Woolgathering #152: Which One Are You, Frog First or Frog Later?
Plus: podcasts, pomegranates, and projects...
Brian Tracy’s bestselling book Eat That Frog! lays out a collection of great strategies for being more productive and effective. The titular strategy—involving the frog—is based on a quote often attributed to Mark Twain:
“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
There’s actually no direct evidence that Twain said this. And the original quote—which came from a French write—is quite a bit different. But that’s neither here nor there, and I’ll let you jump down that particular rabbit-hole yourself, if you’re so inclined.
The spirit of the quote remains: the most important, and difficult things are often repulsive to us. When it comes time to do them, we encounter resistance. As the saying goes, when you have a difficult, but important thing to do, it’s best to do it first thing. This way, you’ve taken care of the most repulsive thing early on in the day. That weight is off your shoulders, and you’ll be more productive as a result.
But…is that right? And is it right for everyone?
I’m not so sure. In fact, I think we tend to fall into one of two camps: we’re either Frog First or Frog Later people. I’m sure you can guess what I mean. But click below to read about the two approaches—and which one may be right for you.
Listen to This…
Erik Fisher’s Interview With Me on Prioritization, Commitment, and Being Intentional
This past week, I had the pleasure of being on Erik Fisher’s podcast again. We talked about the origin of my quirky index-card based productivity system, as well the enduring ideas behind to-do lists, prioritization, and commitment. It was a very fun conversation, and I hope, very helpful to those listening.
Thinking Vertically with Jason Feifer
I can’t remember how I stumbled upon Naphtali Hoff’s Lead to Succeed podcast, but I’m glad I did. This episode is a great, multi-level conversation, with a lot of solid takeaways. Feifer is a writer, but also steeped quite a bit in entrepreneurship, and self-improvement in general. This was a great listen.
Read This…
Why is it So Hard To Estimate How Long Things Will Take?
It’s probably because you’re not incorporating adequate buffer time. Don’t worry, this article has a great simple formula to use to help you get a much better (by which I mean less inaccurate) estimate. And when you can better estimate how long stuff will take, you’ll tend to get more done, with much less anxiety and frustration.
Make Pomegranates Worth it Again
I love pomegranates, but boy is it a lot of work to get those damn seeds out. None of the suggestions I’ve tried over the years have saved much time or effort. I had just about given up.
Then I read this article recommending a highly unorthodox method for quickly getting all the seeds out. By golly, it works!
All you need is a knife (to make one cut in the fruit) and a wooden spoon. The article says to use a spatula, but I got a better “whack” and faster results with a spoon. I’ve been eating pomegranate seeds like a man possessed since then.
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A Thought
For most of us, no matter what your job is, your primary job will always be figuring out what work you really need to do. That also means figuring out what work you don’t need to do.
This work takes more time and thought than most of us are willing to give it. After all, we’re all asked to do way more than is either necessary or beneficial to our individual career path.
But not doing this work of figuring out what our work is—it can waste much more time and energy. Furthermore, the more you put off doing this very important work, the less you develop the mental muscle to handle more and more stuff being thrown at you. You end up getting burned out.
Whereas, if you become discerning, you can actually address even bigger, harrier, and more vague avalanches of stuff coming at you. You can do the hard work of discerning the essential from the mere motion and noise. You become a clearer thinker. You develop vision, and you can become a great help to others in the process.
A Quote
"Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction."
- Kenichi Ohmae