Do NowAnswer the following questions:

1. List your top 3-5 priorities in life, right now.2. What big things do you want to accomplish this

week? This month?

Habit 3 of Highly Effective Teens

Putting First things FirstWhat does that mean?

It means that you are willing to do what needs to be done (from most important to least important) even though it might not be as

fun.

• Habit number three is very important because with a neat schedule you can get more accomplished in a shorter amount of time.

• Think of habit number three as packing a suitcase, if you have ever packed one you know that you can fit a lot more into it if you fold and pack it neatly rather than if you just cram everything in at once.

• That is the goal of habit number three, to manage your time and complete everything and still have time to do fun things like hang out with your friends.

• The Time Quadrants is a great model for helping you pack more in (especially important things). It is made up of two primary ingredients, "important" and "urgent.".– Important - your most important things, your first

things, activities that contribute to your mission and goals

– Urgent - pressing things, in-your-face-things, activities that demand immediate attention.

The Time Quadrants... Urgent Not Urgent

Important

The Procrastinator• exam tomorrow• friend gets injured• late for school/work• project due today• car breaks down

The Prioritizer• planning, goal setting• essay due in a week

• exercise• relationships• relaxation

NotImportant

The Yes-Man• unimportant phone calls

• interruptions• other people's small

problems• peer pressure

The Slacker• too much TV• time wasters

• endless phone calls• excessive computer games

• mall marathons

The Procrastinator…• Procrastination is one thing that most teen's struggle

with. As you can see in the table above the Procrastinator is located in URGENT and IMPORTANT. The thing is, if it is so important and urgent, then why wait until the last minute to do what needs to be done. Many procrastinators wait until the last minute because of the thrill they get when they are under pressure, but really all they get is stress.

• RESULTS: stress, anxiety, burnout, mediocre performance

The Prioritizer• Many teens struggle with this idea because they think

that IMPORTANT, and NOT URGENT means you don't have to do it at that moment. Well I can promise you that waiting to do something is not always the best answer, what happens if something comes up(like if your brother or sister gets really sick and you have to go to the doctors with her and you have waited to do a school assignment until the last minute, but you can't do it because your at the doctor's office. You can't miss school so you have to go with an incomplete project.

• RESULTS: control of your life, balance, high performance (in school, sports, etc.)

The “Yes-Man”• This type of teen says yes to everything, they think

they have time to do everything, and or they like to please everybody, now being a yes man is not always bad, but if your not organized than you can fall behind, make people mad at you, and not complete things that need to get done, but if your an organized teen then being a "yes man" should not be a problem.

• RESULTS: lack of discipline, feeling like a doormat trying to make everyone happy

The Slacker• "The Slacker" is the category that teens should stay away

from. Slackers are in, the NOT URGENT, and NOT IMPORTANT quadrant, but yet they continue to waste time and do nothing productive. A slacker's favorite thing to do is hold others back because they refuse to do anything. Many slackers fall way behind in school and other activities, teens should strive to stay away from being a slacker and try to be more productive.

• RESULTS: lack of responsibility, guilt, flakiness

What Action Can YOU Take?Step 1: Identify your big rocks: At the beginning of

each week, sit down and think about the most important things you need to do in the week ahead. These are like “mini goals” – and should be tied to your mission statement.*Big rocks can be things like: study for a science test, complete an application for a job, exercise 3 times, go to football game, take out the trash and clean room each day

Step 2: Block out time for your big rocks:Use your planner! Schedule the time for your big rocks in advance. Remember, these things are most important – and need to be accomplished! Some events may have a scheduled time already (ex: football game), and some goals may need you to schedule (ex: studying for science test – 1 hour each night)

What Action Can YOU Take?

Step 3: Schedule Everything ElseThese are your pebbles – the littler things you would like to get done in a week. These are daily tasks.

What Action Can YOU Take?

Now It’s Your Turn…

• Complete the Habit 3 Reflection on your own.