Eat the Frog Meaning and Why It Works for Beating Procrastination

What Does “Eat the Frog” Mean?

“Eat the frog” isn’t a phrase you hear every day. So what does it actually mean? Before you jump to any conclusions, it has nothing to do with amphibians!

“Eat the frog” is actually a prioritisation technique used to boost productivity and beat procrastination. The idea is that you prioritise tackling your trickiest or most time-consuming task first (the “frog”), which makes it easier to complete the rest of your tasks for the day. 

Like other task management techniques, “eat the frog” is all about taking a strategic approach to prioritisation. It forces you to think carefully about your biggest challenges so that you can tackle them head-on and avoid leaving them until the last minute.

Where Did “Eat the Frog” Come From?

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact origins of the phrase “eat the frog”. It’s most commonly attributed to American authors Mark Twain and Brian Tracy, but others suggest that the concept may date back to as early as 1790, when French writer Nicolas Chamfort originally wrote about swallowing a toad each morning. 

While the idea has been interpreted in a few different ways, the general gist of it is that swallowing a frog would be the worst thing you’d have to do in a day, making the rest of the day feel lighter and more manageable.

Why the “Eat the Frog” Technique Works

When it comes to why the technique is effective, there are a few different possible reasons. Firstly, if you’re an early riser with a set morning routine, you may feel naturally more focused and productive first thing. As a result, it may be easier to tackle bigger challenges after waking, when your ability to complete those tasks may be better. There is also evidence to suggest that people feel better earlier in the day. Since we know that happier staff tend to be more productive overall, it’s plausible that this temporary “morning mood boost” may also have a part to play.

Another reason that “eat the frog” can be helpful is because it takes away the mental stress of putting something off or feeling as though you’ve fallen behind. If you manage to complete your most ambitious task first, you won’t spend the rest of the day distracted by the thought that you still have a big task looming. Taking away that mental burden can free up your mind for further clear thinking. This can have a positive impact on how you feel while taking on the remaining tasks you have to do for the day.

How to Identify Your “Frog” Tasks

In Brian Tracy’s book “Eat That Frog”, he talks about labelling the biggest or most daunting tasks as “frog tasks”. In order to identify them, he suggests thinking carefully about which tasks feel the biggest, the most monumental, or the most worrisome, and making them “the frog tasks”. 

Although there may be smaller important tasks that also need to be high on your priority list, your frog tasks should be the ones that are likely to use the most energy and focus. Small tasks can then be completed afterwards.

How to Eat (or Swallow) the Frog in Practice

Now it’s time to put “eat the frog” into practice. Here’s how you can try it out for yourself:

1. Start by making a to-do list for the following day. Include all of the tasks you need to get done by the end of that day. 
2. Next, highlight all of the tasks on your to-do list which are urgent or highly important. You may wish to use a prioritisation matrix to help with this.
3. Once you’ve identified your key tasks, highlight the one/ones that you dread the most. You can have more than one “frog task”, but try not to do more than two. Always place the most important task first.
4. Finally, move your frog task(s) to the top, and when you open your laptop to start work in the morning, crack on with your biggest challenge. If you’re someone who struggles to stay focused no matter what time of day it is, consider using a Pomodoro timer or stopwatch so that you can get your task done in timed bursts. This can be a helpful way of staying on task when you have a tendency to procrastinate.

Tips for Making the “Eat the Frog” Method Stick

Keen to try “eat the frog” but want to make sure it sticks? The following top tips can help to make it a long-term habit:

• Be realistic: Ensure your frog tasks are big enough to get done in a few hours during the morning, but don’t make them so big that they’ll consume the majority of your day. If you have important tasks that you know will take a considerable amount of time to complete, split them up into chunks and do a bit each day. For example, if you predict a task may take six hours in total, do two hours each morning for three days and time yourself to ensure you stay on track.

• Check if you need support: If you tend to procrastinate or put things off because you feel ill-equipped to complete a task, think about what support you may need. Do you need clarity on what the task actually entails? Do you need specialist equipment or assistive technology to complete it? Be sure to chat with your line manager about what options are available. Not having the right tools or enough clarity to complete work are issues that can often be easily fixed.
• Take a break after completing your frog task: Since you’re likely to use a lot of mental energy while completing your biggest task, be sure to reward yourself with a break. After ticking it off the list, head out for a quick walk, take on some gentle exercise, or relax for 10 minutes with a cuppa. Pausing after deep thinking can help to refresh your brain. That way, you can take on the rest of your to-do list with ease.

Try out these top tips and see how you get on. It may take a week or two to get in the habit of “eating the frog”, but once you do, you’ll wonder how you ever worked any other way!