Eat the Frog Again: Why Hard Tasks Still Matter
It's visual, it's weird, it's gross, but it's also easy to remember and it connects with something we need every single day. Every one of us has a list of things that need to get done that we just don't want to do.
Notice what happens between people
It's visual, it's weird, it's gross, but it's also easy to remember and it connects with something we need every single day. Every one of us has a list of things that need to get done that we just don't want to do.
And this idea of taking it one day at a time, writing down one frog per day, and going at it as early as possible is something that pretty much everyone can connect with.
Listen beneath the surface
So I go and I do the thing, and then I get to put a big check in that circle, and the frog is eaten. You may be someone who can just determine something and say, that's the thing I'm gonna choke down, and then the rest of the day is gonna be cake and just carry it out.
Doesn't have to be in the ESM journal, just somewhere have a frog book or something so that you can look back later and you're gonna feel really good about yourself when you realize you've got a lot less to do, a lot less stress, because you've been knocking out those pesky little things all along the way.
Choose a better response
And in each one of those days there was time for Bible reading and prayer, there was time for a daily spiritual highlight, or to do something for someone else. So I don't want you just thinking that the eat that frog concept is just a better way to get things done in your life.
A major benefit is that it frees you up mentally and in terms of stress every day to do the things that matter more, that matter most, and to enjoy those things, knowing that you got the annoying thing out of the way.
Practice it in real life
It reminds me of that verse in Ephesians chapter six where it tells fathers not to exasperate your children or provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. I think what that text is saying is if we tell our kids they need to take care of business, they need to get things done, they need to serve one another, but I'm always too busy to serve them, I'm always too stressed out to get important things done, that would be pretty frustrating to a child.
It's been pretty cool to sit down and say, hey, today I'm gonna take care of that thing you need, and I follow through on my word and I knock it out.
Take the idea with you.
- 01Where does the central idea of “Eat the Frog Again: Why Hard Tasks Still Matter” show up most clearly in my life right now?
- 02What does this episode call me to believe, stop, start, or handle differently?
- 03What is one specific action I can take today instead of merely agreeing with the idea?
Listen to the original episode
This article was adapted from Episode 61 · Let's Talk Frogs. Continue with the podcast for the original teaching in Kris’s voice.
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