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THE BLUE TREE
Personal
Productivity
CEFR B1
Intermediate
warm up
Answer the questions below.
| What qualities should parents pass on to their kids to help them in adult life? |
TRANSCRIPT
I think parents should teach their kids to be proactive and responsible. Growing up, my parents always encouraged me to take ownership of my actions and not wait for things to happen. They also stressed the importance of setting goals and thinking about the bigger picture, which is something I’m still working on. I believe those qualities—being proactive, setting clear goals, and staying focused—can really help kids when they become adults.
| How would you define somebody who was decent? |
TRANSCRIPT
A decent person, to me, is someone who practices empathy and honesty. Someone who listens first and tries to understand others before speaking, like in Covey’s habit of ‘seek first to understand, then to be understood.’ It’s about being kind and fair in your actions and treating people with respect. Integrity is huge for me, too—it’s important to stick to your values, even when it’s hard.
| What’s the most important lesson you have taken from your parents? |
TRANSCRIPT
The most important lesson I’ve taken from my parents is to prioritize self-care and balance. My dad always told me to ‘sharpen the saw,’ even before I read about it in Covey’s book. Whether it’s taking care of your body, mind, or just spending time outdoors, I’ve learned that you need to recharge to stay effective. It’s something I try to apply not just in work, but in life in general.
part one
KEY LANGUAGE
Go through the flashcards below, and memorize as many words and their translations as you can.
video
Watch the first part of the video.
COMPREHENSION
Answer these questions. Refer to the information from the video.
- ⌚ 00:20 What was his grandma’s favourite story?
- ⌚ 00:32 What do reactive people focus on?
- ⌚ 00:50 What’s the proactive people’s mindset?
- ⌚ 01:10 What question do proactive entrepreneurs ask themselves?
- ⌚ 01:29 What is the first habit of highly effective people?
part two
KEY LANGUAGE
Go through the flashcards below. Make sure you understand all the words and expressions.
VIDEO
Watch the second part of the video.
COMPREHENSION
Answer these questions. Refer to the information from the video.
- ⌚ 01:44 What is the most powerful question you can ask yourself?
- ⌚ 02:13 What will most of us have to do when we ask ourselves this question?
- ⌚ 02:18 What is the second habit?
part three
KEY LANGUAGE
Go through the flashcards below. Make sure you understand all the words and expressions.
VIDEO
Watch the third part of the video.
COMPREHENSION
COMPREHENSION
Answer these questions. Refer to the information from the video.
- ⌚ 2:30 What are some of the things people say are the most important to them?
- ⌚ 2:50 What is the disconnect about?
- ⌚ 2:54 What is the third habit?
part four
KEY LANGUAGE
Go through the flashcards below. Make sure you understand all the words and expressions.
VIDEO
Watch the fourth part of the video.
COMPREHENSION
Answer these questions. Refer to the information from the video.
- ⌚ 3:59 What is the first scenario about authors about?
- ⌚ 3:42 What is the second scenario about? How is it different from the first one?
- ⌚ 3:47 What is the fourth habit?
- ⌚ 3:54 How do we need to stop thinking?
part five
KEY LANGUAGE
Go through the flashcards below. Make sure you understand all the words and expressions.
VIDEO
Watch the fifth part of the video.
COMPREHENSION
Answer these questions. Refer to the information from the video.
- ⌚ 4:08 What aren’t we going to hear from the creator of this video?
- ⌚ 4:15 What is the most important question we should ask about such videos?
- ⌚ 4:32 What is the fifth habit about?
part six
KEY LANGUAGE
Go through the flashcards below. Make sure you understand all the words and expressions.
VIDEO
Watch the sixth part of the video.
COMPREHENSION
Answer these questions. Refer to the information from the video.
- ⌚ 4:45 What example can be used to illustrate synergy?
- ⌚ 4:51 What does synergy mean?
- ⌚ 4:55 Can we achieve synergy with anyone?
- ⌚ 5:05 What is the benefit of looking for synergistic opportunities?
- ⌚ 5:09 What is the sixth habit?
part seven
KEY LANGUAGE
Go through the flashcards below. Make sure you understand all the words and expressions.
VIDEO
Watch the seventh part of the video.
COMPREHENSION
Answer these questions. Refer to the information from the video.
- ⌚ 5:22 What advice did a neighbour give to a guy who was cutting down a tree?
- ⌚ 5:28 Why didn’t he want to sharpen the saw?
- ⌚ 5:42 In what sense do some of us do something similar as shown in this story?
- ⌚ 5:56 Why does he say that we have ‘the audacity to ask for tips on how to be effective’?
- ⌚ 6:05 How do you understand the ‘floating bricks’ illustration?
- ⌚ 6:08 What is the seventh habit of highly effective people by Stephen Covey?
POLL
Cast your vote in the poll below.
DISCUSSION
DIALOGUE
Read, or role-play, this dialogue between Alita and Pete.
Alita:
So, after going through the Seven Habits again, I realised how practical they actually are. They’re not big theories — they’re more like daily choices.
Pete:
Exactly. For me, Be proactive made the biggest difference at work. I used to wait for instructions or complain about things I couldn’t change. Once I focused on what I could influence, my job became much less frustrating.
Alita:
I had a similar experience. Being proactive helped me personally too. Instead of reacting emotionally, I started pausing and choosing my response — especially in difficult conversations.
Pete:
That links nicely to Seek first to understand. I used to jump straight into defending my point. Now I try to really listen first. It’s improved my relationships at work — fewer conflicts, more trust.
Alita:
Same here. And it’s helped at home as well. When I actually listen instead of preparing my reply, conversations become calmer and more meaningful.
Pete:
Another habit I rely on is Put first things first. Once I started planning my week around what’s important — not just urgent — I felt more in control. Less stress, better results.
Alita:
That one changed my work–life balance. I realised I was always busy, but not always effective. Prioritising helped me protect time for health and learning — which is basically Sharpen the saw.
Pete:
Yes! Sharpening the saw felt like a luxury at first. But investing time in rest and development actually made me more productive. Funny how that works.
Alita:
I also like Begin with the end in mind. Having a clear sense of what kind of person I want to be has guided my decisions — both professionally and personally.
Pete:
And when you combine that with Think win-win, teamwork becomes much easier. I stopped seeing success as a competition. Collaboration started paying off.
Alita:
That’s true. Once you stop trying to “win” every situation, you often gain much more in the long run.
Pete:
So in the end, the habits kind of build on each other. You don’t have to master all seven at once — but even applying one or two can change a lot.
Alita:
Exactly. They’re not about being perfect — just more conscious. And that already makes a huge difference.
discussion questions
Discuss these questions. Refer to the content of this lesson and your onw experience.
 | Being proactive often means taking responsibility. Why do some people avoid this? (Habit 1: Be proactive) |
| Having a clear goal can guide decisions. Why do many people struggle to define one? (Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind) |
| Daily life is full of urgent tasks. What happens when important things are always postponed? (Habit 3: Put first things first) |
| Success is often seen as competition. Why is a win–win approach difficult to accept? (Habit 4: Think win–win) |
| Listening is essential for understanding. What usually prevents people from listening well? (Habit 5: Seek first to understand) |
| Teamwork can produce better results than individual work. Why doesn’t this always happen? (Habit 6: Synergize) |
| Rest and renewal improve effectiveness. Why do many people treat them as a waste of time? (Habit 7: Sharpen the saw) |
DIVE DEEPER
Use the mind-map below to dive deeper into this topic.
lesson glossary
COMMENTS
What do you think of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People? Which of the habits would you like to implent in your life? What you add any other habits?
Share your views and experience here.
1 Comment
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I have greatly enjoyed watching the video. The ideas presented by Stephen Covey are very useful in both professional and personal life, as I see it. It’s crucial that we can apply this approach to our personal lives as well, because being an effective person often directly relates to work. A great example is the third habit, where we can make decisions about what is important and what we should eliminate in every area of life, resulting in wasted time being transformed into quality time.
From my perspective, the story about sharpening the saw is particularly wise and useful. Nowadays, the approach of trying to do everything as quickly as possible without the required knowledge is common. The reason is to reach every goal without devoting much time. Very often the results are similar as shown in the video. I have my own experiences in this area as well. Sometimes, when I need to fix a technical or mechanical problem at home, I try to do it immediately without using the proper tools. The reason is that I would have to spend extra time to get them. As a result, I have to spend more time to finish the repair or go get the tools eventually. The same can happen in professional life, where investing time in learning can dramatically speed up achieving a goal.
I’ve thought about adding an extra habit, but I don’t have a specific idea. Stephen Covey has presented a complex concept relevant to this topic, it’s like a Swiss Army knife intended to help everyone to be more effective.