“Eat that frog!” is a phrase made popular by author Brian Tracy.
The basic idea is that if you have to do something difficult, you might as well do it right away in the morning so the worst part of your day is behind you. (Hopefully none of us have to do anything worse than eating a live frog.) The original quote is often attributed to Mark Twain, but he actually didn’t say it.
Regardless of where the idea began, it can be helpful in beating procrastination.
I finally ate a frog over the last couple of days.
It had been hopping around in my brain for the last week and a half, making quite an annoying racket whenever I tried to relax.
“Ribbit. Ribbit. What about that editing project you’re supposed to be working on?”
I would sigh and get all tense, but I kept right on pushing my frog aside.
This project was tricky. I was supposed to be helping another editor clean up a bunch of pages of complicated footnotes. Every time I looked at it, I wondered if I could do it and do it well. So I put it off another day. (It didn’t help that I got COVID for a week or so in there.)
I finally decided to “eat that frog” and I got started. I immediately felt some relief from the tension that had been building up. I finished today and turned it in. It ended up taking about six hours in total.
I found myself wishing with all my heart that I would have started a couple of weeks ago instead of letting it go. Oh well, too late now. I just have to remember how I’m feeling for future projects.
I wonder how many other frogs I have jumping around in my life? They pop up once in a while.
I see paperwork for something in a pile on my desk and I sigh and push it aside. Ribbit!
I remember a writing project that has a deadline and I find something else to do until the day before it’s due. Ribbit!
I see someone’s post come up on social media and think about writing to them, but I don’t do it right away. Other things seem more important so I don’t get it done. Ribbit!
All of those frogs add stress and guilt to our lives. The paperwork turns into late fees and hassles. The writing projects don’t get submitted and opportunities are missed. The unwritten letters turn to regret when it’s too late someday.
If you’ve been procrastinating (like me!), it’s time to eat the frog!
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23 NIV)
Do you find yourself procrastinating in any area of your life? How can focusing on God help you “eat the frog” and get things done?
I love this! I have too many frogs jumping around in my head too 🤪. I try to do one task a day I don’t want to do, then try really hard to not let the others get me down till it’s their turn.
Thanks, Darcy! Tackling them one at a time seems smart. I really need to work on this. Way too often I just go through the day doing easy tasks, and that frog doesn’t let me relax and enjoy anything til it’s done! ~Robyn
Very clever!
I keep the frogs organized in a simple pull system called a Kanban.
Each frog goes on a sticky note in the To Do column. Colored sticky notes denote priority. Once I pull it to work on the sticky note it goes in the Doing column (only 3 sticky notes allowed in this column).
When finished with the task the sticky note goes in the Done column.
This is my preferred way of “eating the frog” one frog at a time versus a whole bunch at once. 🐸
That’s a great idea, Don! I’ve heard of people using systems like that before. It’s intriguing, but I’m not sure it would work for me (guess I should at least give it a try!). What I do right now is write three tasks in my daily planner and try to get them done. I’ve noticed I’ve had to move too many of them to another day in the week when I don’t do them…so something needs to change. Concentrating on one at a time is the key to success, I think! ~Robyn