Being More Productive - Harvard Business Review

Being More Productive - Harvard Business Review

I remember taking this course at work to better manage my time, in which we were told to accomplish the most annoying task in the morning so that everything else would have been much easier to approach during the rest of the day, a concept better summarized by the catchy phrase "eat your frog in the morning". As anyone working in a very fast paced environment I tried to follow this piece of advice, also because I know I am very disciplined and I could actually accomplish this. In fact I am not someone who compulsively checks emails all day long, I exercise three times a week (1.7 - 2 Km swim per work out), I strive to follow a healthy diet (at least during workdays), I read as much as I can and I also find time to attend an interesting course every semester, being a photography or a drumming one. Bottom line, once I put my mind to something I don't allow myself to slip and not respect it. I have a personal calendar and I abide to it.

Reading this article on HBR.org brought me back to the concept that was instilled in my mind, about the frog. "Eat your frog in the morning" and everything else will taste better. Well, I now grasp that this concept can only be associated with a partial view of your daily work; when you acquire the right self awareness of you and your job this attitude doesn't work anymore. I would still eat the frog, regardless of when. What wasn't told to me is that the early frog in the morning can clog your stomach for the rest of the day, distracting and dragging you away from the most strategic and proactive tasks you need to accomplish during those long, yet short 8 hours.

Please join me in this key moment: I hereby say goodbye to the frog, and leave it free to wander the calendar entries. The most important tasks of the day will take its place, hopefully leading to more productive days.

May your frogs be freed as well.