Self-help · Book club
First Things First book club questions
Here are 11 book club questions for First Things First by Stephen R. Covey, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
First Things First is Stephen Covey's full-length development of the time management principles he introduced in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, particularly the distinction between urgency and importance.
Stephen R. Covey · 1994 · 5h 20m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 11 questions
- 1.
How much of your current week lives in Quadrant II — the important, non-urgent activities that prevent future crises and build long-term value? What would it take to double that?
- 2.
Covey argues that urgency is addictive — that crisis management feels important even when it could have been prevented. Where do you see that pattern in your own work?
- 3.
Weekly planning around roles: what are the most important roles in your current life? How often does your week actually reflect those roles in your schedule?
- 4.
What is the Quadrant II investment you consistently fail to make that would most change your situation in a year if you made it consistently?
- 5.
Covey distinguishes managing by clock from leading by compass. Where in your life are you optimizing for efficiency in the wrong direction?
- 6.
He argues that most delegation is ineffective because it delegates method rather than results. Think of something you've delegated recently. Was it stewardship or task delegation?
- 7.
The book was published in 1994. How does the urgency problem described by Covey compare to the urgency environment created by smartphones and always-on communication?
- 8.
What would your week look like if you planned it around your most important roles and goals before anything else? What would fall off?
- 9.
Covey distinguishes values (internal, personal) from principles (external, natural law). Does that distinction resonate? Does it change how you think about your own prioritization?
- 10.
Which relationships in your life — Covey calls them roles — are most consistently shortchanged by your current schedule?
- 11.
If you spent the next six months investing seriously in one Quadrant II area — health, a key relationship, a skill, a long-term project — which would produce the greatest change in your life?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for First Things First?
Here are 11 book club questions for First Things First by Stephen R. Covey, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on time management, prioritization, values.
How long should a book club discussion of First Things First last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in First Things First?
Time management, Prioritization, Values, Productivity, Life design. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like First Things First or questions for other book club picks.
