Eat a Frog to be More Productive

Bill Gates famously said, “people overestimate what they can get done in a day and underestimate what they can get done in a decade.” That’s because people wake up with the best intentions to tackle the world every day. But they often fail to meet their expectations. Without a plan to stay focused and on track, it’s really easy to become distracted by shiny objects that may not contribute to your goals.

Eat a Frog to be More Productive

When it comes to productivity, there are plenty of methods out there to motivate and keep you on track. Don’t mind if you sometimes feel unproductive. One of the most popular is the Eat a Frog method. This method is great for people who resist micromanagement, can easily become distracted throughout the day, and may not be sure where to start to get the most accomplished.

Eating a frog doesn’t sound very appetizing, does it? Unless you enjoy the French delicacy, most people would not want to eat a frog. The concept is based on the fact that if you must eat a frog, it’s best to do it and get it out of the way as soon as possible.

Mark Twain wrote, “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.” 

There you have it, the key to productivity. Simply identify your biggest task of the day and get it off your plate first. Make sure you use the most energy, resources, and determination to first wipe out the biggest, hardest, and most important task. From there, move on to the next most important and repeat.

Unexpected Benefits of Eating Frogs

Benefit: Setting the determination to eat one or two (or whatever number you can handle) frogs per day will cause you to laser-focus your attention. This will help you avoid, eliminate, or set boundaries against distractions.

Benefit: Other productivity methods incorporate routine breaks in relatively short time frames. This can actually break your momentum and train of thought. Eating frogs helps you start and finish tasks much faster than other methods.

Benefit: Over time, you become faster and more capable at tackling tough tasks. The habits and skills you develop eating frogs build on one another, and you’ll soon find yourself looking at frogs and thinking they aren’t that hard to eat after all.

There are plenty of productivity methods out there to help assist you in being more productive. Eating a frog will have you tackling tough tasks first, fast, and furiously.