Eat the Frog
The other day I came across this quote from humorist Mark Twain: “If you have to eat a live frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if you have to eat two frogs, eat the biggest one first. Nothing worse will happen to you.”
I know this scenario is highly unlikely, but it’s good advice, nonetheless. Why eat the live frog first thing in the morning? Because you can go through the rest of your day knowing that the hardest task is behind you!
Mark Batterson uses this illustration when it comes to our tendency toward procrastination. He asks, “What ‘to-do list items’ are you most tempted to procrastinate on? What goals have you had but not taken the first step toward? What difficult decision have you been delaying? That, my friend, is your frog. Set a date and get started.”
Why Eat the Frog First?
Why does eating the frog first thing in the morning work? Here are a few reasons:
It sets you up for success early in the day.
After you’ve completed your most challenging task, you have the rest of your day to complete the smaller tasks on your to-do list without the dread of still having to do the hardest thing on your list. Getting the hardest thing out of the way can get your intrinsic motivation rolling to tackle the rest of the day.
It takes advantage of your most efficient working hours.
Scientists have found that some people's speed and accuracy at completing tasks are better in the morning. Your brain is at peak performance then, so why not work on the most challenging task of the day? That way, you don’t have to worry about doing difficult tasks when you're tired at the end of the day.
It challenges your tendency to put the task off.
Nobody wants to eat a live frog first thing in the morning. This holds true for the task that you identify as your frog. For whatever reason, you may be facing some resistance toward doing this task. And before you know it, other smaller or less important items have taken up your day.
The whole point of eating the frog is to get it out of the way so you don't have to worry about it while you're working on other tasks. Frogs are mentally challenging, and as noted before, hard to get through. This is why people are more likely to gravitate towards procrastination when it comes to frogs.
The point is to beat the temptation to procrastinate by just getting the difficult task done right away. That way, you don't have the looming sense of dread when you're working on other tasks, and you're less likely to put off what needs to be done.
So let me encourage you to add frogs to your diet. And eat them first thing in the morning. It may be hard to swallow (Sorry, but I couldn’t resist), but in the long run you will be glad you ate the frog.
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