When one of the directors I work with revealed his quote to live by was “Eat the frog” – I had no idea it would lead to a whole new way of working.
It wasn’t until a month later, when one of my closest friends (that’s you Rochelle!) revealed she had started a book called “Eat That Frog”, that I stopped and wondered why the universe was bringing all these edible amphibians to my attention.
Hearing the same, frankly odd, phrase again made me look into it, and I discovered that eating the frog was actually a principle to beat procrastination.
So, what is it, and how exactly do you eat the frog?
Step one involves you identifying your frog. This is the hardest, most important task of the day – just pick one!
Step two – eat it! This method recommends you do the task identified in step one, first thing in the morning. Don’t give in to the temptation of putting it off until later.
Step three – repeat. Quite simply, repeat these steps each day – identify your frog, and eat it for breakfast.
Sounds easy enough, right? But what about all the other things on the to do list. If yours is anything like mine, this list seems to get longer and longer every day, with definitely more than one thing needing to be done each day.
It would have been easy to disregard the frog method on this basis, but from reading more into the principle, it appeared even more useful for those of us who have the longer lists, and are regularly pulled in different directions. Many people procrastinate because of overwhelm and this can come down to the number of tasks they are expected to complete each day.
By implementing this method, the most important, aka the hardest, aka the thing that will take the most time and energy, is prioritised over the less important and probably less time consuming ‘easy wins’. These ‘easy wins’? You can eat those for dessert.
So rather than ignoring the idea, I collated my to do list, including some of the bigger projects I had been putting off for some time – you know the ones – and I decided to eat me some frogs.
Here are three of the main positives I took from using this method:
The timing – whilst I’m the first to admit I’m not a morning person in general, I am definitely more productive work wise in the morning. Setting up my frog as the first thing on my agenda means I’m maximising on my most productive working hours, and leaving the less intensive tasks for the post lunch lull.
The positivity – The satisfaction of completing that one main task each day gives me such positive vibes. This then has a knock on effect when I come to the next tasks on my list. Starting off on a win, and a big one at that, tees me up for a good day.
The proactive vs reactive approach – Dissecting my workload into tasks of varying importance, and concentrating on one main one per day, makes me much more proactive than reactive. Rather than losing my 9-5 day in email replies, Teams messages and ad-hoc tasks mean I’m more in control of my workload.
As with most things, best laid plans can often be disrupted so sometimes the frog may live to see another day, but on the most part, this method has definitely worked for me.
Want to give it a go? When I looked into the frog method, I came across some handy tips for successful implementation:
Picking your frogs – This is your most important task, which is most likely not the most urgent. It will often be a task that you perceive as being difficult which tends to make it one you have been procrastinating on.
Time limits – It’s recommended your frog is something you’re able to complete in one to four hours. Being able to tick this off your list before lunch will get you off to a winning start and the resulting endorphin boost will see you through the rest of the day.
Break it down – Using the rule that the frog should take between one and four hours, if a task is going to take longer, break it down into smaller steps and make a start rather than continually putting off the bigger project.
Don’t plan too far ahead – It can be tempting to set a frog for each day of the week on a Monday morning – resist the urge. Embrace the beauty of being able to start each morning with a fresh, singular focus. Planning too far ahead can sometimes set you up to fail.
Do it first – No matter what happens to be your frog of the day, do it first thing. Try not to schedule meetings in the mornings where possible, and don’t get wrapped up in socials or emails. In fact try to avoid all other distractions.
So, whether you’re a serial procrastinator, feeling overwhelmed or just open to trying a new method of working, Eat the fog is a simple principle which cultivates great results – give it a go and see if it whets your appetite.
and she said 