Table of contents

  • Introduction
  • What “Eat That Frog” Means
  • Why it Works — The Psychology and Evidence
  • Core Principles: The Complete Practical List
  • Daily Routine: A Step‑by‑Step Playbook
  • Tools, Templates and Example Daily Lists
  • Common Challenges and Practical Fixes
  • Weekly and Monthly Habits That Support Frog‑Eating
  • Quick Reference: 20 Actionable Tips
  • Conclusion

Introduction

“Eat That Frog” is a simple but powerful productivity approach: identify the single most important task you’re most likely to avoid (your “frog”) and do it first each day. This post gives a comprehensive, practical, day‑by‑day guide: how to choose frogs, break them down, schedule them, and sustain the habit so you make steady progress on what matters.

What “Eat That Frog” Means (short primer)

The phrase comes from Brian Tracy’s book Eat That Frog!, which frames your most important, often unpleasant task as the frog you should tackle first each morning. The rule of thumb: the frog is the task that will move you toward your goals and that you tend to procrastinate on; do it when your energy and willpower are highest.

Why it Works — The Psychology and Evidence

  • Willpower and decision fatigue: You have more self‑control early in the day; doing hard tasks first reduces the chance you’ll run out of willpower later.
  • Momentum and the Zeigarnik effect: Completing a difficult, high‑impact task early creates momentum and frees cognitive load for other work.
  • Focus allocation: Prioritizing one Most Important Task (MIT) combats reactivity to email/notifications and aligns effort with meaningful outcomes.

(These mechanisms are widely cited in modern productivity explanations of the Eat That Frog approach and related methods such as MITs and time‑blocking.)

Core Principles: The Complete Practical List

Use these as your full checklist to implement Eat That Frog consistently.

  • Pick one frog each day: choose a single Most Important Task that, if done, makes the day a success.
  • Make it specific and bounded: the frog should be a clear action (e.g., “Draft Section A of the grant proposal,” not “Work on grant”).
  • Time‑box the frog: schedule a protected block (ideally mornings) of focused time for it.
  • Break big frogs into mini‑frogs: if a task will take more than a few hours, identify the first concrete step and make that day’s frog.
  • Plan the night before: choose tomorrow’s frog at the end of today to eliminate morning decision friction.
  • Protect the environment: remove distractions — phone on do‑not‑disturb, browser blockers, tidy workspace.
  • Use the two‑minute rule for trivial tasks: if something takes under two minutes, do it immediately so it doesn’t clutter your list.
  • Apply ABCDE or Eisenhower logic for prioritization: A = must do (your frog), B = should do, C = nice to do, D = delegate, E = eliminate.
  • Use time‑blocking and calendar appointments: treat your frog block like a meeting you cannot cancel.
  • Keep a daily list (not an overwhelming master list): limit to a handful of meaningful items; pick the frog from that list.
  • Practice a pre‑task ritual: brief prep (5 min review, set timer, gather materials) to reduce initiation friction.
  • Work in focused intervals: use Pomodoro or 90‑minute deep‑work blocks depending on task length.
  • Track completion and celebrate: mark the frog done, record progress, and take a short reward to reinforce habit.
  • Reassess weekly: at week’s end, evaluate whether frogs aligned with larger goals and adjust.
  • Delegate or eliminate ruthlessly: if a task isn’t a frog and someone else can do it, delegate.
  • Keep a “frog backlog”: a short list of upcoming frogs so you can reprioritize quickly.
  • Start small to build habit consistency: even 15–30 minutes daily of frog work is powerful.
  • Build environmental anchors: consistent morning routine, same workspace, or same music to cue focus.
  • Manage energy, not just time: align frog work with your peak cognitive hours (often morning).
  • Be flexible with timing when necessary: if your best hours are evenings, schedule frog then — the key is consistency and priority.

Daily Routine: A Step‑by‑Step Playbook

Follow this routine to turn Eat That Frog into a daily habit.

  1. Evening planning (5–15 minutes)

    • Review goals and tasks from today.
    • Choose tomorrow’s frog (the single MIT).
    • Break it into the concrete first step if the frog is large.
    • Put a calendar block for your frog in the first available peak hour.

  2. Morning setup (10–20 minutes)

    • Wake, hydrate, light movement, and a brief review of the frog.
    • Prepare materials and clear distractions (phone DND, close tabs).
    • Start with a 5‑minute warm‑up (read brief notes, outline the first paragraph).

  3. Focused frog block (25–90 minutes)

    • Use a timer (Pomodoro: 25/5 or 50/10; or a single uninterrupted 90‑minute deep‑work session).
    • Work only on the frog; decline interruptions where possible.
    • If blocked, do the smallest actionable step (a mini‑frog).

  4. Post‑frog review (5–10 minutes)

    • Mark the frog done or note the remaining next step for tomorrow.
    • Log progress and quick outcomes (time spent, roadblocks, next action).
    • Take a short break/reward before moving to other tasks.

  5. Remaining day (task batching)

    • Schedule lower‑cognitive tasks (emails, meetings) after the frog when energy is lower.
    • Use batching: group similar tasks into blocks to reduce context switching.

Tools, Templates and Example Daily Lists

  • Tools: calendar app with blocking (Google/Outlook), task manager (Todoist/Notion/Trello), focus apps (Forest/Focus@Will), website blockers (Cold Turkey/LeechBlock).
  • Template: Daily list (3–5 items)
    • Frog (A): [Specific action — time block 8:00–9:30]
    • B tasks (2): [tasks to handle after frog]
    • C tasks (optional): [low priority]
    • Quick wins (2‑minute items): [list]
  • Example:
    • Frog (A): “Draft Intro + Methods section for journal paper — 7:30–9:00”
    • B1: “Respond to reviewer emails — 10:30–11:00”
    • B2: “Team standup + delegate tasks — 11:15–11:45”
    • C: “Update LinkedIn”
    • Quick wins: “Approve invoice”

Code snippet: a simple morning planner in pseudocode (for personal automations)

# Pseudocode: set tomorrow's frog as calendar event
frog = choose_most_important_task(tasks)
start_time = find_peak_hour(calendar)
create_calendar_event(title=f"FROG: {frog.title}", start=start_time, duration=90, visibility="busy")

Common Challenges and Practical Fixes

  • I can’t identify a single frog: use this rule — which task, if completed, would make the biggest difference toward your weekly goal?
  • Frog too big: pick the first concrete step (research, outline, email first contact).
  • Morning interruptions: close email, set Slack to do‑not‑disturb, put phone in another room.
  • Low willpower on some days: commit to 15 minutes; often starting is the biggest barrier.
  • Meetings swallow mornings: block “no meetings” focus time on your calendar and protect it as you would a doctor’s appointment.
  • Perfectionism stalls progress: adopt a “progress over perfection” mindset — aim for a usable first draft or prototype.

Note: if you must be reactive (customer support, crises), designate a short morning frog window anyway — even small consistent progress compounds.

Weekly and Monthly Habits That Support Frog‑Eating

  • Weekly review: set priorities for the week and identify the major frogs for coming days.
  • Monthly goals: align daily frogs with larger objectives so each frog contributes to bigger milestones.
  • Habit stacking: anchor frog selection to an existing habit (e.g., after morning coffee, pick the frog).
  • Habit tracking: use a simple checkmark calendar to reinforce streaks.

Quick Reference: 20 Actionable Tips

  • Choose one frog per day.
  • Plan the night before.
  • Block time on your calendar.
  • Start with a concrete first step.
  • Use 25–90 minute focus intervals.
  • Remove digital distractions.
  • Practice a short start ritual.
  • Keep the frog under ~4 hours, or split it.
  • Delegate non‑frogs.
  • Use ABCDE prioritization.
  • Batch similar tasks.
  • Apply two‑minute rule to trivial items.
  • Keep a frog backlog.
  • Use a physical or digital timer.
  • Track daily progress.
  • Reward completion (short walk, coffee).
  • Reassess weekly alignment with goals.
  • Build consistent cues (same time/place).
  • Be forgiving; reset quickly after missed days.
  • Celebrate streaks to reinforce habit.

Conclusion

Eat That Frog is simple to understand but requires deliberate practice. The key is daily consistency: choose one meaningful task, schedule it, protect the time, and start. Over weeks and months, those daily frogs compound into real progress on projects that matter. Start tonight: pick tomorrow’s frog, block the time, and make the first small commitment to begin.

Resources

  • Recommended reading: Brian Tracy, Eat That Frog! (for the original framing and 21 principles).
  • Practical how‑tos and adaptations: productivity blogs and task‑management guides that adapt Eat That Frog to tools like Todoist and calendar time‑blocking.
  • Tools to try: Pomodoro timers, calendar blocking, website blockers, and simple task managers.