first things first
Handle essentials initially
First things first is a phrase urging that priorities be addressed in proper order—handle the most important or foundational matter before moving to secondary concerns.
It often introduces a necessary preliminary: First things first—let's make sure everyone has signed the waiver.
The phrase can gently redirect someone who's getting ahead of themselves.
- startTo set going
- step oneInitial phase of process
- choicesAvailable options to pick
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- essentialsIndispensable items or elements
focus · groundwork · basics · structure · triage · fundamentals · precedence · scheduling · deadlines · importance · prerequisites · starting point · top priority · prioritizing · arrangement · judgment · checklist · ranking
- recovery slogansone day at a time, easy does it, keep it simple, keep coming back, this too shall pass
- beginning phrasesonce upon a time, in the beginning, to start with, to begin with, for starters
- prioritizationranking, priority list, ordering, urgency, urgent
- 7 Habitsproactive, synergize, win-win
- encouragementencourage, encouraging, praises, hang in there, supports
- future talkgoing to, will do, coming soon, up next, eventually
first things firstmissing the forest for the trees
Losing perspective in minutiae
putting the cart before the horse · put the cart before the horse · bass-ackwards · backwards · out of order
first things firstrandom order
Unpredictable arrangement
willy-nilly · haphazardly · all over the place · helter-skelter · higgledy-piggledy