Cup of Calm #4 – Eating Frogs
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the BIGGEST one first!” Mark Twain
The frog, of course, is a metaphor for the things that you are finding challenging to complete or procrastinating over. You may have come across this before through the book ‘Eat that Frog’ which looks at tackling procrastination and ultimately being more productive by getting the right things done at the right time and taking control of your day.
Eating frogs was our theme today. We had a range of ideas that were shared. These included:
Productivity tools – Antonia suggested the Pomodoro method of breaking the day into smaller, timed segments (https://tomato-timer.com/#). Donald uses Evernote – and zero inbox to help organise an connect tasks (https://evernote.grsm.io/ebccccdpudney). Julian suggested agreeing and setting a timer with children for activities.
Getting prepared – Mecki reflected “I start the day the night before, writing down three things I am pleased/grateful about that went on during that day just gone and set myself the three most important things to do the next day. Those these things change of course quite regularly”. Similarly, Lamese said “I plan for the day in the morning based on how I feel 50/50 split between work and personal”.
Creating routine – Many participants mentioned following the same schedule with a few constants to help build momentum. This could include: an exercise break, eating meals at set times, start the day with a session with loved ones and talk about feelings and what to focus on that day.
Creating a sense of accountability – Productivity is supported if you have an accountability buddy, tell others what you’re doing and check-in with colleagues
Please – being productive is important – but do give yourself permission to be kind. These are odd times and holding ourselves and others too rigidly is not ideal. Focus and flex!
We ended with each sharing the first ‘frog’ we were going to eat today. And this epic – and appropriate song from Paul McCartney:
“Win or lose, sink or swim
One thing is certain we’ll never give in
Side by side, hand in hand
We all stand together”
See you tomorrow for our last Cup of Calm for the week. Please do join and feel free to invite others. We ‘meet’ on zoom every week day morning at 8.45 for 15 minutes. The link is: https://zoom.us/j/8044531372
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