Do What You Dread and DO IT NOW!

Do What You Dread and DO IT NOW!

Have you ever heard of the “Eat that Frog” technique?

It simply means…do the thing that you are dreading right now and get it over with.

Take action and do what you hate and are agonizing over.   Do it now and move on. Get it out of the way. It will probably take you less than 5 minutes to get started. It will surely free up that part of you that’s been weighing you down.

So make that phone call, send that payment, call to cancel, or just say no. Do what you’re dreading now.

Whatever it is, it needs to get done, so do it now!

Great job!  You did what you dreaded and did it right away . Don’t you feel better?  What else can you accomplish today?

 

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Janet Schiesl

Janet Schiesl

Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.

She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.

Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.

Janet Schiesl

Janet Schiesl

Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.

She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.

Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.

12 Comments

  1. Diane N Quintana on July 8, 2024 at 8:28 am

    It is so true that the things we dread and postpone doing rarely take very long and they are easier than we anticipate. Just doing them and getting them over with frees you up to enjoy the rest of the day. As much as I dislike eating frogs – I make myself do this when I am faced with doing something I am resisting. Thanks for the reminder1

    • Janet Schiesl on July 8, 2024 at 9:50 am

      Good for you Diane. Yes, the things we are dreading usually take a short time to complete and we spend more time avoiding them.

  2. Linda Samuels on July 8, 2024 at 9:14 am

    Dread can cause paralysis. So your call to action to do it now prevents excessive rumination. One of the things I don’t enjoy is getting my annual Mammogram and Ultrasound. However, I know it’s important to do. I have a repeating annual note on my to-do list to schedule all annual doctor exams and tests. This is one of them. While I don’t like getting the tests, I know it’s important. Having the cue to do it on my list allows me to ruminate less, commit, and get it done.

    • Janet Schiesl on July 8, 2024 at 9:53 am

      Great idea Linda. Setting an appointment with yourself to do the “things” helps you get it off your mind until it’s time to move forward.

  3. Seana Turner on July 8, 2024 at 10:54 am

    I do think that just taking action is so powerful. Even if it is a small action, it gets the ball rolling and get us out of being stuck in the dread. I hate dread. It hangs heavy on my soul. Great reminder for a Monday morning – just do something!

    • Janet Schiesl on July 8, 2024 at 12:38 pm

      Start small. I seemed to do small things and then build momentum.

  4. Julie Bestry on July 8, 2024 at 4:21 pm

    We spend so much time and mental energy *avoiding* things when we could just get them done. It’s not even things we necessarily full-on dread doing so much as our inner rebel “just doesn’t wanna.” I’ve moved my prescription bottle around the country for the last week, and finally just rolled my eyes at myself and called in the refill. It took 90 seconds, vs. multiple minutes daily playing “hide the task” with myself!

    Sometimes, just getting the tasks written out (even if they are simple household tasks that require no planning) can give you the activation energy; sometimes you need to do a Pomodoro or get accountability/body doubling. But in the end, it’s as you say, just a matter of hunkering down and reminding myself that as much as I think I dread doing the task, what I dread is merely what I anticipate potentially going awry with the task and not the task itself. (I don’t dread calling to make an appointment with a new dentist; I dread going to the dentist, full stop. But not making the appointment doesn’t help me, and honestly keeps the dread factor going even longer!) You’re right. Let’s DO IT NOW! Sorry, froggy!

    • Janet Schiesl on July 9, 2024 at 7:41 am

      I think that’s one reason why people have success when working with an organizer. They make an appointment and don’t have to avoid decluttering and organizing until their organizer shows up for the appointment. What a mental load off!

  5. Hazel Thornton on July 9, 2024 at 9:11 am

    I’ve had Brian Tracy’s book on my shelf (Eat That Frog!) for decades and never read it. I do, however, think of the phrase and the concept fairly regularly, lol. Even if it’s a large task that will take multiple sessions to complete, just getting started can often make me realize it’s going to be do-able and take the weight off my shoulders.

    • Janet Schiesl on July 10, 2024 at 6:00 am

      Yes. Getting started is the key. The momentum will keep you moving forward.

  6. Julie Stobbe on July 9, 2024 at 2:01 pm

    I can eat the frog when it is a task that takes less than 30 minutes. Right now I have a doily task that takes an hour and I have been avoiding it. I think it is time to think about eating the frog for the next 6 weeks. Thanks for the encouragement.

    • Janet Schiesl on July 10, 2024 at 6:03 am

      Julie, maybe break up that hour-long task into shorter segments if possible. I used to do my own bookkeeping and I hated it and would avoid it. It would take so long! Then I started doing it every Friday afternoon. It only took about 15 minutes if I kept up with it.

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