📌Eat That Frog: A Strangely Satisfying Morning Ritual

Nom, ("RIBBIT!"), nom, nom!

Every morning, I eat a frog—often first thing, and ideally, before I even finish my coffee. (Don’t worry: it’s a metaphorical frog. Though, sometimes, it doesn’t feel that way.)

The idea of “Eat the Frog” is a reminder that if you tackle your most dreaded task of the day first, no matter what else the day brings, the worst part is over. (“Worst” doesn’t have to mean ACTUALLY terrible! It could be a bit boring, or requires a frustrating amount of precision like an application or a query might, or is done via a communication method you don’t like—it’s all relative. But, getting that item off your to-do list would feel GOOD—once it’s done.)

Grogu (or, as in our house, he’s known as “Baby Yoda”) shows us a fulfilling way to start the day.

Please note: if you receive an email from me first thing in the morning, please don’t assume YOU are my frog. People seldom are! Instead, for me, phone calls are automatically frogs—even those with my very favorite people. So, if I have to do one, I try to do it as early in the day as possible. Other typical “frogs” for me include responding to emails I’ve let go too long (because I feel guilty when I go to respond and often feel like then I need to make my response somehow “better” than I otherwise would) and anything that has a deadline approaching in the coming week (because I’m easily stressed, but am also, unfortunately, very prone to FOMO).

But, I learned long ago that the only thing worse than doing something I don’t love is thinking about it over and over (essentially practicing the trauma of it in my head)—and then getting stuck doing it, anyhow. Maybe that’s why my favorite Frog (ha!) and Toad story has always been “Tomorrow.”

“To-do list malaise,” of course, is a natural part of the human condition. Some people tackle this by doing morning pages or by doing something they LOVE first in the day, and if that’s you, more power to you! But for me, nothing feels better than completing something—especially something I kinda don’t want to do (or, at least, don’t want to do as much as, say, writing or taking a walk) and getting it off my plate. Then, when I write, I can write about happy or funny things, instead of writing under the influence of dread.

What about you? Do you eat frogs? And if so, what meal-time suits you best?

Your friend with a frog-in-her-throat,

Elayne

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