Eat That Frog: The Productivity Power Move

If the first thing you did each morning was eat a live frog, everything else would feel easy by comparison. That’s the quirky metaphor Brian Tracy (2002) uses to hammer home a powerful truth: procrastination thrives when we avoid the hard, high-impact stuff.

And that frog? It’s your most important task; the one that moves the needle, but also the one you might be trying to avoid.

In the DISE method (Deadline, Information, Sizing, Eisenhower Matrix), “Eat That Frog” sits right at the intersection of clarity and courage. It’s about choosing the task that matters most. It's not the one that’s easiest, loudest, or most urgent, rather the one to tackle head-on before distractions hijack your day.

Why Frogs Matter

Let’s talk quadrants. Eisenhower Matrix splits tasks into four zones:

Q1: Important & Urgent - Crisis, deadline-driven projects

Q2: Important but Not Urgent - Planning, deep work, relationship-building, long-term study

Q3: Urgent but Not Important - Interruptions, most emails, other people’s priorities

Q4: Neither Important nor Urgent | Mindless scrolling, busywork, procrastination loops

Your frog lives in Q2 - the land of strategic progress. It’s the book you want to write, the course you need to design, the strategy that takes your organisation forward. It doesn't scream for attention, but it’s waiting to shape your future and move the needle. When you ignore Q2 tasks, they mutate into Q1 emergencies. That’s when stress spikes, quality drops, and you start firefighting instead of building.

DISE + Frog = Focus

Here’s how the DISE method helps you not just eat the frog, but season and BBQ it so it actually doesn't taste bad at all:

• Deadlines: Schedule it early. Frogs are best eaten right away, before your energy dips and distractions multiply.

• Information: Get crystal clear on what your frog is. It’s not “work on my business” — it’s “draft the personnel strategy.”

• Size it: Simple estimation, no dithering. No warm-up tasks. Just fork, knife, and execute.

• Eisenhower Matrix: Use the quadrant lens. Is this task important? Will it move me forward? If yes, it’s frog-worthy.

The Anti-Procrastination Payoff

Eating the frog builds momentum. It rewires your brain to associate progress with action, rather than seeking perfection (or the fear you won't be perfect). It also clears mental clutter, because the task you’re avoiding is often the one draining your energy.

So tomorrow morning, before you check your notifications or rearrange your pens, ask: What’s my frog? Then eat it. And do it the next day, and so on. Watch your productivity grow (remember, productivity isn't about busyness, it's about completing the most valuable tasks!).

• Find Brian Tracy's Book "Eat That Frog" (2002) at Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/74p4gZ2

• Discover the DISE method: https://www.beclearpro.co.uk/the-dise-method

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