Do the important, not the urgent.

[From "If I Knew Then What I Know Now, CEOs and Other Smart Executives Share Wisdom They Wish They'd Been Told 25 Years Ago" by Richard Edler.]

"Do the important, not the urgent. -- Anonymous"

"In 1972 an airliner crashed on takeoff in Florida. According to some reports, the flight recorder later showed that both the pilot and co-pilot were tinkering with a malfunctioning indicator light and literally flew the plane into the ground. They were doing something that might have been urgent, but not important."

"There is an old pilot's saying that goes 'Fly the airplane first.'"

"Devote your time to the important. Delegate the rest."