One Bite At a Time: Just Eat the Frog already…

I can’t stand laundry. I’d rather have a tooth pulled. Really.

I also hate exercising. It’d be one thing if I could swim laps like I could in my younger years-I’ve always enjoyed that- but the closest pool is 1) outdoor and 2) only open in the summer. So I sweat it out on a medieval torture device called an elliptical. Ugh.

You know where this is going don’t you?

It never gets done. I will find every excuse in the book…and feel guilty all day long for avoiding it.

Tsh gets me. We all have bugaboos that taunt us. Thus, she brings up a great quote from Mr. Mark Twain himself:

“Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

Aside from the rather squeamish mental picture of swallowing slimy, blechy cuisses de grenouille, they’ve both got a good point. Do what you hate first, and the rest of the day will go easier.

I took this a little bit further. I chose one frog and one prince- one thing I hated to do with one thing I loved to do. Right now, that’s exercise and blogging. Once I’m done with my workout, I’m free and clear to scribble out a post. If I don’t workout, no blogging. This means that I’ve had to get up earlier than I’ve done in the past- about an hour before the rest of my family. I’ve learned from experience that I literally have to roll out of bed, slip into the workout clothes and shoes, and head straight downstairs to the ellipitical. If I stop to think about it, if I glance at the clock, if I do anything but walk straight downstairs, the chances extend past 50% that I won’t workout that day.

What I’ve already noticed to be true with this approach:

1) Overall, I’m more organized in my thoughts and to-do list. The frog makes everything else more obvious to me- where I need to focus my attention.

2) Having two or three frogs in mind helps keeps things on track. My three big frogs are working out, the laundry, and meal planning and cooking. I focused exceptionally hard on working out for almost a month. It’s becoming less of a struggle and more of a habit, so I don’t need to visually address it as much. Now I’m focusing on keeping disciplined with the laundry, and once I get that into a groove, I’ll focus on meal planning and cooking.

3) Write it down. I know this sounds sort of stupid, but for me, I’ve got to write it down. I have to see it.

So what’s your frog these days? What do you need to ‘eat’ first thing to make the day go more smoothly?