Eat the Frog: Do the Hard Thing First
One avoided task can follow you around all day. Doing the necessary thing early creates momentum and removes a surprising amount of mental weight.
Mark Twain is credited with the line that if you have to eat a live frog, do it first thing in the morning. If you have two, eat the biggest one first.
The point is not culinary. It is about the task you know matters but keep carrying from hour to hour because you do not want to do it.
Identify the frog clearly
A frog is not simply any hard task. It is a necessary task whose avoidance is creating friction: the phone call, workout, difficult email, appointment, preparation, financial step, or act of obedience.
Write it down. Vagueness gives procrastination room to negotiate.
Do it early enough that it cannot haunt the day
When the frog stays undone, part of your attention remains attached to it. You may be relaxing, working on something else, or spending time with family while still thinking, “I have to do that later.”
Finishing it early gives the rest of the day back to you.
Growth is active
First Thessalonians 4 calls Christians who were already doing well to excel still more. Philippians 3 pictures Paul pressing forward.
Those images are not passive. A meaningful life requires doing the next difficult thing rather than merely admiring the goal.
Use the morning to create momentum
The frog fits naturally into an intentional morning. Pray, think, plan, identify the hard necessary thing, and move toward it before distractions multiply.
You may not enjoy the frog. You can enjoy the freedom that comes after it is finished.
If it matters and you are avoiding it, move it toward the front of the day.
Take the idea with you.
- 01What is today’s frog?
- 02What excuse have I been using to delay it?
- 03What would become easier after I finish it?
Listen to the original episode
This article was adapted from Episode 11 · Eat That Frog. Continue with the podcast for the original teaching in Kris’s voice.
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