“Eat a Frog” First Thing in the Morning
Of course, out of context, the advice to “eat a frog first thing in the morning” sounds pretty damn weird. However, this somewhat well-known expression is one way of describing an undeniably helpful productivity tip, and it turns out I’ve been eating frog for a long time. If you want to be more productive and spice up your vocabulary, frog eating is for you.
What does it mean to “eat a frog”
“Eat the frog” actually means “do the worst task of the day as soon as you wake up.” This comes from a quote attributed to Mark Twain, although there are several different versions. (For example, Lifehacker Editor-in-Chief Jordan Calhoun calls it “swallowing a frog,” which sounds more horrific for reasons I can’t pinpoint.) strong evidence that he actually did it ) is that if you have to eat a frog , you should do it right away in the morning so that the worst part of your day is immediately behind you.
Regardless of the dubious origins of this flamboyant offering, it spawned Brian Tracy’s popular self-help series and became shorthand for getting the hard stuff out of the way so you can focus on your other tasks.
What does this mean for you?
As Tracey explains on her blog , your “frog” is your biggest and most important task at any given moment: “This is the task you’re most likely to put off if you don’t do anything.”
You don’t even have to eat a frog as soon as you wake up; you can simply make a conscious effort to handle your most difficult duties before moving on to smaller ones. But you should try to get them out of the way early in the day. I have always done this without realizing that it is shrouded in a web of mysticism full of famous literary and contemporary self-help authors. When I need to make an unpleasant phone call, I schedule it for the earliest time of the day. When I have a project deadline, I tend to get up early to take care of it instead of staying up late. I can attest to the fact that I feel great throughout the day knowing that the worst thing I should have done is already done. It always gives the impression that any other tasks that I need to handle are given in the same breath. They pale in comparison to the hippo I knocked out in the early morning.
If you’re struggling with procrastination—whether it’s cleaning the house, doing school, or at work—or you find yourself doing all the little things but not making enough progress on the big things, try eating a frog. Plan your most hated things for the morning. Try going to the gym before work instead of after, set aside the first half hour of work to answer missed emails, or clean up the kitchen before making your morning coffee. Prepare for the test in your most difficult class before preparing for the easier ones. Before you call your friends, call your parents. You get the idea.
It’s also helpful to make a to-do list for the next day every evening and rank it. Put the most important and/or disgusting tasks first, and then enjoy checking them off early. At some point, moving on to smaller activities, even if they are important, will be a reward.