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You can even use Pomodoro timers to make time just for you. Make a short list of two or three things you can do every day to focus on these four areas.
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If even one is neglected, it can negatively affect the others. When you focus on all four, you create a more balanced life. It surrounds the other habits on the Seven Habits paradigm because it is the habit that makes all the others possible.
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The last habit contained in this book, Sharpen the Saw, is about cultivating the greatest asset we have ourselves. The lessons are powerful indeed, and are worthy of attentive nurturing. However, Covey takes it a bit deeper for a more well-rounded variety of self care than what many people may be used to.Ĭovey lists four dimensions as part of the sharpening habit: This 7 th habit marks the end of our brief journey through Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: powerful lessons in personal change. The second lesson to take away from “sharpen the saw” is to focus on yourself. Melissa Gratias says, “Working smarter is the pursuit of productivity coupled with a respect for downtime and rest.” And that, is exactly right. But as several productivity speakers and coaches explain, you need downtime. It just means being far more efficient at it so you work fewer hours and don’t completely burn yourself out. Getting more done in fewer hours gives you more time off to focus on yourself. It also includes having a balanced program for self-renewal in four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. To sharpen the saw, as he defined it, means to preserve and enhance the greatest asset you have you. In Tim Ferriss’s “The 4-Hour Work Week,” he drives this point home. The term sharpen the saw was introduced by Stephen Covey. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you haveyou. The always on culture means spending time treating every minor task as a major priority, which leads to overworking, difficulties staying focused, and far less productivity. Seek continuous improvement and renewal professionally and personally. Sadly, all the available technology at our disposal has made it even more difficult to work smarter.