Yeah, you can tell he’s not too thrilled by the idea, either.

Dread.

It poisons productivity.

It can take a simple, five minute task…

… and turn it into a

five day,

five week,

five month debacle.

We avoid things we dread.

It’s human nature.

That’s why we need to eat frogs for breakfast.

Frogs for breakfast?

Frogs: the gatekeepers of productivity

No, I don’t mean real, actual frogs.

A frog is a task you hate.

It’s the thing written on your to do list

every day

for the last three weeks

that hasn’t. gotten. done. yet.

Do you have those items?

(Yeah, me too.)

Those are your frogs.

This whole notion of frog eating originally came from a Mark Twain quote:

“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.”

So, get the worst thing done first—and whatever follows will be easier by comparison.

Plus, you don’t fall into the whole trap of putting things off day after day.

The whole frogs-for-breakfast-thing is a pretty common idea in business.

But you don’t always have to eat your frogs.

Sometimes there are other ways of handling them that are equally effective.

Frog tactics

So what do we do if we have a frog that won’t be eaten?

What if it is a task we must return to again and again

—like a thesis,

creative project,

or other long-term endeavor we work on every day?

It’s still smart to put that frog first, and get it out of the way.

So maybe you aren’t eating this frog.

Maybe you give it a kiss instead.

One a day, every day, until it transforms.

I’ve talked before about how change and progress happen.

Change usually doesn’t happen  in leaps and bounds.

Change and wellness and good stuff can happen an ounce at a time.

One bite at a time.

One frog at a time!

What are your frogs?

Take a quick moment.

Identify your frogs.

I’m sure you’ve got a couple swimming around in your schedule.

If you’ve got a particularly large one, you might try dividing it up into more manageable pieces.

But really take an honest look.

What’s your worst frog?

Take five minutes, fifteen, an hour—and go eat it.

And once you have, come back here and post about it!