Are there things that you need to do, but just never seem to
have time for? If so, there’s a good
chance that procrastination is the secret (or not-so-secret) culprit. Mark Twain is credited with the
procrastination-busting strategy: “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning
and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” Meaning: do immediately the thing you’re most
likely to put off. Despite his fame for
it, there’s no evidence that Twain ever uttered the quote,
but it’s nevertheless a good strategy to reduce the productivity-killing impact
of procrastination. Here are four steps
to help you identify, prepare, and eat your frogs so that you can start getting
more accomplished each day.
What is a frog?
Frogs are those important yet daunting or unpleasant tasks
that invite you to exercise every procrastination strategy you know. Imagine the last time you said, “Yeah… I’ve
been meaning to get around to that…” You
were almost certainly talking about a frog.
The problem with putting off frog tasks is that the more you
procrastinate on them, the more everything else on your to-do list gets delayed
as well. Eating your frog first thing in
the morning frees you from the pressure of a dreaded task for the rest of the
day, and makes it easier to knock out other tasks sans-procrastination.
1.
Identify
your frog(s)
In addition to thinking about what tasks you’re most likely
to procrastinate on, consider these prioritization factors for deciding which
frogs should come first.
·
Is the
task truly important? Consider
whether the task meets or advances larger business or professional goals.
·
Are there
other tasks dependent on this one? Prioritize tasks that unlock progress on
larger projects or goals.
·
Consult
time tracking data (https://tracktime24.com/). What tasks historically take the most time or
effort? Prioritize those.
·
Focus on
outcomes. Busyness and productivity
are not the same thing.
2.
Make
a to-do list the day before
Many prioritization tips suggest making a list first thing
in the morning. But even doing that
delays eating your frog and can lead to procrastination (after all, who
wouldn’t prefer to make a list than eat a frog?). Make your to-do list at the end of each day
so that you know exactly what to do when you wake up the following day.
It also helps to figure out the productivity style that fits
you best and use it to effectively arrange your list. Are you task-oriented or time-oriented? Prone to distractions, or able to focus
amidst the chaos? You’ll find you get a
lot more done if you’re not working at odds with yourself.
3.
Schedule
your frogs
You should tackle your worst/most important task first thing
in the morning. So scheduling frogs is
pretty straightforward, right? Well, not
if you have more than one frog for the day.
If there are two or more frogs, eat the “ugliest” first. To determine what “ugly” means in this
scenario, consult the tips above for how to prioritize high-priority
tasks. This is where time tracking data
comes in particularly handy. If you have
records on how long tasks typically take, you can manage your schedule to
create the right amount of time first thing in the morning to finish eating the
frog without interruption.
Here it’s also worthwhile to schedule blocks of time in
which you can focus and single-task your frogs to completion. Remember, the point of eating the frog is to
minimize time wasting. With a frog staring
you in the face, any distraction is going to present a serious temptation to
“accidentally” side track or procrastinate.
4.
Develop
a taste for frog
Beyond single instance productivity, the larger goal of
eating frogs is to develop time management habits that eliminate procrastination
and time wasting. If you develop a
consistent routine of eating your frog first thing every day, you’ll not only
find yourself getting more done, but you may also start looking forward to the
satisfaction of knowing you can and will accomplish your hardest, most
important tasks every day.
