Sometimes you wish there were more hours in the day. You have been busy the whole day, and you still have not got round to setting up a project that you planned, or looking up a course that you want to follow. What can you do? Take a look at the way that you spend your time.
Imagine that the day is a large container. And that the project or the course elements are boulders. They are important but not urgent activities. All other activities that seem to take priority are the pebbles and the sand. These are answering mails, helping a colleague with an urgent problem, etc. These are things that you can easily do in between other activities, and present themselves as important.
If you put the boulders into the container first, then the pebbles and sand will easily fit around them. If you start with the pebbles and sand, then the boulders will not fit.
What do you learn from this? That you can better start with the boulders (the elements of that project or that course), and thereafter go onto the pebbles and the sand. In this way, you have more chance of getting the project or course completed. The elements were not urgent, but they are essential to achieving your goal. Start the day with a boulder!
Original concept Stephen Covey