Knowing Which Frog Legs To Eat In Your Business

One of the books which was recommended to me as I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey was:  Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy.  If you haven't heard of this book, it's all about doing the tasks you know will move the needle in your business... FIRST!  

I'll make sure to link + show the book cover down below so if you are interested in reading it yourself, you snag the right one.  And yes, it's a link where if you purchase, I do make a small commission.  

Yet here's the thing, how do you know which tasks are actually FROG LEGS?  When everything in your business feels important, how do you justify which task is a frog leg and needs action NOW?!?

TIME TO REFRAME 

First off, let's state the obvious... we all have 24 hours in the day.  I am most likely going to butcher this quote and for the life of me cannot remember who said it first.  However,  it had quite an impact on me and how I look at my day-to-day schedule.  The quote is the following:  Show me your schedule, and I'll tell you what is important to you! 

 And when I was saying, "I don't have time for ______".  What I truly meant was ________ was not a priority for me.   

When you reframe your statement to saying, "_____ is not a priority for me" it hits hard and makes you question, is that really true. 

For instance, I would say, "I don't have time to meet her for coffee."  Instead, I was saying, "Meeting her for coffee and spending time with my friends, was not a priority!"  

YIKES!  

That is so not true!  And it may be something YOU are saying to yourself now... maybe it's:  

I don't have time to work out. 

I don't have time for social media. 

I don't have time to write a blog. 

I don't have time to spend on marketing strategy. 

I don't have time to ____________. 

Check yourself.  It's not that we don't have TIME for these things, we are saying, it's not a priority!  Here's the thing, though... it MAY not be a priority right now in the season of your life and that's okay. 

Just be honest with yourself (I'm talking to myself here, too!).  

URGENT VS. IMPORTANT  

As a homeschooling mom who runs her own business coaching women entrepreneurs how to step into the CEO role of their life + business utilizing business strategy as well as biohacks for optimal mental clarity + energy... one thing I have discovered is it's easy to feel overwhelmed with ALL THE THINGS! 

So, what can we do to prioritize things when we feel overwhelmed?  Especially when we feel overwhelmed by needing to do ALL the things, am I right?

First, let's identify if things are urgent or important? 

Urgent means something which requires action or response immediately.  While, important (by dictionary.com's definition) means likely to have a profound effect on success, survival or well-being. 

When things are urgent, I've learned it usually falls into categories such as: distractions (shiny objects), busy work, emails, DMs, etc.  But typically does not move the needle forward in my business. 

While important things are ones which actually move the needle forward, create an impact within my business and gets me closer to my goal.  

Things which feel urgent, I tend to feel pressure to respond immediately.  Instead of jumping to take action right then, I take a breathe and ask, "Is this urgent or important?  Does it move me closer to my goal or distract me?"

IDENTIFY YOUR FROG LEGS 

Have you heard that saying, "GO BIG or GO HOME"?   Well, it's a handy saying in certain circumstances; however, when goal setting or prioritizing your frog legs, it’s easy to think GO BIG means to tackle MORE than one goal at a time.

Which you can see is no bueno.

With setting multiple goals at once, your focus has potential to be scattered and, if you are like me, you'll end up making absolutely bare minimum progress on every single goal set. 

Which is why I like to view ALL areas of my life and put them in “buckets”... mama-hood, relationships, business, personal, finances, spiritual, etc.  You can call these buckets whatever you want, we all have different priorities. 

Think about which bucket needs your attention in this season of life.  Just don’t get tripped up on the wording, “season”. 

A season could last a true season or a full year or even a full decade.  You never know.  Some seasons needed me to focus solely on my career.  Other seasons my focus was heavily on the Gillies, our twins.  Now, it feels like the season I am currently in is wanting me to focus on personal growth while still being a homeschooling mama + business owner. 

Figure out what bucket you will be focused on during this season - that’s the first step in mapping out your goal.  The next step is simply brainstorming ALL of things you would love to accomplish in this bucket… it doesn’t have to be in this particularly season, but what does the "future version you" hold in this bucket?  

Take five to ten minutes, longer if you need and truly sit with this question:  What bucket are you focused on during this season and what does future YOU accomplish, have, let go of or become in this bucket? 

While brainstorming ideas, you’ll start to see a pattern emerge and most of your ideas will sorta fall under one main goal. 

For instance, in this season, I am focused on personal growth.  What is this "future version of me" doing?  Well, she: 

• is running long distances on trails
• is cooking majority of meals at home (which I currently do now)
• is prioritizing her sleep and lets go of watching Yellowstone in the evenings instead opts for reading at bed time
• is speaking 4 languages
• is taking lessons to learn to play the cello
• is spending more time in nature 
• is taking the Gillies on adventures and incorporating more movement in their day-to-day

Can you see how some all fall under ONE big goal yet others are sorta outliers?  

If you can’t see it, let me break it down for you - the big goal:  Ultra-Trail Runner.   What goals support this?  Nixing Yellowstone binge watching, reading in the evenings, bedtime at 9pm to prioritize sleep, nourishing my body well with home cooked meals which support brain + gut health, etc. 

Other things like speaking another language and playing the cello, although,  fun.  These things can take a back seat or become less of a priority moving forward. 

My big goal is Ultra-Trail Runner.

So, what do I need to do to make this happen?  Well, I signed up for an ultra trail race FAR into the year so I have time to train and make these mini-goals a part of my daily life. I also invested in a coach to guide me through this process, both physically and mentally. 

What I'd like to point out is this can happen for whatever BUCKET you are focused on this season and for whatever GOAL you identified is your main one. 

Want to launch a podcast?  Fantastic.  There’s TONS of ways you can map this out and lots of mini-business goals will be achieved in making that a reality.  Want to have stronger friendships?  Again, fantastic!  Brainstorm what this looks like for you and you’ll notice a main goal emerging.  

But how can we already squeeze things into our already chaotic life schedule?  Well, buckle up, buttercup… Here's what helps me!

PRIORITZING FROG LEGS

Quick recap before we move on... you reframed your thinking and identified your priorities.  You are aware of what's actually important as well as urgent tasks.  You visualized your main goal to focus on this season.

Here's how to schedule your frog legs into your day-to-day: 

• Be aware of the following: 
  • How many hours a day YOU have to spend on this goal.  As a homeschooling mom who provides physical therapy to one of our Gillies and acts as an Uber in the afternoon to the other, prioritizing my time to my goal is not going to be 10 hours a day.  Instead it's more like 2-3 hours which is brilliant as long as I focus on my FROG LEGS and not the urgent tasks. If you have MORE time, fantastic.  If you have less, brava!  Be aware of what you can truly commit to in this season of your life. 
  • How much you are able to actually do within the time frame YOU can commit to each day.  It helps if you are aware of your superpowers as well as your weaknesses.  Your superpowers will help you maximize your tasks, while your weaknesses may need longer time or to be outsourced.  
  • How many tasks you are able to cross off your list in a day.  I know there's no way I can do 20 tasks in one day with all the additional priorities I have... so why would I add them ALL on the To-Do list for the day?  Set yourself up for success by being honest with yourself.  I tend to give myself THREE tasks for the day ranking them in order of importance (frog legs).  
  • How you are balancing rest and work.  It's not all about hustling... it's about consistency, eating those frog legs and moving the needle forward.  And it's also about rest.  Sometimes, my best ideas come from moments in rest... so be kind to yourself and block time to rest, create + allow your mind to explore new things. 

If you want to catch a glimpse of a day in the life of a homeschooling digital CEO mom, here's a quick read for you!  Plus, you can also download this PRODUCTIVITY GUIDE aimed to help you slay your to-do list!  

Snag it.  Read it.  And eat those frog legs, mama.  

Grit + Gumption, 

Langley 

Biohacker Babe

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