eat the frog

When I moved over to central office to support our 33 elementary sites and leaders, one of my first sit-down meetings was with GB, who  serves as the Elementary Division Administrative Assistant.  She shared how she operates with matters as far as priorities, and that if I ever came in to my office and found some paperwork that had a frog accompanying it, that it was time sensitive and critical to attend to.

The back story of the frog is what prompts my thoughts today.  The idea comes from a book entitled Eat That Frog, by Brian Tracy.  Said Mark Twain, “"Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day."

Applied to our roles, that frog is the biggest, toughest, scariest, and/or most important task, and one that we might most likely procrastinate.  It’s the task that we may spend 80% of our time, effort & day trying to avoid.

Tracy states an associated rule: if you have to eat a frog, it doesn’t pay to sit and look at it very long.  Consider the immediate and consequential mental, emotional, and physical accomplishment you would feel to start your day by tackling that most important task, having that courageous conversation,  and making that tough decision that followers count on you to make.

I’ve tried to apply this concept this week.  Every morning, I consider the challenges, tasks & opportunities before me, and designate one or two to be my frogs.  I limit myself to no more than two frogs a day, and for self-preservation reasons, I choose frogs that are not poisonous.

So, as you consider what will make the greatest impact to start your day...