An important aspect of productivity is being smart with your time.

What Can You Do?

Many times being productive depends on how you start your day. All too often our delays are because of avoidance. As suggested by Twain, when we tackle the big frog first, we can stop avoiding the difficult things, therefore allowing productivity to increase.

I know this sounds easy in theory, but the reality is frogs are nasty! Chances are the task you have been avoiding is pretty nasty too, otherwise you would have already done it.

What Are Your Frogs?

What is a big task to you might be small to others, and vice versa. Don’t compare your story to someone else’s. The point isn’t to beat yourself up for not wanting to tackle the project, but instead simply identify what tasks you are avoiding. So what is your frog?

• Paying bills
• Cleaning house
• A Special Project
• A Class Assignment
• Scheduling an Appointment
• __________________ (fill in the blank)

What Are My Frogs?

Even those who focus on productivity have frogs; I’m no different.  I actually have frogs that I avoid like the plague, but I do have others that I finally held my nose and swallowed. Right now these are the five that I am currently trying to swallow, some are a bit more ongoing than others.

• Eating Breakfast When I get Up- I am not a big breakfast eater, mainly because I am not hungry.  The problem with this is that it is an indicator of a sluggish metabolism. Not good!
• Housecleaning- I hate cleaning the house— organizing, on the other hand, I would do all day.
• Taking Care of My Health- Nothing serious, but I do have 2-3 issues I have been avoiding.
• Menu Planning- This is critical for my busy life, yet I constantly toss it aside to do other things.
• Laundry- this is particularly bad during the acaemic semester and is constatnly on the backburner. Now that my semester is over it is time to eat that frog!

Want to Learn More About Eating that Frog?

Visit Brian Tracey’s website where he explains more about this concept and learn about his book, Eat that Frog!

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