First

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Nothing New over the other books

I can't say that there is anything new here. This book does not seem to answer the question of how to put First things First as the title suggests. In my humble opinion this is just a filler book. One written to keep the public interested in Franklin Covey until they could come up with something else. if your are trying to develop your Mission statement and roles and goal and to follow thru on them a better book to get is What Matters Most.

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

its just a Overview.. Disappointed

What would have made First Things First better?

I purchased hoping that i would cover the entire book. Well it just overview in 1 hr timeframe. I hope you will release entire book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment because it didn't cover the entire book for this money.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

NOT THE WHOLE BOOK,

What disappointed you about First Things First?

This recording is only a little over an hour long. The book is nearly 300 pages. Do the math. Most of it's missing.

What could the authors have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Included the entire book as this is not the abridged version

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He didn't read the whole thing.

Any additional comments?

Skip it. Buy the book.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Very difficult to listen to

I found this audio title very difficult to listen to. While Steven Covey is a good narrator, the same can definitely not be said of the co-authors A Roger Merril and Rebecca R Merril. Also, I expected more concrete advice on how to put first things first. This title harps on and on about why you need to put first things first. We get that! Now we need to know how! Not a worthwhile listen

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

This book is excellent

This is an excellent book. It helps one to develop a schedule based on correct principles instead of on a clock system. That way your time is spent doing what is important rather than have your life dominated by the urgent. (urgent doesn't necessarily mean important), listen to the book.
I have ADHD and this recording and the print book have been very valuable to me. I would recommend using it along with the print version of the book along with the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Warning: Only one hour long.

Any additional comments?

This is an abridged version of the book. I bought it under the assumption that it would be a full audio book and was disappointed to find it was only 1 hour long.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

If only I had an assistant called Tom

If only I had an assistant called Tom, then I could do as they suggest and download all of my actual work tasks to him, so that I can head off to the golf course to brown-nose with my boss...

Someone needs to tell these guys that there is a real world out there, and perhaps they should go out there occasionally to see what it's like.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Audio Book vs Paperback

The audio book offers very little value and is about 1/9 of the material covered in the hard copy. I ordered the audio book for school and ended up having to purchase both. Skip this one.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

A full credit?

I thought the info was good, but lame it cost a full credit but was only 2 chapters.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

100% Fluff

Very touchy-feely. Very little substance, not systematic, mostly a rewrite of his Effective People books. I was looking for something else.

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3 people found this helpful