Once there was ….
a princess and a frog. The princess had a great talent. But, to use her talent, she had to eat a frog first. That frog was big and dirty, so she felt disgusted. She hesitated all day: ‘Should I really eat it or better not?’ And at the end of the day she decided 'Hmm, I will do it tomorrow'. But, tomorrow passed, the day after tomorrow too. And she became increasingly unhappy because she could not use her talent. What was she supposed to do?
That dirty frog is the most important thing you have to do. But… it is also a bit nasty. It is that shitty job you don't feel like doing, that phone call you're afraid of. Procrastination at its best. We all do this. While that frog really does represent a beautiful prince: your own talent.
Imagine if you spent all that time and energy on your talent instead of procrastinating? Then life would look very different. That's why, during my vacation, I read the book "Eat that frog" by BrianTracy. I would like to share a few useful tips with you.
1. First the frog, then the rest: Start your day with that frog. Don't check your emails or do other small things first. No, right after breakfast, you grab that frog. Your biggest, most important task of the day is action number 1. Do you have to swallow two frogs today? Take the dirtiest, the worst job first. Only when that is accomplished, you start on the next.
2. Apply the 80/20 rule to everything: Are you having trouble choosing your frogs? Then ask yourself: “Which 20% of my tasks lead to 80% of my results?” These are the jobs with the most value. This is what it's all about.So, do those first. With the full 100% of your talent.
And, is the other 80% really that important?
The trick, of course, is to keep this up for a while. Then it becomes a good habit. Then you do what you really have to do. And then your talent is awake at the beginning of the day. You will benefit from this all day long! Good luck!
