Most people overestimate what they can get done in a day, but underestimate what we can accomplish in a year. How do we overcome the mental resistance that comes with big goals and just get started? The answer is a deceptively simple and memorably named productivity method called Eat The Frog.
It’s dead simple and infinitely flexible
While there are benefits to more complex and all-encompassing methods like Getting Things Done, maintaining them can often become just another task on your to-do list that you’re not getting to.
- Eat The Frog is a simple method anyone can fall back on at any time with very little time or mental resources required.
It promotes a deep work habit
The modern workplace isn’t set up to support distraction-free “deep work”
- We are distracted by so many emails, meetings, chat messages and requests for input that we don’t have the time or space to focus on our highest impact tasks
- Eat The Frog requires us to push back against all of those distractions – both external (others interrupting us) and internal (us interrupting ourselves) – and prioritize the actions that will actually bring us closer to our goals
Using labels
“@frog 🐸” label to identify your most important task of the day
- You can either pin the label directly to your favorites or create a filter with the query “@frog & today” to show you all tasks labeled @frog that are due today
Decide on your most important task
Also known as your Most Important Task (MIT)
Break It Down Into Smaller Steps If Needed
If your frog is going to take more than half a day, break it down into smaller steps that will take 4 hours or less.
What is Eat The Frog?
“If it’s your job to eat one frog, do it first thing in the morning.”
- The most important task of the day will be prioritized first so you don’t let other less-important but more urgent things get in your way.
It ensures you’re setting your own agenda
Email and instant messaging tools put you in reactive mode – as soon as you start responding, you’ve ceded your time and attention to what other people want or need you to do.
It takes full advantage of your best work hours
The first hour of the morning when your energy and willpower are high is a helluva lot more productive than the hour after lunch when all you want to do is curl up and take a nap
Resist the temptation to plan ahead
Do not schedule out your frogs for the whole week or several weeks to come.
Prepare your frog the night before
The night before, you’re close enough to be able to plan accurately, but far enough removed from actually having to do it for too much mental resistance to kick in.
- Get everything you need to get started on tomorrow’s frog set up before you leave work.
Pick something you’ll be able to complete in 1-4 hours
A clearly defined, realistic task will make it easier to get started and not procrastinate.
Eat your frog first thing
Focus all of your mental energy on your frog and only your frog
- The same principles of hyper-prioritization can be applied to any time of day – 8am-8pm is a good time to start working because that is when you feel the most energized and focused
Using priority levels
Identify your most important task and mark it P1.
- Create a new filter called “Today’s Frog 🐸” using the query “p1 & today”.
- Pin the filter to your favorites so it’s always visible above your project list in your left-hand navigation menu.
It sets you up to win
Any day that you eat your frog is a good day
- Following the method means you’ll be making progress on something meaningful on a daily basis
- We feel good when we follow through on the things we intended to do which in turn makes it easier to continue doing them
