In one of my earlier posts, I talked about David Allen and his irritating habit of making me wish that I was running my days more effectively. His book, Getting Things Done, is all about exactly what it says, namely getting tasks done. He doesn’t look at just the big tasks and projects, but talks about everything that you need to do, from getting cat food to building a new house to planning your retirement. His toolbox is full of tips that help you manage your daily stuff.

BTW, I do need to apologize to my kids’ High School English teacher who really hates it when someone uses the word “stuff”. She has pointed out, through five kids, that words like “stuff” are extremely imprecise, and therefore should be replaced with words that are filled with greater meaning and more accuracy. Unfortunately, I use words like a scalpel, so when I’m saying “stuff”, I mean exactly that…a conglomeration of imprecise tasks, projects, and physical items that can’t be defined more closely. Sorry Toni Loewen, but I’m doing it right!

Back to my point.

David Allen’s Getting Things Done focuses on the doing. He also talks a little bit about making sure that what you’re doing is worth doing, but that’s about as far as he goes when discussing whether certain things should be done.

That’s much more the purview of Stephen Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. If you haven’t been living under a rock since the original publication of the book in 1990, you’ve probably heard of this book. You’re probably also at least remotely familiar with the 7 habits themselves, namely:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive
• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
• Habit 3: Put First Things First
• Habit 4: Think Win-Win
• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
• Habit 6: Synergize
• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

It’s pretty obvious from the list that these are big-picture ideas. They’re not so much about tactics to be used to get things done everyday, but rather an approach to life. They’re the “what” should be done concepts along with some aspects of the “how” things should be done. In short, the book is a bit like a manual for dealing with all the people that you will encounter along your life’s journey.

And that’s what frustrates me about Stephen’s book. I know what I should be doing, but I really struggle actually living out the seven habits. I’ve read the book (along with other books written by Mr. Covey) over and over. I’ve tried to incorporate the ideas into my daily life as well as into those times when I’m thinking about the bigger picture of where I’m headed, why I’m here, etc. You know, the stuff we want to actually have done before we die (and yes, I used “stuff” again).

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to whine. On the contrary, I’m simply pointing out that I have a lot of room for improvement. And by “a lot” I mean several train cars (maybe entire trains of train cars) of room.

But that doesn’t change my frustration with knowing what I need to do in all these different aspects of my life and recognizing that I can’t seem to accomplish them all.

I’ve listened to many of Stephen Covey’s books in audio form, and sometimes I felt like he was just sitting on the other end of the phone talking to me. He was born just a few months after my Dad, and interestingly (to me at least) died just four months before my Dad. When I listen to a Stephen Covey book read by him, it reminds me of my Dad. A lot.

And that’s part of my frustration. I want to be the best person I can be. I want to be proud of all I’ve accomplished. I want my Dad smiling down from Heaven, nudging his buddies and saying “that’s my boy!” with pride in his voice. There are lots of days where I just envision Dad face-palming and saying “hmmmm” instead.

So The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is often a reminder that I need to concentrate on the big things as well as the little things. I need to get things done everyday, but I need to also know that I’m working on the right things.

Thanks to Stephen Covey I’ve got a pretty good manual to help me along the way!