How to choose the right frog.

Why we choose the wrong frog

When your list gets long, urgency starts to look a lot like importance. A message feels important because someone’s waiting. A horrible job feels like the obvious frog because you dread it. Meanwhile, the work that could really move things forward sits untouched for another day.

A good frog has two things going for it: it matters, and you keep avoiding it. Plenty of tasks are annoying without being important. Don’t let them fool you.

Three questions to ask

1. What will change when this is done?

Be specific. Will it help someone make a decision? Move a project along? Bring in money? Stop something hanging over you? “It’ll be off my list” isn’t much of an answer.

2. Why am I resisting it?

Ask what’s making you hesitate. Maybe the task is vague. Maybe you’re worried about what someone will think. Maybe there’s a conversation you’d rather avoid. Name the problem and the first step usually gets easier to spot.

3. Can I finish today’s version?

“Launch the website” is too big for one day. “Approve the homepage copy and send it to the developer” is something you can finish. If you can’t tell when the task is done, it’s still too big.

Choose the task you’ll be glad you did, not just the one you’ll be glad to cross off.

When two tasks both look important

Ask what happens if each task waits until tomorrow. Which delay causes the bigger problem? Then ask what finishing each one lets you or someone else do next. The answer is usually your frog.

Still stuck? Choose the task other work is waiting on. Clearing a blockage usually beats ticking off something that only affects your own list.

Make the task smaller, not less important

“Write the report” might become “draft the recommendation and the three points that support it.” You’re still doing the hard thinking. You’ve just cut away the vague bit that makes it hard to begin.

Turn a project into today’s frog

• Plan the launch becomes “Choose the launch date and name the three must-have deliverables.”
• Sort out finances becomes “Download the statements and send the missing figures to the accountant.”
• Find a new job becomes “Rewrite the opening summary on my CV for the role I want.”
• Have the conversation becomes “Write the two points I need to say and ask for 20 minutes today.”