Unclutterer: “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” — Mark Twain
The “frog” in the Mark Twain quote above has been adopted by the business community and productivity advocates to represent the one task or activity you’re least looking forward to completing over the course of your day. The idea being that once the unappealing task is done, the rest of the day is a breeze in comparison.
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Each time one of these productivity articles is posted, we see a new tip we can incorporate into our daily work routines. Each day, we walk into the studio, look at the daunting amount of tasks on the board, and dream of throwing ourselves off of a bridge. However, the thought that you can come at your frog early in the day, and thus feel as if you have truly accomplished at least something over the course of that day. The article calls to attention how empty you feel when you don't accomplish that one daunting task, ad no matter what you do, it will feel like a stopgap, as if you are putting off the real work you need to do and just treading water. Eating a frog is a gory metaphor for sure, but in the times of Twain it was an appropriate one, as things were much simpler. Work was harder to avoid, as there were many fewer distractions, and Mark wasn't writing 8 cover letters to separate internships. But that's beside the point. Work ethic is the first step to being successful at anything, and this article is a good thing to add to that skillset.
I've had both kind of experiences with "eating the frog", and the success (or lack thereof) of each experience seems to be based mostly on my mood that day, and less the other way around. For example, some days I can immediately tackle the biggest problem on my to-do list and leave feeling mildly productive, despite the fact that I didn't really get that much done. Other days, the "eating the frog second" technique works to my favor: after getting a few small things done, I feel like I'm on a productive streak and getting the big project done feels so much easier. However, the actual amount of work done on the big project is usually the same. I guess comparing the two techniques comprehensively would require considering how your final mood will effect the rest of your day, and how much work you actually want to get done. Taking breaks in between the tasks would also have to be considered, because sometimes taking breaks when you're on a productivity high can actually make you slow down.
I can see the appeal of what mark Twain was saying. If you get your least favorite task out of the way at the beginning of your day, you will have a better attitude when it comes to your other task. While this might work some of the time, the article makes so great points about why it might be better to push aside the big task for a little while and get some smaller victories under your belt first. The article mentions that Teresa Amabile and her research onto this topic have revealed that a good day a work simply consists of progress in a project. I agree with this research because i think progress motivates you and thus helps you accomplish more and even boosts your confidence so that you can tackle the big tasks on your to-do list. I think that starting off with smaller tasks will help you in the long run, because even if you don't get very far on your big task, you will feel accomplished because you completed other tasks that day. Also, i think that if you were to do the big task first, you will be worn out by the time it came to do the other tasks for the day and you won't want to do those small tasks. I think that this article brings up a great point about the way in which a to-do list should be organized. it's not so much procrastinating, but preparing yourself for the big task ahead.
I have heard this phrase, or a variation of it many times, and I always agree with it. I think that you definitely work more efficiently when you eat the bigger or smellier frog first, and there is absolutely value to that, but I think doing your hardest thing for the day right when you get up people doesn't help the functionality of the rest of your day. I know when I do my most complicated thing for the day right in the morning, there is some relief for the rest of the day, but there is also the exhaustion from exerting that much energy so early in the morning. I have also found especially in my first semester of college that people work differently, and operate at different paces. So I think as long as the work gets done and you are sleeping a reasonable amount it doesn't matter that comes first.
I decided to read this article because this quote came up during crits. I think that there is value in both ideas. Accomplishing tasks at work can drag you down. I think that the idea of swallowing the frog first lends itself more to daily tasks than long term projects. On one hand, tackling something difficult and accomplishing it first thing can make the rest of the day easier and more satisfying. On the other hand, if you don’t accomplish that task, it can make the rest of the day even more discouraging. This method also assumes that one only has one difficult or unpleasant task for the day. I’m not so sure this is the case. It might be that the best method is to spread out the difficult unpleasant tasks with the easier tasks. What order to do them in depends on priority, the person, and the day.
I definitely agree with what this article is arguing in terms of the importance of feeling like you’ve accomplished something at the end of the day, even if it isn’t necessarily “the frog”. I think the quote the writer based this article on could be interpreted in different ways. For some, it might mean getting the biggest, burliest task started and out of the way as early in the day as possible so you’re not worrying about it later on (eg, a big drafting project). For others, it might mean getting that one, small, annoying but necessary thing done so it’s not bothering you (eg, depositing a check at the bank). I know that, sometimes, I tend to procrastinate getting my larger tasks done by completing, first, the small things on my to-do list that aren’t super important, but need to get done and tend to add up quickly. I know that personally, I feel much more equipped to get my large tasks done when I’m not worrying about all of the small things I need to do. In this sense, I guess my small tasks are my “frog”. However, I think this quote also has interesting implications on the ideas of hard work and productivity. We as humans and artists sometimes have a hard time prioritizing our workload and realizing the difference between putting things off for later and making choices about what makes sense to do now vs. tonight.
I’ve always been the kind of person who leans towards “eating the frog” second or third. For me it works when it means completing a few tasks like sending emails before starting a big project, because like the article said it helps get my sense of accomplishment flowing. When it really doesn’t work and is honestly just procrastinating is when it means working on a project I want to do before starting the one I don’t want to do. I have a bad tendency to do this and push off work I’m less excited about off to the last minute. That usually means getting a big assignment, like a design or drafting project, out of the way now and saving a small thing, like an assigned reading, for later. I can justify this behavior by telling myself I’m getting the big thing done first. I think the most important thing I need to work on is learning to recognize my “frog” so that I can better my ability to plan and prioritize.
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