One book that has had the greatest impression on me lately is “Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy. It’s all about putting an end to procrastination and identifying your “frog” each day.
Your frog is that task that you most want to avoid doing, but must do anyway. It could be writing out a check, writing a paper, or making a phone call.
In this case, we want to apply this tactic to weight loss and exercise. What is your frog, that one activity that you so badly do not want to do each day, but you know that you must do in order to achieve your weight loss and fitness goals?
It could be exercise; taking that 30 minute walk, doing 15 minutes of stretching, or if you prefer to work out in a gym, just getting your foot in the door of the gym may be your frog. Or, it could be taking the time to research and learn about nutrition, or taking the steps to cook up some healthy meals at home instead of buying processed, or fast foods.
The way that this works is each night before you go to bed, make a list of all of the tasks that you want to accomplish the next day. On the topic of health, weight loss, and fitness, here is an example of what my tasks might look like for a Saturday:
1. Cook a batch of white meat turkey burgers for the coming week.
2. Go shopping for red and green pepper, onions, bananas, strawberries, tomatoes, chicken, and rice.
3. Walk for 30 minutes at a brisk pace in my target heart rate zone.
4. Do the 5 rites as soon as I get up in the morning.
5. Read positive, motivational material to keep me going and on track.
Since your frog is that one task on your list that you don’t want to do, you must commit to it and do it first until it is complete. In this case, I’m going to disregard #4 because I do the 5 rites first thing in the morning anyway. My frog on this list is #1, cooking. I have actually come to thoroughly enjoy cooking, but I still tend to procrastinate on it until the last minute. It doesn’t help me to procrastinate, since I need to have healthy food options on hand at all times.
So, I would have made this list Friday night, and on Saturday, my mission would be to accomplish #1 before getting involved with other tasks. I cannot tell you how helpful it is to make a list for the next day each night before going to bed. It gives you such a focus for the next day, and I find that I am so much more productive.
If you work outside of the home, you might do better by getting your regular exercise routine accomplished first thing each morning before work, rather than waiting until night. For myself, I exercise at night because it helps me to stay on track and avoid night eating, however not everyone has this issue. Many people enjoy working out first thing in the morning after breakfast.
This is a simple concept and one that I’d heard variations of before, but the way that Brian Tracy puts it together makes so much sense, and is very practical to apply. He also stresses having a singular focus on your task (any task) until completion, and the sense of accomplishment that you feel afterwards (it’s true).
I love this book, and there is actually much more to it than what I have focused on here. Brian Tracy outlines 21 ways to overcome procrastination, and I’ve only written about what really stood out and worked for me.
I highly recommend “Eat That Frog” if you have a problem with procrastination. If you have been procrastinating on getting started with a weight loss and exercise program, this concept could be just what can help you to outline your daily goals and get them accomplished. You can get on your way to better health and fitness by putting an end to procrastination by eating your frog each day!
