Eat the Frog: Beat procrastination after the holidays

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed with all of the tasks you needed to do that you nearly pulled your hair out? With all these responsibilities floating around in your brain, blood pressure is rising and your composure is about to crack. You contemplate taking a nap hoping all of your errands will disappear. But to your expectation, they don’t. They are still waiting to be crossed off of your mental checklist and you find yourself on the verge of pushing it all off until tomorrow. This can especially be prevalent around, and after, the holidays. For some, this time of year is a joy and for others it can be an overwhelmingly stressful to-do list. Thankfully, you don’t have to navigate this time of year without a game plan.

American writer Mark Twain once said: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

A frog is referred to as that one thing you have the least motivation to do. Eating the frog means to accomplish that dreaded task on your NEED to-do list as soon as possible in the first hours of your day. Brian Tracy, author of Eat that Frog!, notes that in some cases the frog is the one thing that will propel you to having a productive day leading to a domino effect of task completion. The longer you wait to eat the frog, the less energy and motivation you will have to do it later in the day.

Do you want to live a more productive life? Know where you want to go. Identify your frogs. Tracy provides these tips on having a more productive day:

1. Decide exactly what you want
2. Set a deadline for your goal
3. Make a list of everything you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal
4. Organize your list into a plan
5. Take action on your plan immediately
6. Resolve to do something every day that will move you closer to your goal (including eating at least one frog a day)

Tracy advocates having a master list, monthly list, weekly list, and daily list. To set yourself up for success, choose between three or five tasks to complete each day, including a frog task.

Whether your goal is to get in shape, quit a habit, become financially fit, or be more productive with your daily to-do’s, it will take some direction and frog eating every single day.

Kierston Mills works at CCH Wellness as a Health Coach. Campbell County Health Wellness works to reduce health risks and promote overall wellness among employee groups and individuals across the northeastern Wyoming region. At Wellness, you can receive daily community blood draws, lab tests, and health and wellness screenings in Gillette, Wyoming from 6-11 am Monday-Friday. To learn more about Wellness, please visit www.cchwyo.org/Wellness or call 307.688.8051.