In "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" Stephen Covey tells the story of a hiker who was walking through a forest when they came across a frustrated lumberjack.
The lumberjack was trying to cut down a tree with a saw and was swearing and cursing, labouring in vain.
“What’s the problem?” The hiker asked.
“My saw’s blunt and won’t cut the tree properly.” The lumberjack responded.
“Why don’t you just sharpen it?”
“Because then I would have to stop sawing.” Said the lumberjack.
“But if you sharpened your saw, you could cut more efficiently and effectively than before.”
“But I don’t have time to stop!” The lumberjack retorted, getting even more frustrated.
The hiker shook his head and kept on walking, leaving the lumberjack to his pointless frustration.