My family has been on an anti-procrastination journey for the last month or so. I’ve written before in “Goals, Goals, Goals!” about how we have been working on setting goals for the next day that all lead up to larger life goals we want to attain. We found that when this process was new and shiny that we were all over it with a bag of chips. There are always ups and downs to a process, but it was overall successful. Until it wasn’t.
There was something that kept recurring at our daily meetings. The goals were set, structured properly, and written down – but still not getting done. Additionally, the goals were not as useful as they could be. The process started to derail to the point where it was malicious compliance. I am all about malicious compliance when it makes sense, but the point of this exercise was to set us up for success and this was not the time, or the place.
Luckily, a community college course called “College Success” and a textbook by the same name came into our lives. I will link the textbook below under resources as it is available and free to all. Chapter 3 of this book really focuses on time management. Even my overachiever self walked away with some key points I had never considered before. The one we will focus on today is the “Eat That Frog!” method. Which is also a book by Brain Tracy of the same name.
The entire concept was inspired by a Mark Twain quote:
“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
This led me down a path to borrow the book from my mom and start to go through it chapter by chapter with the family. We tackle one (short) chapter a day and apply the learnings. What I found fascinating is the author talks about where we put our energy, and how that impacts our trajectory in life. Sounds a bit witch crafty to me if I’m being honest.
While this book is most definitely geared towards the corporate world, and there are some areas I have some thoughts about, the key concepts keep tickling the back of my brain. Not only does this book hold strategies about prioritization and how to apply that properly, but it really focuses on feeling GOOD about yourself for doing a thing. It encompasses a growth mindset, S.M.A.R.T goals, self-esteem, and many other important concepts without always calling them out by name. The focus is very much on being able to set boundaries for yourself and do what makes you feel your very best.
Night-Time Intentions
As I always do, we are going to circle back to the magic. One of the steps in Eat That Frog! talks about setting up your tomorrow right before bed. Putting together your to-do list, your schedule, and anything else you need to tackle starting with the sunrise. Then allowing your subconscious mind to process this as you sleep.
I have no qualms with the psychology of this idea, as it makes logical sense, but how to make it magical?
This would be a good exercise to do with your guides, Deity, higher self, universe etc. Write out what your day will look like tomorrow – prioritize what you think is important, organize it via sequence of events – do what you can to plan the day as best as possible.
Then – once you have that written down as far as you can see – ask for help in optimizing it as you sleep. Set the intention that any areas of improvement will come to you in a dream you can remember. If redirection is needed, ask for clarification on what direction to deviate to. Perhaps even ask for a restful sleep so you have the energy to tackle it the next day without fatigue.
This does not have to be a grand ritual or an hour-long session. You can even charge your to-do list notebook with these questions on the front page to set it up that anything you write in this notebook will send those petitions for clarity out to the ether for you. But it’s a good way to mix the mundane with the magical.
Story Time
I do not recommend things I have not tried before (at least not without a disclaimer). I was struggling on how to approach an issue with my kids. I just could not seem to get through to them about how important it is to engage in their own lives. I cannot want their success more than they want their success. It is a hard lesson I continually learn as a parent. So – in exasperation – I asked my guides for help.
I would love to say my petition sounded something like this:
“I really don’t know how to get them to see the importance of what I am trying to teach them. I don’t know if I need to back off, step it up, change direction entirely, or give up completely. I could really use some direction if you don’t mind.”
What it really sounded like, as I was on a walk before bed, mulling over the situation and being pouty:
“YO! What the F***?!?!? Is it ME? Am I the problem? I would love to be the problem cause at least then I could solve it!”
So, you know, more tantrum style. Anyway – the essence of what I was asking was the far more polite version I posted above. Not knowing what I was actually getting myself into – that night I dreamed. It was not a pleasant dream. I tossed and turned and was very much not happy to keep coming back to the same dream over and over. I was as resistant to this process as my kids were to the process I was trying to walk them through. The irony.
I woke up the next morning with the dream stuck firmly in my brain and got to work. What came of it was a document that showed the current state, the ideal state, and how we are going to get there. This led to a much more dynamic conversation (sans yelling) and we were able to come up with a plan that fit better going forward. We are still doing goals, we are still sitting down daily to check on progress, there is still accountability conversations, but there is more direction.
Boy, had I done this on purpose I may have had guidance sooner. I had stumbled upon a gem I did not even know about. I have since tried it on purpose (and more politely) and have received similar results in my dreams.
So About That Frog
All of this comes back to setting our intentions for the next day via our to-do list. Not everything has to be magical every day. Not everything that is mundane must stay that way. There is so much overlap in the Venn Diagram that is these two realms it is basically a circle at this point. If you struggle with procrastination or organization of tasks - I recommend Eat That Frog!. It is easy to follow, kind, and with a little adjusting you can take out the “corporate” and apply it to your life.
Here are a few concepts from the book you may find helpful when planning your days:
The 80/20 rule –
20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results.
Resist the temptation to clear up the little tasks because they are easy and focus on the 20% of tasks, that while arduous, are going to get you the biggest results. If you have more than 20% of your tasks in this category you may need to re-assess what it is you are doing. And apply the next principle:
The ABCDE method –
I like this one as it is easy to remember, and it is found all over the place. To help determine your 20% vs your 80% use this method for each task
A Task Category
There are MAJOR consequences if this does / does not get done (both positive and negative). These are the things that must happen to move forward in your life. These are the 20% and you probably won’t have more than 3 of these at any given time as it can become unmanageable if you have more than that.
If you DO have more than one A task you need to prioritize the prioritized by marking them as A-1, A-2, A-3 etc. A-1 is the most important of the important.
Examples:
Doctor’s appointments
Helping your kids’ study
Doing tasks that ONLY YOU can do:
Taking care of your hygiene / health
Exercise
Therapy
Cleaning/organizing that one room that makes your head feel like its buzzing/on fire and if it does not get picked up/organized you are going to go off the rails in a way no one wants to see…
Paying bills
B Task Category
There are MINOR consequences if these do / do not get done. It would be a good idea to address these in a timely matter as you SHOULD do these tasks. However, if they must be pushed off for a bit it’s no major consequence. B tasks should never be tackled while A Tasks still exist ideally.
Examples:
Returning an e-mail
Daily chores (dishes, laundry, etc)
Reading that book on that one subject that you said you would research for someone.
C Task category
There are NO real consequences if you do, or do not do these tasks. They would be NICE to do, but if you don’t its no biggie.
Examples:
Lunch out with a friend
Coffee with a co-worker
Arts/crafts (if that is not your profession)
Big ritual workings / dedicated time at the altar (for me)
D task category
D means Delegate. As much as it makes sense to do – outsource stuff! If you live alone this can be harder but the next category may be helpful for you. For this task I had to remind my children that since they don't OWN any of the tasks in the house, they in fact cannot delegate those tasks. I own the chores, so I get to delegate to them.....that was a fun revelation.
Examples:
Feed the animals – Let the spouse, the kids, or the roommate help with this
Walk the dog – It’s good to do it yourself (exercise) but hiring a dog walker is OK too if you are just too tired.
Chores (age appropriate)
E task category
E means Eliminate. What no longer serves you? What used to serve you but no longer has value? What are you still doing out of habit that is no longer productive or healthy? What can you cut out to make room for more AB & C’s?
Examples:
Doom scrolling on social media.
Binge watching Netflix shows.
Shopping in store instead of using the free grocery pickup service.
Daily rituals that feel more like a chore than an energy boost.
This is not to say you don't use social media or watch shows. It just means those things come in between times or when your important tasks are completed. So you can actually enjoy them - instead of thinking about all the things you "should" be doing.
Time Locked A Tasks
Sometimes you cannot complete an A task until a certain time of the day. A 3:30 PM doctors appointment is a good example. This is a situation where you would do some B tasks, or some C tasks prior to being able to do you’re A task. Time locks happen – don’t let it be a hinderance.
Final thoughts
I hope you enjoyed the blend of productivity, anti-procrastination, and how to use your dreams to help you prioritize your mundane life. It may not happen every time. I usually find when I get no insight that I’ve already set myself up for success the next day. If what I receive makes no sense, I may just have had some wonky dreams. But overall, this process has helped me feel a little less lost and a little more put together.
Does it always go according to plan? Absolutely not. It works 100% of the time 70% of the time. That is still a 70% overall improvement if you ask me. I also often have to rely on my husband to help me de-prioritize things I threw in the A category that are actually C's. Often they can be delegated to others as well (a particular weak point for me). Sometimes my dreams will help with this process too. Is it REALLY a critical task that I put away all my laundry tomorrow? No - likely not. It at least is not nearly as important as my self-care routine.
References
Tracy, B. (2017). Eat That Frog! : 21 great ways to stop procrastinating and get more done in less time . Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Baldwin, A. (2020). 11.5 Maintaining Healthy Relationships. In College Success. Houston, Texas: OpenStax. Retrieved from https://openstax.org/books/college-success/pages/11-5-maintaining-healthy-relationships
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