Eat the Frog: Do the Hard Thing First
That important task won’t get easier by following you around all day. Choose the right time, take the first step, and stop feeding the dread.
#11 — Eat That Frog
Feb 25, 2019
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The task we keep moving to tomorrow
You can stay busy all day and still avoid the thing that most needs doing. We answer messages, handle smaller chores, and find something else that needs our attention. Yet somewhere in the background is the conversation we don't want to have, the appointment we need to make, or the project that requires more concentration than we feel ready to give. The task doesn't disappear when we avoid it. It simply follows us into the next hour.
'Eat the frog' is a memorable way of saying, 'Do the difficult thing you've been putting off.' The saying is often attributed to Mark Twain, though the attribution is uncertain. The picture is memorable because no one expects to enjoy eating a frog. If the unpleasant task must be done, delay only prolongs the dread.
First make sure the difficult thing is actually a wise responsibility. Some demands are unreasonable, some require additional information, and some belong to someone else's responsibility. The first step is determining whether the task is truly important. Once that question is settled, however, postponement often provides no benefit. It increases the mental burden without moving us any closer to faithful completion.
Identify the real frog
An impressive list of finished chores can hide one important task we haven't touched. We may have twenty things to accomplish, and most are easy to complete. Checking them off gives an encouraging sense of motion, even though the difficult obligation remains untouched. The list becomes a way to feel productive without addressing the work that actually needs attention.
What would you most regret leaving undone today? Perhaps it is preparing thoroughly for a Bible class, speaking honestly to someone you have wronged, arranging needed medical attention, or handling an overdue financial responsibility. Sometimes the task is neither dramatic nor especially time-consuming. It is simply uncomfortable enough that we keep choosing something else.
Name the next action clearly. Instead of writing deal with money, write review the account and contact the person involved. Instead of writing improve family relationships, write ask for a quiet conversation and listen without interrupting. A clear action gives you somewhere to begin. Vague intentions leave room for endless negotiation.
If the work is too large for one sitting, choose a useful first part. A complicated project may require several stages. Identify the first meaningful stage and give it an appropriate place in the day. The objective isn't to pretend everything is simple; it is to stop allowing avoidable hesitation to control your schedule.
Why unfinished work occupies more than its allotted time
Unfinished work can stay with us even when we're doing something else. We may sit at dinner thinking about a difficult call, or attempt to enjoy recreation while remembering that important preparation remains undone. The hours spent worrying aren't the same as hours spent working, but they still affect the quality of our lives.
There is a difference between waiting wisely and avoiding discomfort. It may be wise to wait until a conversation can happen privately, until the necessary facts are available, or until the body has received needed rest. But if we already know the appropriate next step and repeatedly evade it, delay is serving discomfort rather than wisdom.
A postponed conversation can place a particular strain on a relationship. A small misunderstanding may grow because someone refuses to address it respectfully. An apology delayed for weeks can leave another person wondering whether the wrong has even been recognized. Not every matter should be confronted immediately, but important conversations deserve deliberate attention rather than perpetual avoidance.
Taking care of the responsibility can free your attention for what comes next. We may still face more work tomorrow. But we no longer need to carry today's neglected obligation as an invisible burden through every other part of the schedule.
Christian growth includes action
In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul urges Christians to keep growing in the walk that pleases God. Paul doesn't call them to admire the idea of spiritual growth. He calls them to continued conduct that pleases God. The command belongs to a discussion of holiness and love, not a modern system of productivity.
In Philippians 3:12–14, Paul's pursuit is centered on Christ and the hope before him. He recognizes that he hasn't already attained the goal. His words shouldn't be reduced to a slogan about finishing paperwork quickly. Yet his determined pursuit does challenge the attitude that says recognizing a good purpose is enough without actually moving toward it.
We can agree with good things while continually delaying the actions they require. Sometimes growth begins with doing the uncomfortable thing we have already acknowledged is right. An apology may be difficult because pride resists it. Honest examination of our spending may be difficult because we fear what we will discover. Speaking truth with kindness may be difficult because avoiding the conversation feels easier.
Acting faithfully is our response to God, not a way to buy His favor. The faithful question isn't merely what would make today feel successful, but what responsibility God has placed within our reach.
Give the difficult thing your best available attention
For some of us, morning is a good time for demanding work. Placing an important task there can help prevent the day from filling with easier demands. That is one reason the eat-the-frog idea fits naturally alongside a thoughtful morning routine.
For others, the first hour is already spoken for. A parent may need to prepare children for school. A shift worker may be recovering from a demanding night. Someone living with illness may have little energy at the beginning of the day. The principle is to choose an appropriate period when you can attend responsibly to the task, not to treat a particular schedule as a moral rule.
Give the task enough room to do it responsibly. Turn off nonessential notifications, gather what you need, and begin. If the task requires a conversation, ensure that the other person has a fair opportunity to participate. If the work requires careful decisions, don't rush simply to enjoy having it finished.
Beginning can take away some of the dread that waiting keeps building. Instead of endlessly preparing to begin, you have entered the work itself. Momentum shouldn't become an excuse for carelessness, but it can make continued attention easier.
Sometimes the frog is a difficult act of love
Sometimes the difficult thing isn't work at all; it's an act of love. It may be an apology to a spouse, a conversation with a child who is struggling, or a visit to someone who needs encouragement. Such responsibilities can be postponed because they involve emotion, uncertainty, and the possibility of an uncomfortable response.
Romans 12:18 asks us to pursue peace as far as it depends on us. We can't guarantee reconciliation or control another person's decision, but we can accept responsibility for our words and conduct. If a difficult conversation is needed, approach it with humility rather than choosing silence solely to protect personal comfort.
Some conversations need preparation, help, or protection before they should happen. Abuse, coercion, and serious conflict may require protective boundaries or help suited to the need. Completing a hard task isn't valuable when the task itself is misguided. Wise discernment belongs before action.
In ordinary relationships, love sometimes asks us to be uncomfortable. We often imagine love as a warm feeling, but love also makes a difficult phone call, admits fault, or keeps a promise when something easier is available. Those choices may be the most significant accomplishments of a day.
Do not let the system become another excuse
We can spend a long time getting ready to get things done. We select applications, design notebooks, rearrange calendars, and read about habits. These tools can help, but they become counterproductive when preparing the system replaces doing the work.
Keep the method simple enough that it helps you begin. Identify the responsibility, decide when you can act, and begin. If the task is large, define a meaningful first segment. If it requires more information, specify what you need to learn. If another person must be involved, arrange a suitable opportunity rather than rehearsing the matter indefinitely.
Leave room to respond to a real need that interrupts the plan. A child may become sick, an urgent need may appear, or circumstances may make the original plan impossible. Faithful flexibility isn't laziness. Adjust the schedule and return when the opportunity becomes available.
At the end of the week, notice what keeps getting moved to tomorrow. Do the same tasks appear because they are unimportant, because the plan is unrealistic, or because you resist the discomfort involved? The answer can help you decide whether to change the task, the timing, or your willingness to begin.
Begin the work that matters
Choose one responsibility that has been taking up more worry than progress. Identify one responsibility whose avoidance is costing more attention than completing its next step would require. Ask whether the task is wise, necessary, and truly yours to address. Then choose an appropriate time to act and remove a few predictable distractions.
You don't have to feel excited before you can begin. You may still feel reluctant when you begin. Faithfulness doesn't depend upon enjoying every responsibility. It means responding to what is right with the energy and opportunity currently available.
When you've made progress, be thankful and arrange the next step if one remains. You're trying to become dependable in the duties before you, rather than win a contest with a calendar. A difficult responsibility addressed thoughtfully can leave you more available to the people and work that follow.
Something may feel difficult precisely because it matters. When a wise responsibility has become an object of endless delay, move toward it deliberately. You may not enjoy the frog, but you can stop allowing the fear of eating it to govern the rest of your day.
Take the idea with you.
- 01Which responsibility keeps following me because I have avoided it?
- 02What is its first meaningful step, and when could I take that step responsibly?
- 03Am I allowing planning or busyness to substitute for a needed action?
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