Teamwork Leadership Banner
≡ Menu

My Personal #2 Time Management Tip That Also Changed My Life

Stop Procrastinating – The Time is Now – Eat That Frog

The other day I posted “My Personal #1 Time Management Tip That Changed My Life.”  Today I want to share #2.

There is an old fable that tells the story of a wild boar who was sharpening his tusks on the trunk of a large tree. A fox who was passing by noticed this and asked him why he thought this was necessary since there was no hound or hunter nearby. “That is correct,” said the boar, “there is no hound or hunter nearby, but when that danger does arise I will have something else to do than to sharpen my weapon.”

How many times do we put something off because we see no immediate threat? Like the Fox we often fail to realize that putting off today what you can do tomorrow is a real bad strategy.

We procrastinate for a number of reasons. Maybe it is a matter of discipline, maybe it is a matter of priorities, maybe it is a matter of convenience. Whatever the reason, it’s eventually a matter of time before the procrastination has to stop, you will have no other choice. Hopefully it isn’t when the hound and hunter are rounding the corner.

So why not just get it done now? Brian Tracy, in his famous book “Eat That Frog!: 21 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time” quotes Mark Twain, by stating that if we will eat a live frog every morning, nothing worse will happen to us the rest of the day. It will also provide great energy. And if we have a choice between two frogs he says, eat the ugliest one first.

My number two time management tip, which closely aligns with my number one tip, is to eat that frog!

Many of us put off the most difficult, tedious and “less fun” things to do and spend way too much time on “busy work” instead. One of the biggest culprits of busy work is email.

Why spend all day worrying about that difficult call we have to make, instead eat that frog and lift the burden of worrying! Why spend productive hours in the morning answering every bell or notification in our inbox. Instead block some time off first thing in the morning and work on that important thing you want to do the least.

As you eat that frog you will find that your energy increases dramatically as well as your focus. You will also find yourself more happy and feel like you are actually accomplishing something. As your energy and productivity increases, so does the quality of the work you do. It’s a great feeling! This tip alone has changed my life.

The time to meet the deadline is not when the hound and hunter are peaking around the corner, it’s now.

Question: In what ways do you overcome procrastination?

See other posts related to Time Management by clicking here.

Please help spread the word about our blog with the World and “Like Us,” “Share Us,” “EMail Us,” “LinkedIn US,” “Tweet Us,” “Google+ Us” or anything Us below! Thanks friends!

Don’t miss another post or video by Subscribing Here. Subscribe today and get two free gifts!