Don’t Eat That Frog

The night owl’s guide to energy management and productivity in a morning lark’s world.

“Get your hardest task done first thing in the morning!”

For those of us who jump out of bed in the morning, bright-eyed and ready to tackle the day, this is motivating jump-start.

But for those of us whose brains are barely considered functional before nine or ten in the morning, our reaction is closer to this:

Photo by Adnan Shahid on Unsplash

That advice is the bane of our existence.

As studies on willpower abound, this “hardest task first” mentality has become more and more common. Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog might be considered the widest popularization.

There’s one problem with this productivity method though: owls rarely eat frogs — and they certainly don’t hunt in the morning.

So how can the night owl be productive? Read on to find out how to thrive in a frog-eating, morning lark world.

The Owl’s Issue with Eating Frogs

Brian Tracy’s name for the Eat That Frog method originated from a quote commonly attributed to Mark Twain (though the origins are up for debate):

“Eat a live frog first thing in…