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“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.” – Mark Twain
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Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri. He grew up in nearby Hannibal, a river town that later inspired the setting of his most famous novels. After his father’s death, Clemens left school at age 12 and worked various jobs, eventually becoming a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River—a role that deeply influenced his writing. The Civil War disrupted river traffic, prompting Clemens to head west. There, he tried his hand at mining before finding his calling as a journalist and humorist.
He adopted the pseudonym Mark Twain, a riverboat term, and wrote celebrated works like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), considered cornerstones of American literature. Twain traveled widely, gave popular lectures, and wrote prolifically. Despite his fame, he suffered personal and financial hardships, including the death of family members and bankruptcy. Later in life, Twain became somewhat bitter, even while projecting an amiable persona to his public. In private, he demonstrated a stunning insensitivity to friends and loved ones.
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was a tragic figure who suffered great personal and financial losses during his lifetime. Based on my research, he retained a little of his wit and positive outlook, even near his death. Among the last pieces of advice he offered his close personal friend, Albert Paine, when his turn to enter heaven arrived, was this: “Leave your dog outside. Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out, and the dog would go in.”
Twain died on April 21, 1910. Known for his wit, satire, and keen observations on human nature, he remains one of America’s most influential literary figures.
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I’ve always enjoyed and admired the literary skill and wit of Mark Twain. Most of my life has been spent practicing Dentistry instead of honing my literary skills. Some may say my blogs and podcasts reflect this lack of training, but my blogs and podcasts follow my core belief of doing my best every day with every blog and podcast. It may not be Mark Twain, but the blog and podcast represent my best effort.
A recent blog post titled “WHY NOT NOW?” asked readers to “do as I say, not as I do.” The blog spoke about remedies for procrastination.
This blog recommends you “do as I do,” by addressing two simple techniques I follow to get things done efficiently.
The first technique is what Mark Twain affectionately termed “Eating the frog first.” I normally have a list of things to accomplish each day. When I look at this to-do list, there are normally one or two things that are the least desirable projects. Similar to the lawnmower oil change in the blog titled “Why Not Now?”, these projects don’t normally require much time and effort. They’re just not much fun! These are the “Frogs” that I have to eat first.
If I fail to complete these projects, I tend to become caught in a mind loop. I am thinking about these projects needing completion that I haven’t addressed. Eating the frog first allows me to move onto projects that are more enjoyable and eliminates the mind loop.
Almost everyone has people they enjoy being around, and people they don’t enjoy being around. Practicing dentistry is no different. Please understand what I’m about to write. I enjoyed treating the majority of patients in my practice. Like every practice I am familiar with, my practice had patients I enjoyed treating, and patients who were harder to treat. Every practice I know has a handful of “sour grape” patients whose personalities make them harder to treat. Most patients hard to treat have emotional or medical difficulties beyond their control. Reasons varied and included atypical dental problems, emotional problems, physical limitations, and personality conflicts. Although normally minor, these reasons made it harder to treat these patients, and we tried treating these types of patients early in the day.
This reflects the way I treat my personal to-do list. I always try to complete the things I don’t like doing first. This clears the way to address things that I find more enjoyable.
This technique is mostly psychological and involves a mindset about certain projects. The projects are usually not difficult, just undesirable. Doing these less desirable projects first and getting them out of the way clears your mind for more desirable projects and a more enjoyable day.
Here’s why tackling unpleasant tasks first can be beneficial:
Reduced Mental Burden: Getting tough tasks out of the way facilitates resting your mind and focusing on more enjoyable activities later.
Increased Focus: When you know you have to do something you dislike, it can be easier to focus on it and get it done without distractions. This idea speaks to doing things when you’re freshest and your mind is clearest.
Enhanced Self-Discipline: Regularly doing things you don’t like can help you develop better self-control and build the habit of overcoming procrastination.
Improved Productivity: By prioritizing unpleasant tasks, you can avoid the common trap of letting them linger and becoming overwhelmed. Doing things early means you have fewer balls to juggle the rest of the day.
Overcoming Perfectionism: Facing tasks that might feel daunting can help you move away from a perfectionist mindset and focus on getting things done rather than worrying about them being perfect. Always remember that perfection is the enemy of good.
Increased Satisfaction: Completing tasks you dislike can lead to accomplishment and satisfaction, even if it’s not a particularly enjoyable experience.
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Eating the frog first differs from the second technique, which is: Tackle the hardest project first. Doing the hardest project first deals more with environmental challenges versus mindset.
Doing the hardest cases early in the day was always my office’s goal. I always wanted to do the most difficult cases when I was the freshest and most rested. The first appointments of the day were also subject to fewer distractions.
This seems like a slam dunk! Do the hard stuff first, then enjoy the rest of your day. Does life always work this way? No!
More difficult cases are harder, more time-consuming, and more mentally taxing. Even the most well-planned case doesn’t always proceed as planned. There are often unseen and unknown conditions that can significantly alter the difficulty of the case and the time required to complete treatment.
If treatment proceeds without complications, the planned treatment can be completed efficiently. If complications are encountered, treatment may take significantly longer than anticipated. Unexpected problems can alter the makeup of a whole day. Taking longer than expected on the first case means all other treatment starts later than anticipated on a fully scheduled day.
I would rather have treatment complications earlier in the day for the reasons I’ve already described. Treatment complications early in the day are handled when I’m most rested and my mind is the freshest. In my office, we normally leave unscheduled time to allow for treatment complications or appointment overlap.
Treating the hardest case last instead of first meant dealing with the same treatment complications after a long day in the office while potentially running late at the end of the day.
My vote still aligns with treating hardest cases first or, outside of the dental office, doing the hardest project first.
Once that hard case, or hard project, is completed, your day seems to flow more smoothly.
In addition to the mechanics of treating the hardest case first, there are also psychological benefits and a mental calmness that occur after completing the hardest project first.
After reading this, take heart if you are one of the first scheduled patients. It’s most likely not because your case is difficult to treat or there’s a personality conflict! It is more probable that we had an available appointment early in the morning.
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Here’s why this approach can be beneficial:
Reduced Procrastination: Addressing the most daunting tasks first can alleviate the pressure of leaving them for later, leading to fewer instances of procrastination.
Increased Efficiency: Once the most challenging tasks are completed, the tasks remaining may seem less daunting and can be tackled with greater focus and energy.
Greater Sense of Accomplishment: Completing difficult tasks early in the day or week can provide a positive boost in motivation and overall productivity.
Improved Focus: By tackling the most mentally demanding tasks when energy levels are higher, individuals can avoid mental fatigue and maintain a higher level of focus.
Buffer Time: If a challenging task appears more difficult than anticipated, an early start allows for more buffer time to accommodate unforeseen delays or complications.
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Final Thoughts
This whole Blog is a bit tongue in cheek, as Frog Legs are considered a delicacy that I have eaten on many occasions.
Since most of my working career was spent practicing Dentistry, I spent a lot of my Planning Time focused on increasing efficiency and decreasing procrastination. The ideas of eating the frog first and doing the hardest project first are not novel or revolutionary.
Both of these concepts are easy to understand and implement. I used these concepts when completing personal and professional projects.
Both of these concepts revolve around the concept of changing mental mindset when addressing unenjoyable and challenging projects.
Using these concepts won’t make these projects more enjoyable or easier to complete. But it will get them out of the way earlier in the day while increasing efficiency, satisfaction, and enjoyment for the rest of the day, potentially saving time.
I’ve found that using these concepts over many years has helped to increase my daily joy and satisfaction.
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