No, don’t eat a real frog unless you like frogs’ feet. The point of this common phrase is to put a big emphasis on how much easier your day can be if you get the hard things out of your way first. In other words, if used correctly, this concept can increase your productivity to live a longer and more successful life.
Here’s how “eating the frog” leads to more success and higher productivity:
Get the Most Crucial Thing Done First
Whatever activities required to accomplish your ultimate goal are the things you should get done first. This concept works because you use your energy and most productive hours first. Allowing you to be more creative where it matters and get done faster.
Get the Stuff You Dread Out of the Way
When you dread something, you are likely to slow down and allow procrastination to take over and ruin your daily schedule and good habits. It stays on your mind no matter what you try to do next, keeping you distracted. Creating a spiraling effect of poor performance, mistakes, and ultimately affecting your mood. Instead, get dreaded tasks completed first and don’t permit yourself to do anything else. When you get a dreaded task done, you will feel relieved, and it will help you focus on the next task.
Go for The Most Exciting Thing
You don’t always have to go for the hardest, you can get the most exciting thing done first, too. This will probably benefit your day even more than the other way around. The energy produced by your excitement will trickle down throughout your day. Not only that, if you are ready for it to happen, you won’t be able to give anything else proper attention anyways.
Take Control and Achieve Your Goals
Most importantly eat the frog means taking control of your life or business and only do what is necessary to achieve your goals. Take control of what is required and get it done, even if it’s uncomfortable.
It means to take charge by fully understanding what it takes to accomplish your dream, designing actionable goals, and following good daily habits to achieve them. It takes the action, the right action. Without action, there is only failure.
It’s important to note that your frog will be different each day, and the same task you do one day as your frog won’t be the next. It really depends on your mood and overall objective for that day. Eat your frog first, and you can smoothly sail through the rest of your day.