Eat the Frog

Thursday, December 14, 2023

Successful people get to the point they’re at by developing habits that help them be more productive and positive. Habits that set them up to achieve more.

You may be wondering, “What is ‘Eat the Frog’??” The idea came from Mark Twain who 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.”

“Eat the Frog” to put it simply, is the process of identifying your most difficult task of the day and completing it before you do any other work.

Your “frog” is your biggest, most important task. It is the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you do not do something about it. If you have two important tasks before you, start with the biggest, hardest, most important task first.

Eat the FrogHow to pick your frog:

• It should be an important task. One that matters most to you, rather than someone else’s top priority.
• It’s something that you need a little push to get done.
• It should be a task that you can actually get done that day.

Discipline yourself to begin immediately and then to persist until the task is complete before you go on to something else. Take advantage of

 

the time you’re at your sharpest and most motivated. Have something scheduled first thing in the morning? Pick your frog the night before.

 

The key to reaching high levels of performance and productivity is to develop the lifelong habit of tackling your major task first thing each morning. You must develop the routine of “eating the frog” before you do anything else and without taking too much time to think about it.

This method works because it’s simple, gives you control over your time, and it’s all about focus.

The whole point is to concentrate on one big task at a time. Ask yourself, “If I could only get one thing done today, which one would make the biggest difference or get me closest to achieving my goals?” What is the one task that you despise doing but needs to be done? What task is going to propel you farther and faster towards overall success?

Take Action. What is your “frog?”

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