Eat the frog……..doesn’t sound like something you’d want to do willingly. This statement was first introduced to the general public by Mark Twain. He 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.”
“Journey of thousand miles begins with a single step” by Socrates.
Where does the saying eat the frog come from?
Many different people have since adopted this phrase, but the one we’re most interested in is Brian Tracy. He uses the principle in his famous “eat a frog”- technique, and it’s the focus of his classic time-management book, Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done.
What is the Frog?
What is the meaning of eat the frog? Your working day probably consists of many different tasks. Some are more important than others, and there will also be tasks you’d prefer not do at all. Your frog is the one task you have in your to-do-list that you feel no enthusiasm for. It is also the one task you’re more likely to procrastinate on.
What is eat the frog technique? The ‘eat that frog’ is a metaphor for tackling the most challenging or most dreaded task of your day – the one you will procrastinate over, but probably give the greatest positive impact on your day.
What should you do with your frog according to the frog technique? EAT IT?? Do it first thing don’t put it off just do it!
How to Identify the Frog
The key to this productivity method is a to-do list. Divide your list into the following categories:
– Things you don’t really want to do, but you need to
– Things you want to do and need to
– Things you want to do, but don’t really need to
– Things you don’t want to do and don’t really need to
Your focus, or your frog, will be the tasks in the first category. If you happen to have two or more frogs, aim to tackle the biggest one first.
How It Works
When you get up in the morning, or when you first arrive at the office, the idea is for you to complete the most unwanted task of the day. You should identify this task the evening of the previous day when you create a to-do-list for the next day.
By creating your daily to do list you get the most difficult or uncomfortable task out of the way first, you’ll be left feeling energized because you’ve started your day by accomplishing something worthwhile.
Why Eat the Frog is Effective
Everyone should consider adopting this time management technique. Here are some of the reasons why.
It helps to promote deep work
In the modern workplace, it’s very easy for you to get distracted. Chat messages, meetings, emails, and input requests can all be very distracting. And let’s not forget your social media feed. Try to push back against these many distractions, prioritize your actions, and bring you closer to your goals.
You set your agenda
What’s the first thing you do when you get into work? Check your emails? Find out whether any incoming messages need answering? This is reactive prioritization, and this way of working can quickly take over your workday. Try instead to put your agenda first and don’t allow other requests to derail your focus.
It sets you up to win
It’s very easy to overestimate what you can achieve in a day. In fact, it’s human nature and is the main reason productivity tools often leave you feeling like a failure. This tool is a little different in its approach because it encourages you to focus on less, even if you’re confident you can do much more. The result is that you feel much better about your workday because you’ve accomplished the most important and most challenging task.
Helps you make the best use of your time
For most people, the first few hours of the day have the potential to be the most productive. Your willpower and energy are high and you get much more done. Use these early morning hours to your advantage and leave the less taxing and less important tasks for when you’ve exhausted your brainpower.
Simplicity and flexibility
Eat the Frog is one of the most straightforward productivity tools, which means it is great to fall back on. It’s incredibly flexible and can be applied universally. It is effective, but at the same time simple, way to ensure you make progress on something meaningful.