What is Eat The Frog?
“If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to doit first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's bestto eat the biggest one first.”– Brian Tracy
If you're feeling stretched in a million directions and overwhelmed by the amount of tasks you have on your plate each day, I'd argue that this method will be even more effective for you. It doesn'tmean that once you eat your one frog, you kick yourself and call it a day. You'll still work on other things, but your most important will be prioritizedfirst before all the other less important but more pressing things get in theway.
3 steps to eat the frog
1. Identify your frog 🐸
a.ka. your hardest, most important task for the day. Just one!
2. Eat it 🍴
Do your most important task first thing in the morning.
Don’t give yourself the chance to put it off for later.
3. Repeat every day 🕒
You’ll be amazed how much quickly small steps
taken consistently add up to big accomplishments.
Why would you eat frogs?
- You struggle with procastination or
- get a lot things dont, but do not make progress on important stuff or
- have hard times sticking to productivity or
- have troubles deciding what to work on at any time given or
- feel overwhelmed by own to-do list or
- mix of any of these together
Why it works
It promotes a deep work habit
Confront all the distractions and prioritize theactivities that will actually get you closer to our goals.
It ensures you’re setting your own agenda
Put your agenda first before other demands comealong that could derail your day
To win
Every day you eat a frog is a good day. We feel good when we finish the things we intended to do, which then makes it easier tocontinue doing them.
Advantage of your best work hours
The first hour of the morning, when your energy and willpower are high, is much more productive than the hour after lunch when you just want to curl up and take a nap.
Tips for eating your frogs
1. Decide on your frog
Also known as your most important task. This task is often important but not urgent; it is the type of difficult task thatcauses great mental resistance and subsequent procrastination if you don't intentionally make time for it. You probably already know what task I'm talking about.
2. Pick something you'll be able to complete in 1-4 hours
Your frog should take half a day’s work, tops. A clearly defined, realistic task will make it easier to get started and not procrastinate on. Checking it off your listbefore lunch will give you a concrete win and accompanying endorphin boost to carry you into the rest of your day.
3. Break it down into smaller steps if needed
If your frog is going to take more than half a day, break it down into smaller steps that willtake 4 hours or less. The next concrete action on that list is your new frog. For example, in order to complete the task “Create a business plan”, your frog for today might be “Write an article”.
4. Resist the temptation to plan ahead
Once you start breaking your big tasks down, you may be tempted to schedule out your frogs for the whole week or several weeks to come. Don’t do it! Accurately forecasting tasks into the future is nearly impossible and will only set you up for getting behind quickly.
5. Prepare your frog the night before
You should plan a little ahead. The night before you are close enough to plan accurately, but still far enough away from havingto do it that there is too much psychological resistance.
Eat your frog first thing
Whateveryour frog for the day, make it as soon as you sit down to work. If possible,don't schedule appointments. Don't make up time on Twitter. Don't check emails.Don't even think about all the other less important things you'll have to dolater in the day. Focus all your mental energy on your frog and only your frog.
