Who doesn’t procrastinate? We would all like to get better organised, but don’t you just find that all the silly stuff gets done when you have an ugly task sneering up at you from your To-Do list?  I would find the time to write mailshots, empty cupboards,  - anything other than tackle my ‘Toads’.  And the more of these we have, the less likely we are to deal with them.

My daughter told me about ‘Eating Frogs’ some time ago; based on the Mark Twain quote ‘Eat a live frog in the morning, and be assured that the worst of the day is over’ - the idea being that you get your worst task overwith first thing and get on with your day.

I prefer her version; Toads are a tad more ominous and almost always villainised in fairytales and films. (We’ll skim over Toad from Toad Hall).

It works a treat.  I put one undesirable chore on the top of the next morning’s list every evening and allocate a time for it.  Now I smack those little critters right between the eyes and feel that buzz of achievement before I’ve even finished my morning Earl Grey cuppa, victorious and ready for the rest of the day.

One Man’s Toad...

Of course, you can always donate your toad to someone else and have them eat it for you.

As a freelance copywriter, I take other people’s toads all the time - funding applications that are nearing their deadline, website content that has lain at the top of someone’s to-do list until it looks like a suffix to every day of the week ...Monday Toad, Tuesday (Same) Toad...

But to me, they’re not warty little critters at all.  With a fresh pair of eyes, it’s an opportunity to breathe some new life into old copy, or to secure funding for an innovative startup.  They are my bread and butter - an acquired taste, perhaps, but it cleans up my clients’ to-do lists nicely, and lets them tackle other less formidable toads...

[DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_SOCIAL_ICONS]