Do the Worst Task First and the Day Gets Easier

There's usually one task you keep pushing to "later" — the hard chapter, the dreaded call. Brian Tracy's advice in Eat That Frog is blunt: do that one first.

What it is

The name comes from a line often linked to Mark Twain: if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the day knowing the worst is already behind you. Your "frog" is your most important and most uncomfortable task — the one you're most tempted to avoid.

Tracy's rule: eat that frog first, before anything else.

Why it works

Willpower and focus are strongest in the morning and drain as the day goes on. Spend that peak energy on your hardest task and you do your best work on what matters most. Finish it early and you get a wave of momentum — every smaller task afterward feels light.

Delaying the frog does the opposite: it sits in the back of your mind all day, quietly draining you with guilt and dread.

How to use it

• •Studies: The night before, pick tomorrow's single hardest task — that tricky cash-flow sum or the chapter you keep skipping. Do it first, before the easy subjects.
• •Studies: Don't "warm up" with simple revision to feel productive. That's just polishing tadpoles while the frog waits.
• •Studies: If the frog is huge, eat it in bites — but take the first bite first thing in the morning.
• •Work: Open your day with the one task that creates the most value, not your inbox. Email is comfortable; it's rarely the frog.
• •Work: Make the unpleasant call or send the awkward message before 10 AM. Relief beats dread.
• •Daily life: Got a chore or form you keep avoiding? Knock it out first and enjoy a lighter, freer rest of the day.

If there are two frogs, eat the uglier one first.

Eat your frog at the start of the day, and everything that follows feels downhill.