Brian Tracy, a well known American coach, wrote a book called 'Eat That Frog' which explores a simple, yet effective, theory on task prioritisation.
In the book he explains that all of our tasks are like 'frogs'. Some are big and ugly and others small and pretty. He argues that when looking at our to-do lists, we tend to pluck out the 'small, pretty' tasks (or frogs) first because they are the easiest to tackle.
What we fail to see however, is that the bigger, uglier tasks are neglected; we acknowledge they still need attention but by the time we've completed all of those smaller, less important tasks, it is already the end of the day and we've no energy left to act!
What's worse still is that the thought of those ugly frogs lingers in the subconscious mind... often for days at a time... and may even keep you up at night!
"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."
So here's a suggestion. Take your to do list (if you don't have this written down, get a notebook today!) and number your tasks. Make sure your Number One task is the ugliest, hairiest, meanest, fattest 'frog' on the list and then number the rest of your tasks accordingly.
Now take action and tackle those tasks at the top of your list first and when you are feeling most resourceful. Break them down into bite sized chunks and set yourself realistic completion deadlines.
"How do you eat an elephant?"
"One delicious bite at a time."
I am sure that once those big ugly frogs are off your list you'll feel a real sense of achievement, calm and control. - RW
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