What It Is

Eat That Frog is a productivity principle from Brian Tracy’s 2001 book of the same name. The core idea: tackle your most challenging or important task first thing in the morning – “eating the frog” – before anything else can distract you.

The phrase comes from a (likely apocryphal) Mark Twain quote: “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.”

The Method

1. Identify your “frog” – The task you’re most likely to procrastinate on, but that would have the biggest impact

2. Do it first – Before checking email, Slack, social media, or anything else

3. No multitasking – Focus 100% on the frog until complete (or until a set time block ends)

4. Build the habit – Make frog-eating your morning ritual

The psychological benefit: By completing your most important/dreaded task early, everything else feels easier. You’ve already “won” the day.

Why It Works

Willpower depletion – Decision fatigue and willpower decrease throughout the day. Tackle hard things when fresh.

Parkinson’s Law – Work expands to fill available time. Set deadlines to force focus.

Momentum – Completing something important early builds confidence and momentum.

Avoids procrastination spiral – No more spending all day dreading the hard task.

Productivity Culture Adoption

The #EatThatFrog hashtag gained traction 2007-2015 in:

• Self-help Twitter
• Morning routine threads
• Entrepreneur circles (Tim Ferriss, Gary Vaynerchuk fans)
• Productivity YouTube

It paired well with other trends:

• 5am clubs (wake early to get ahead)
• Morning routine optimization
• “Win the morning, win the day” philosophy

Variations

Big Rocks First – Stephen Covey’s metaphor (fit big rocks in jar before pebbles/sand)

MIT method – Most Important Tasks; pick 1-3 MITs each day

One Thing – Gary Keller’s book “The ONE Thing” (what’s the one thing that makes everything else easier/unnecessary?)

Criticism

• Not all frogs are equal – Some “important” tasks aren’t actually valuable
• Ignores energy rhythms – Some people are sharper in afternoon/evening (night owls)
• Assumes control – Not everyone controls their morning (parents, shift workers)
• Can feel punishing – Starting every day with the worst task may increase burnout
• Overlooks creative work – Some tasks need warmup time, not cold starts

Modern Relevance

Eat That Frog endures because procrastination is universal. The method works for:

• Writers facing blank page (draft first, edit later)
• Developers tackling complex bugs (fix before meetings)
• Students with big assignments (break down, start early)

However, productivity culture has shifted toward sustainability and energy management. “Always do the hardest thing first” can backfire if it ignores your natural rhythms or leads to burnout.

Sources

• Brian Tracy, “Eat That Frog!” (2001, revised 2017)
• Brian Tracy’s website: https://www.briantracy.com/blog/time-management/the-truth-about-frogs/