“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” -Mark Twain
If you've ever let a task sit on your to-do list for too long, you've been letting a frog live in your house rent-free. It's not been one of the cute ones that people like to see and enjoy having around. No, these things are the fat, ferocious kind that leave a slimy trail and belch noxious gases. They are sickening, and they are ruining your productivity and your attitude.
A close friend and mentor of mine recently advised me to make an appointment with myself to get one of these monster tasks off of my to-do list, and she quoted Mark Twain to make her point. While I can't imagine actually eating any sort of amphibian, much less a LIVE one, tackling a problem task is definitely more palatable.
These tasks have a way of seeming worse than they really are, and the longer you avoid them, the meaner they look. Day after day, you stare down a mean, ugly frog, refusing to get the nasty thing off of your list and out of your house.
Take a look at the second half of that quote again. It's absolutely true, no matter how it feels when you look at your monster. Tackling your problem task first thing will make the rest of the day (and the to-do list!) that much lighter, and you'll be delirious with personal pride.
What frog have you been avoiding lately? Isn't it about time to get the nasty thing off of your list and out of your life? If you don't have time to tackle it today, make an appointment to get it done first thing tomorrow. Taking the time to get rid of it will leave you happier, and free to get on with your life, instead of babysitting a little monster.
-karey
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