Eat the frog!

Procrastination - the art of delaying something, putting a task off or at times totally avoiding it altogether, perhaps letting it sit until someone else does it or pushing it under the carpet, so no one does it at all.

When we procrastinate, we give more energy to thinking about the task at hand rather than the energy to complete it. It makes absolutely no sense. I believe that people can usually be categorised into three groups.

• thinkers
• talkers
• doers

Which one are you?

Are you a thinker, talker, or doer?

Let’s break it down.

Thinkers

First up: the thinkers. They think a lot before doing things. Most of the time creating scenarios around the situation, analysing every aspect, and exploring every possible outcome. This can, at times, create fear, problems, or anxiety around the situation, which will sometimes lead to avoidance.

They tend to more think about doing things, then in turn doing very little at all.

Talkers

We then have the talkers; they talk a lot about what needs to be done. Spending more time discussing life rather than living it. It is natural for talkers to put a lot of focus on what others are doing or put pressure on themselves by comparing themselves to others. 

Talkers may also lean on others for reassurance and lack assertiveness when making decisions.

Doers

Finally, we have the doers: They actively do things that they think and talk about, taking immediate action, with little consideration about the outcomes. Doers can categorise failures as lessons and experiences therefore they look at life with a growth mindset. 

These people EAT THE FROG every time – in other words, they just get it done.

What is 'eating the frog'?

Let me explain. The more we think about a task, the bigger the task becomes, the more problems we consider may arise when completing the task or excuses we create not to complete the task. 

Before we know it, the task is so overwhelming, we develop negative thoughts or sometimes anxiety around it. It can weigh heavy on our minds, causing us to overthink or feel emotionally overwhelmed. This is where the eat the frog technique comes in. 

Eat the frog is perfect for anyone who struggles with procrastination, it’s a simple helpful technique we can apply to daily life to improve peak productivity levels. Eating the frog means to just do it, otherwise, the frog will eat you meaning that you’ll end up procrastinating the whole day just at the thought of eating the frog.

But once that one task is done, the rest of the day will be easier for you, you will build momentum, motivation, and a sense of accomplishment at the beginning of your day, helping you achieve what is needed early on.

Consider this, imagine I told you to eat a frog. 

If you thought about it, you would be totally grossed out. 

You would consider all the horrible textures and tastes that you would experience causing all sorts of negative thoughts and feelings around it. If you had to eat a frog it would be best to get this over and done with in the morning, right? Get it out of the way. Of course, it would as the thought of it would play heavily on your mind for the rest of the day causing all sorts of issues, basically putting off our tasks can have a similar detriment to our day. 

This is where the eat the frog technique comes in.

How to eat the frog

1. Identify your frog. Consider something you need to do, perhaps the task you most dislike for that day.

2. Do it first thing in the morning. Do not give yourself time to overthink it or put it off. Get it down.

3. Repeat this every day. This will have a positive impact on your mental health, overall wellbeing and improve productivity levels.

Give it a shot. Eat a frog every morning!