If you are keen to boost your productivity and manage your time effectively. You have probably already come across “Eat that Frog”. However, just in case you haven’t, or you are not currently using it we wanted to share/remind you of this effective technique.
Brian Tracy, author of – Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time – was the one who coined the term. The time management technique suggests you work on your most difficult tasks (your frogs) first thing in the morning.
What is a Frog?
Your “frog” is that task you have been putting off and remains on your to-do list day after day because you really don’t want to do it. It may be that you are putting it off because it is really difficult, or boring, or because it is really important but you can’t give it your undivided attention or because it is causing you stress and anxiety (or all of these things).
How to: Eat that frog
Start by identifying your frog(s). You may know immediately what your frog is. However, if you don’t you can use your daily task dump list, or utilise the Eisenhower Box to identify your frog(s) using a “don’t want to do, but need to do” quadrant.
When you write your to-do list the night before, always make sure you have identified your frog and scheduled it in for the start of the day, whether this is by clearly marking it on your to-do list as the priority or by timeboxing it in your calendar.
Then you just need to eat that frog and actually do the task first thing in the morning. Always start the day by eating your frog and stick with your plan to eat the frog unless there is legitimately something else that needs to takes precedence.
Why Eat the Frog First?
Eating that Frog first means that you can get the uncomfortable or difficult task out of the way first thing so that you can move on, but it also means that you get a sense of accomplishment, which will motivate you to progress with your other tasks while also getting rid of any negative feelings linked with the frog.
This will then leave you with more time to do tasks that you enjoy.
Finally, remember if you don’t eat the frog, you still have to do it at some point. So why not get it out of the way!
