Second Cup: Do the tough stuff first

The case for just getting it over with

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. This
is the third episode in my five part series on procrastination,
a topic we're studying all this week. Today's tip is
to do the tough stuff first. If you spend a

(00:26):
lot of time on the internet, you'll soon find many
quotes attributed to Mark Twain. I spent a year as
a fact checker early in my career, and I can
tell you almost all these attributions are false. It's pretty
clear that Mark Twain did not write that if you
eat a live frog first thing in the morning, that
will be the worst thing to happen to you all day.

(00:47):
But one reason we like to repeat this phrase and
attribute it to a wise man like Mark Twain is
that it's a colorful way of pointing out a truth.
If you need to do something difficult, putting it off
does doesn't solve the problem. In fact, it makes it
worse because the mental anguish expands your suffering. You're much

(01:08):
better off getting it over with. Then the rest of
your day will seem awesome. By contrast, that makes sense,
and there's another reason to get tough stuff done early.
There's some evidence that we have more energy and discipline
in the morning. One study by researchers associated with the
Human Performance Institute at Johnson and Johnson found that people

(01:29):
reported their highest energy levels of the workday right around
eight am. You have that first cup of coffee, and
you can take on the world. By two pm, not
so much. The research on decision fatigue, will power, and
ego depletion is a bit more complicated, but I think
it's plausible that we possess more fortitude early in the day.

(01:51):
If you think about it, diets aren't broken with a
spoon going straight into the hagendaws at six am. That's
really more of a ten pm sort of activity. Likewise,
you seldom hear of crimes of passion occurring at seven am.
In general, we work most effectively and efficiently by scheduling

(02:12):
our most difficult tasks at times when we are best
prepared to deal with them. Doing something that requires a
lot of focus and discipline might take an hour at
eight am, it might take two hours at three pm.
When you're tired. Best to do the work early and
not by yourself a late night. So if there is
something you've been putting off. Think about how you might

(02:35):
schedule it first thing in the morning, and if the
task is difficult enough, I'd suggest scheduling it for first
thing Monday morning, the beginning of the day and the
beginning of the week. That way, you're really getting it
over with, and then when you do, reward yourself profusely.
Maybe even take the rest of Monday morning or at

(02:57):
least an hour or two off. I know I've done this.
For instance, a few years ago, I was writing an
article that required interviewing someone surrounded by gatekeepers in an
organization that had a reputation for being bureaucratic. I was
really dreading calling and explaining what I wanted and having
to go through multiple layers of permission, or possibly going

(03:18):
through alternate routes if the first was too slow. In
my mind, this had expanded to a huge ordeal. So
I gave myself the assignment to call the organization first
thing Monday morning. I started work with all the fortitude
I was ever going to muster. At nine oh two,
I made my call, and then a funny thing happened.

(03:41):
The first person I got on the phone was happy
to help. By nine point fifteen, I had an appointment scheduled.
Sometimes eating a frog turns out to be more like
eating frog legs, potentially kind of tasty in the right context.
And yes, I rewarded myself. I think I went for
a run and then took myself out to lunch. When

(04:02):
we do the tough stuff first, the rest of the
day automatically looks better by contrast, and we can even
schedule in things to make it look better. Do you
make a point of doing the tough stuff first thing
in the day or even first thing on Monday. I'd
love to hear about it. You can email me at
Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. In the meantime,

(04:26):
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

(04:47):
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the
number four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me
an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iheartm That Before
Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much.
Should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

(05:13):
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