As a leadership coach, I’m often asked by clients and peers to recommend business books. There are countless great ones out there, each valuable depending on the challenge or aspiration you’re facing. But one foundational book I always come back to is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. It’s an oldie but a goodie, and its lessons continue to guide how I lead, coach, and prioritize my time today.
I was introduced to this book early in my career while working as a software developer. My company offered a training program based on Covey’s 7 Habits, and it left a lasting impression. The lessons I learned back then still shape how I approach leadership and time management decades later.
All seven habits are valuable, but the one that continues to anchor my work and personal life is Habit 3: “Put First Things First.”
A Simple Exercise That Changed My Perspective
To illustrate why building the habit of “First Things First” matters, let me share a simple exercise that made the principle click for me.
Imagine a large, empty glass jar in front of you, along with big rocks, medium-sized pebbles, and sand. Your goal is to fit everything into the jar, just like life.
If you start with the sand and pebbles, you’ll quickly run out of space for the larger rocks. But if you begin by placing the big rocks first, the pebbles and sand can fill the gaps around them.
In this analogy:
- The big rocks represent your highest-priority tasks, the things that truly move the needle.
- The pebbles are medium-priority items that still matter but have more flexibility.
- The sand represents the small tasks that fill our time but don’t necessarily create lasting value.
- And the jar represents your time, a fixed vessel that doesn’t expand to meet every demand we place on it.
Watching that demonstration early in my career was a defining moment. It gave me a visual anchor for how to manage my time and focus, before life got busy and leadership became more complex.
From Concept to Leadership Habit
Over the years, as I moved from technical project management into senior leadership roles, the “rocks, pebbles, sand” analogy became more than a classroom exercise. It became a mindset I returned to whenever priorities began to blur.
In technology and organizational leadership, it’s easy to get swept up in competing demands. Emails, meetings, and emergencies can easily consume your days. But I’ve learned that effective time management for leaders isn’t about doing more; it’s about ensuring that what you do reflects your most important priorities.
When I led large teams and complex portfolios, I often used the “jar” exercise with my team members. It helped them see why starting with the big rocks, the strategic initiatives, the conversations that build trust, the long-term goals, makes it possible to fit the rest around them. When you reverse the order, you fill your time with sand and wonder why the rocks no longer fit.
Why Leaders Lose Sight of the Basics
What’s fascinating is how often seasoned leaders need to revisit these basics. As responsibilities grow, it becomes easier to mistake urgency for importance. Senior executives, in particular, can fall into the trap of responding to what’s loudest rather than what’s most meaningful.
That’s where Stephen Covey’s leadership principles remain so timeless. They remind us that leadership effectiveness isn’t built on complexity. It’s grounded in discipline, clarity, and consistent focus on what truly matters.
Even the most accomplished leaders benefit from re-learning how to pause, reassess, and reorder their priorities. I often tell my clients: the more senior you become, the more critical it is to protect time for the things only you can do.
Coaching Through “First Things First”
In my leadership coaching work today, I often bring this concept into sessions. When a client feels overwhelmed or stuck, we step back and identify their “big rocks.” It’s a simple but powerful reframing exercise.
Sometimes, those rocks are strategic decisions or people priorities. Other times, they’re personal commitments, the ones that fuel energy and perspective. Once we’ve defined them, everything else can be structured around those priorities.
Leaders often discover that putting first things first isn’t about time management alone. It’s about intentional leadership. It’s choosing alignment over activity, significance over busyness, and progress over perfection.
A Habit Worth Recommitting To
All these years later, that single exercise still resonates with me. It’s a reminder that no matter how complex your role becomes, clarity and discipline are what sustain true effectiveness.
If your days feel crowded with sand and pebbles, maybe it’s time to pause and ask yourself: What are my big rocks right now?
Because when you focus on what matters most, everything else tends to find its place.
And if you’re navigating new leadership challenges or trying to realign your focus, revisiting the principles from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or exploring them through coaching can be a powerful place to start.