There is an old saying:

If the first thing you do when you wake up each morning is eat a live frog,

then nothing worse can happen for the rest of the day!

Author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy applies this adage to the problem of procrastination and task lists and says your frog is the most difficult thing on your task list.  Complete or eat the frog first to reduce procrastination, increase your productivity and motivate your work for the rest of the day.

Procrastinating to avoid the frog on your task list has many more consequences then just not getting the task done.  You waste your time and energy on other tasks to avoid the hardest one so that when you legitimately do decide to tackle the task, you’ve depleted your resources and have no chance at success.

Here are some tips to help you start the day by eating your frog and stop procrastinating.

• Keep an electronic or paper task list so you know what you need to do.
• Prioritize your task list at the start of each day so you know which task is your frog.
• Work on the hardest task first.  Do it before opening your email inbox.  Do it before logging onto chat. Do it first!  Get it over with and move on with your day.
• Celebrate getting it done.  Congratulate yourself on eating your frog and move on to the rest of your task list, knowing you’ve already done the hardest thing.

Find time today to think about the frog on your task list and how you’re going to eat it first thing tomorrow.

Need more ideas for managing and working through your task list? Check out 3 Quick Tips to Take the Fright out of your Nightmare Task List, Any.do is One of the Best Task List Applications for Mobile Devices and 5 Tips for Organizing your Work to Stay Motivated.