First Things First (book)

It offers a time management approach that, if established as a habit, is intended to help readers achieve "effectiveness" by aligning themselves to "First Things".

The book asserts that there are three generations of time management: first-generation task lists, second-generation personal organizers with deadlines, and third-generation values clarification as incorporated in the Franklin Planner.

Asserting that people have a need "to live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy" they propose moving beyond "urgency".

In the book, Covey describes a framework for prioritizing work that is aimed at long-term goals, at the expense of tasks that appear to be urgent, but are in fact less important.

Successful delegation, according to Covey, focuses on results and benchmarks that are to be agreed upon in advance, rather than on prescribing detailed work plans.