EAT THE FROG OR CLEAR THE DECKS?
So, Are you a “clear the decks” kind of person or are you an “eat the frog” kind of person?
"Clearing the decks" means tackling those smaller, reactive tasks that feel urgent but aren’t always the most important. Replying to emails or tackling some niggly but quick admin are a classic examples.
"Eat the frog" tasks (coined by Brian Tracy in his bestselling book of the same name) are usually bigger tasks that are more challenging but are important and can have a higher impact to your business. This could be something cognitively demanding. For example recording a webinar, revisiting your pricing strategy or preparing a client proposal. Or it could something that is simply not your favourite kind of task. Tax returns, bookkeeping and budgeting often spring to mind for most business owners (these would be the more fun tasks for us here at Beaver & Bee that we’re quite happy to take off you!).
As business owners, we always have a to-do list longer than our arm. And there will often be a huge variety on there because of the many hats we wear; client work, marketing, social media content, strategic, finance, HR, IT, not to mention dozens of calls & meetings in between…
Most people love the feeling of accomplishment when knocking out a few small tasks early on which can be motivating. But it does use up finite time and energy that is then dwindling for higher-priority tasks. Sometimes, it can also build the feeling of dread and lead to procrastination – we’ve all been there! Activity is not always equal to accomplishment and it can be super easy to confuse the two when we are running around firefighting only to realise we haven’t even started on the most critical task on our list!
It can be helpful to carve out the first couple of hours as deep-focus time to get those challenging tasks done. That way you tackle them when you’re at your peak energy with minimal distractions. This can also give you the satisfaction of knowing the worst part of the day is over. Then perhaps dedicate the afternoon to a few smaller tasks which give you the “quick win endorphins” for the day.
How do you like to tackle your daily task list?
