Eat the frog! Why It’s Important to Do Unpleasant Tasks First

Most of us never have enough time to do everything, even though we are torn apart. Brian Tracy is sure that this is the pursuit of chimeras: there will always be more cases waiting for us than we are able to do. But this does not mean that we cannot become masters of our time and our lives. The expert suggests mastering the system he invented, which can be called like this: “Eat your frog!”.

Your «frog» is the biggest and most important work that you usually put off. That is what you need to «eat» in the first place.

When «eating frogs» it is important to follow two simple rules.

1. OF THE TWO, START WITH THE WORST

If you have two important tasks to complete, start with the largest, most complex, and most important. It is important to accustom yourself to take on it without delay, to bring the matter to the end and only then move on to the next. Resist the temptation to start simple!

Remember, the most important decision you make every day is what to do first and what to do second (if, of course, you can finish the first thing).

2. DON’T DELAY TOO LONG

The secret of high performance is in the habit every day in the morning, without hesitation for a long time, to take on the main job. In a habit brought to automatism!

We are designed in such a way that the completion of the case brings us satisfaction and makes us feel like winners. And the more important the matter, the greater our joy, confidence, a sense of our strength.

At such moments, our brain begins to produce a hormone of pleasure — endorphin. One of the most important secrets of success is a “healthy addiction” to endorphins and to the feeling of clarity and self-confidence that they cause.

When this happens, you will begin to unconsciously organize your life in such a way that you constantly carry out all the most difficult and important things from beginning to end. The power of this habit will make it easier for you to finish the job than to leave it unfinished.

DO YOU KNOW YOUR MAIN FROG?

Before you outline the first “frog” and start “eating” it, you need to figure out what exactly you want to achieve in life.

Clarity is perhaps the most important component of personal effectiveness. And one of the main reasons why you procrastinate and do not want to get to work is confusion in your thoughts and a sense of uncertainty.

An important rule for those who want to succeed: when thinking about something, take a pen and paper as an assistant. Of all adults, only about 3% are able to clearly articulate their goals in writing. It is these people who manage to do ten times more than their colleagues, perhaps even more educated and capable, but did not bother to take the time to list their goals on paper.

SEVEN SIMPLE STEPS

How to set the right goals? Here is an effective recipe that will last you the rest of your life. You need to follow 7 steps.

1. Determine what exactly is required of you. It’s amazing how many people continue to waste time on insignificant things simply because they haven’t thought about it. As renowned personal effectiveness expert Stephen Covey said, “Before you climb the ladder to success, make sure it is leaning against the building you need.”

2. Think on paper. When you formulate a task in writing, you hone it and give it a material tangibility. Until the goal is written down, it remains just a wish or fantasy. Of all the possible goals, choose the one that will change your life.

3. Set deadlines. A task without a deadline has no real power — in fact, it is a work without a beginning or an end.

4. Make a list of means and actions to achieve the goal. When you realize that something else is needed, add this item to the list. The list will give you a visual picture of the scope of the task.

5. Turn the list into a plan. Establish the order in which all tasks are to be performed, or better yet, draw a plan in the form of rectangles, circles, lines and arrows showing the relationship between different tasks.

6. Start putting the plan into action immediately. Start with anything. It is much better to have an average but energetically executed plan than a brilliant one, but to which nothing is done.

7. Get the job done daily, and every day will become a step closer to your main goal. Don’t miss a single day, keep moving forward.

HOW DO FROGS EAT?

Remember the famous joke about how to eat an elephant? The answer is simple: Piece by piece. In the same way, you can eat your «frog». Break the process into separate steps and start from the first. And this requires awareness and the ability to plan.

Don’t fool yourself with excuses that you don’t have time to make a plan. Every minute spent planning saves 10 minutes of your work.

To properly organize the day, you will need 10-12 minutes. Such a small investment of time will allow you to increase efficiency by 25% or even more.

Every night, make a to-do list for tomorrow. First, transfer to it everything that could not be done today. Then add new cases.

Why is it important to do it the day before? Because then your unconscious works with it at night while you sleep. Soon you will start waking up full of new ideas that will help you get the job done faster and better than you anticipated in advance.

In addition, you need to make to-do lists for the month and for all days of the week in advance.

SORT FROGS BY IMPORTANCE

Analyze the compiled lists and put the letters A, B, C, D, E in front of each item, depending on the priority.

The case marked A is the biggest and most unpleasant «frog». If there are several such cases on the list, rank them in order of importance: A1, A2, and so on. If you do not complete the task of category A, this will lead to serious negative consequences, if you do it, you will have serious positive results.

B — things that should be done, but their implementation or non-fulfillment will entail not so serious consequences.

B — things that would be nice to do, but in any case there will be no special consequences.

G — things that can be delegated.

D — points that can simply be crossed out, and this will practically not affect anything. These include once-important tasks that have lost their meaning for you and those around you. Often we continue to do such things simply out of habit, but you take away every minute spent on them from things that can significantly change your life.

Your ability to analyze your list and find task A1 in it is a springboard for jumping to a higher level. Don’t do the B’s until the A’s are done. Once you develop the habit of focusing your energy and attention on the A1, you’ll be able to do more than a few co-workers put together.

And remember: the habit of spending a couple of hours at the end of each week organizing the upcoming week will help you not only increase personal productivity, but also change your life.