Eat the frog. But don't use too much salt!

Work with me here. It will all make sense in due time.

Mark Twain said, "Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day." Now, I know that there are hundreds if not thousands of takes on this time management concept so I don't want to beat a dead....frog. BUT, let me offer my take on this rather visceral analogy.

First, I'll share another quote that you'll often find attached to this method. I'm less sure of the genesis of this one but paraphrased, it goes, "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. If it's your job to eat two frogs, eat the biggest one first."

And now that everyone is having second thoughts about their breakfast, I'll move away from the digestive experience of chewing on our little hoppy friends and on to the point of this article.

Let me peel some of my onion for you first (since we're talking in food metaphors). See, I have a problem with to-do lists. "Hello, my name is Lindsey and I'm addicted to to-do lists." I have special pens and different types of paper that make my lists a little cheerier. I have apps and spreadsheets and journals to help track productivity, mindfulness, and even what I eat on a daily basis. This, my friends, leads to over-seasoning my frog. There are so many lists in my life that I tend to lose track of my frog until it's 8 pm on a Tuesday, I've already eaten dinner and it's far too late to consider tackling that frog. Too.much.salt!

The point of "Eat the Frog", in my opinion, is to launch into your most difficult task first thing. Finish it if you can or make significant progress if finishing is unrealistic. What gets lost in all of the other suggestions out there is that this concept has morphed into a strategy for time management and to-do list making. There's nothing wrong with either of those things but, if you're like me, you can get a little lost in the planning and lose sight of the goal which is really - what do you want (or need) to accomplish most RIGHT NOW?

Obviously, this can apply to many facets of our lives. For your health, maybe you need to get up earlier and workout first thing. For your faith life (if that's your thing), maybe you need to sit with your devotional, read your bible, or pray before you start your day. Basically, whatever is calling to you with a distinct since of urgency - you can let that be your frog. Since this is a LinkedIn article, however, let's streamline this a bit to fit our professional goals.

First, don't make it too difficult. You're already eating a frog - don't try and stuff 10 of them in your gullet right off the bat. That said, you do need to identify your frog and hold yourself accountable to eating it. That could look different for everyone but for me, it helps to write it down. Not buried in a list with the 50 other things you want to get done today but all.by.itself. Put it on a post-it that is in your line of sight all day every day. Set an alarm (or calendar alert) on your phone to remind you of your biggest goal every day. Really, use whatever method you're least likely to ignore.

Attaching deadlines to this goal can be important too but in all honesty, if you've identified your frog and take action on it every day, you'll get there in time regardless. Deadlines can be like too much salt - you run the risk of getting lost in the seasoning of creating timelines...and more lists.

Regardless of what your frog symbolizes, you have to make progress every day in eating it and you need to prioritize your frog over all else.

So, in summary:

1. Identify your frog
2. Hold yourself accountable for eating your frog. (Remind yourself that said frog needs eating and then prepare to dine....)
3. Eat the frog!

See...simple.

And P.S. No actual frogs were harmed (or eaten) in the process of writing this article.