Eat That Frog And Get More Done

On my Time Management courses I share lots of great ideas to help clients improve their prioritisation and productivity method. 

Time blocking where you identify the best hours for working on particular tasks and streamline your work.

There's the Yazoo Onion, that will help you to delegate effectively.

And the Pomodoro technique which will improve your levels of focus no end.

But easily the most popular and memorable tip I share is the advice to start the day by eating frogs.

Really!

Eat The Frog Method

If you eat a frog first thing in the morning you will supercharge your productivity and prioritisation skills.

Simply put the number of things you get done will increase. 

It is incredible the number of people that I meet who, years after the training, come up to me and say things like:

"You'd be very proud of me Iain. I had three frogs for breakfast today! I did the important task first." 

or

"I'm still eating those frogs every day. The uglier the better!"

or

"The frog doesn't scare me any more."

or

"I've got so many frogs to eat right now. It's like a banquet!"

Eat The Frog Works

If you already know what I'm talking about then you're probably nodding your head in agreement.

If you've never heard about the benefits of eating frogs before then I guess you're a little confused.

And if you're a vegetarian or vegan then I'm sure you're about to click away but don't worry. Eating a frog requires no amphibian cruelty.

These are not real frogs you eat.

Let me explain.

There's an old Chinese saying that goes like this:

"If the first thing you do on a morning is to eat a live frog, then you have the satisfaction of knowing there is nothing else in the rest of the day that can be quite as bad."

Your frog is a task that you are avoiding. To eat the frog is a simple idea that means prioritising the things you least want to do and then doing them as soon as possible.

There's probably a few frogs on your desk right now. Tasks on your to-do list that you are avoiding. Jobs that you are likely to procrastinate over.

The thing is though, if you did them you'd no doubt benefit by making real progress.

Ironically, the frog is usually the one task that would help you make progress the most. 

Think about one job you've got to do but you're dreading.

That's a frog. Go ahead and eat it!

Frog Work: Do The Worst Task First

If you tackle your most unpleasant task first thing, get it out of the way, then everything else will be a breeze! 

Frogs are often things like:

- Making a difficult phone call

- Ploughing through data

- Going through a massive pile of paperwork

- Writing a report

- Responding to emails

They are all frogs. 

You know it's a frog because you're avoiding it. It's a job that pushes you into procrastination mode.

Frogs can be boring.

Frogs can be scary.

Frogs can be intimidating.

The only way to deal with a difficult task like these is to confront it and complete it as soon as possible. So you must prioritise and it's best to do it first thing.

Frogs Are The Enemy Of Productivity 

We don't want to do these tasks so too often we put them off. We procrastinate.

An unfortunate side effect of avoiding an already challenging task is that in our minds it becomes bigger than it really is.

The frog takes over sometimes and even though it's occupying your mind it becomes even harder to get started on it.

Eating a frog early can help you to lessen the pressure, reduce stress and free you up to enjoy the rest of your day productively.

We're constantly feel pulled in a million directions and it's easy to settle in to working on less important tasks.

But when you frog the day you will avoid reactive tasks like you can sometimes find yourself slipping into. 

To eat the frog is simple. Find your biggest task early in the day and do it first.

Tips For Eating Frogs

If you're new to the eat the frog method I've got some tips on eating them for you.

First, you must treat this like a job. Seriously, now it's your job to eat a frog.

You might not like the idea at first but it will grow on you simply because it's such a great productivity method.

When you get into the habit and eat the frog every day you'll get things done.

Frog work helps you to avoid being reactive, get more done and make tangible progress.

Get into the habit of taking a look at your to-do list first thing. Identify the biggest task. That task is your frog.

Successful people are able to eat the frog because they know where to start. 

I've heard some people refer to it as 'frog the day'. It sounds a bit odd to me but if that works for you then go for it.

If it's a way to ensure that you overcome procrastination and get more done in a day then why not? Call it what you want as long as you're making progress.

More Than One Task

What do you do if you've got more than one frog to deal with? Is your job to eat two frogs? What if you've got three?

Sometimes it's hard to even know where to start.

The answer is simple. You start with the biggest frog. It's best to eat the biggest one first.

Don't hesitate. Go right ahead and tackle the biggest, ugliest, slimiest frog.

Even though it's a big task you need to face up and complete the job.

The one you least want to even think about, never mind consider dealing with. It's probably the biggest, hardest and most important task.

That's the one you start with. And you eat it in as few bites as possible. No messing about, just get it done. 

Using the eat the frog method can help you stop procrastinating and complete the task. 

Brian Tracy: Eat That Frog

Mark Twain once said “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

I told you that the eat the frog technique is from an old Chinese saying but it was actually Twain who made it famous in the West. 

Although the idea of eating a live frog first thing really became popular when author Brian Tracy wrote about it.

His book is called Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time.

It's a great read. 

When Will You Eat Your Frog?

Two questions for you.

1 - What's the frog that's bothering you right now? The thing on your task list that you know you should tackle first?

2 - When is the first opportunity you will have to tackle it?

Once you've answered those you'll know what to do and when to do it. You identify your frog and eat it. 

Take a deep breath, steel yourself and get stuck in! Good luck!