Carpe Diem and all that

Having only recently taken on a broader role at work, where I need to engage with most of the senior team across the company and have an understanding of what they are doing, I am feeling somewhat under the cosh when it comes to time.  The whole management of time discipline is one that has made fortunes for many business gurus, but the one whose enrichment I don't resent is Steven Covey.  His book, 'First things First', written with friends and colleagues suggests that you work out the six/seven/eight principal areas of responsibility in your life - and write down the most important things you could be doing in each of these areas each week.  He argues that this is the most flexible way of ensuring you focus on what is important and lasting.  The mantra underpinning all the (many) words is 'to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy' as the purpose of our daily lives.  It is a book soaked in a highly spiritual and values-driven view of our existence rather than the more functional approach taken by other writers in this field.  Having spent most of the weekend catching up on work, I haven't yet achieved the balance that he preaches, but I am at least feeling guilty.  The determination to change will, I am confident, soon follow.