Eat the Frog: Why you should tackle your toughest task first

You're not alone if your to-do list keeps growing, but your motivation doesn’t. Many of us start the day reacting to work and trying to stay afloat in the chaos. But what if the secret to getting more done was starting with the hardest task?

That’s the idea behind the Eat the Frog method—a straightforward but powerful way to tackle procrastination and take back control of your day.

What is the Eat the Frog method?

The concept comes from a well-known proverb often attributed to Mark Twain: “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, eat the biggest one first.”

In productivity terms, your “frog” is your most difficult or important task—the one you’re most likely to avoid (and you know what that is). It’s the task that hangs over your head and drains your energy just thinking about it.

The Eat the Frog method is simple: do that task first. By tackling your biggest challenge early, you set the tone for a productive day. You reduce mental clutter and prevent that dreaded task from following you all day.

How to apply the Eat the Frog method

You don’t need fancy tools to get started—just a bit of intention and planning. Here’s how:

Why it works for Business Owners and freelancers

As a business leader, freelancer, or entrepreneur, you’re juggling a lot—often with little structure. Your day may be filled with meetings and tasks competing for your attention. That’s where the Eat the Frog method shines.

You’re at your sharpest in the morning when decision fatigue hasn’t set in. Instead of using up that energy on smaller, low-impact tasks, use it to move the needle on something meaningful.

It’s a mindset shift of prioritizing impact over busyness.

This approach also reduces stress. Everything else feels easier when your most challenging task is behind you by mid-morning. You free up mental space to be more present and creative in the rest of your work.

Schedule your frog with Doodle

Doodle makes it easier to protect time for deep work. You can use a Booking Page to define your availability—keeping your mornings open for your frog and allowing others to schedule around it.

If you’re planning collaborative work, 1:1s let you offer specific time slots later in the day once you're done with focus work. By syncing your calendar, Doodle automatically updates your availability so there’s no back-and-forth or risk of double-booking.

Need to organize a group session or client intake? Use Group Polls or a Sign-up Sheet without worrying about conflicts with your deep work blocks. With everything synced, you can focus more on execution and less on coordination.