Eat That Frog - A productivity tool that leaves you feeling less stressed

Are there days when you're simply feeling overwhelmed with work? Do you have a big project that you keep on avoiding? Does it feel like there is a never-ending and always-growing to-do list? I have certainly had those days and they leave me feeling out-of-control and drained.

When we're overwhelmed by work and our to-do lists seem never-ending, we typically respond in one of two ways:

• We focus on all kinds of small, non-impactful tasks to give us the feeling that we're accomplishing something; or
• We procrastinate by answering emails, surfing the internet, or checking out what's in the fridge. We might even clean our offices to avoid the important tasks at hand!

Those reactions are typical, but not helpful. Instead, every morning (or the night before, if that works better for you), I encourage you to write down three tasks (and no more!) that you want to achieve that day to move your business forward. And then decide which of those three tasks will have the most impact on your business and prioritize that one task.

I encourage you to start your day by accomplishing that one important task before you do anything else work-related (or non-work-related to distract yourself from doing that task). I want you to "eat that frog"!

Don’t panic, "eating that frog" is obviously a metaphor. It was created by Brian Tracy, who wrote the book "Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time". He was inspired by Mark Twain’s quote: “If the first thing you do in the morning is to eat the frog, then you can continue your day with the satisfaction of knowing that this is probably the worst thing that will happen to you all day”."

"The frog" symbolizes the task that you least want to do. Brian Tracy suggests starting the day with the most important task you're dreading. Why tackle the dreaded task first?

Generally, it’s in the morning that we have the most energy and fewer distractions. Rather than depleting your energy on secondary tasks, it's better to use this energy to accomplish the most difficult and important task of the day. For example, calling a difficult client, writing a financial report, or developing your business strategy. By doing this, you'll feel relieved and the other tasks will seem simpler.

Whenever I find myself avoiding an important task by doing all kinds of other less-important and less-impactful tasks, I go back to this "Eat that frog" principle. It works! I feel so much better for the rest of the day after having tackled the difficult task first. I feel calmer and less stressed. I don't feel the urge to eat a pint of ice cream to deal with the situation.

Best,

Christine

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