Mark Twain said, “If the first thing you do every morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that (eating the frog) is probably the worst thing that’s going to happen to you all day long.”
Twain’s thought here, according to Brian Tracy who wrote the productivity book entitled “Eat the Frog,” is very close to Tim Harris’s thought about doing what you don’t want to do when you don’t want to do it – at the highest level possible. Or, to put it even another way, do the thing that’s the hardest thing for you or the thing that’s your very least favorite to do the first thing in the morning. Then, it’s done. You don’t have to think about it anymore. And you can begin your day, after you eat your frog, by giving yourself a big pat on the back. That pat on the back will last you throughout your entire day.
Productivity studies show that most people have their best energy, their best focus, their best motivation in the morning. Use all those “bests” by channeling them into a morning routine that grounds and centers you. For some, the routine is meditating. For others, it’s jumping on an exercise bike or running outdoors. For others, it’s reading something inspirational or poetic. And for others, it’s looking up into the sky’s cloud structures. Then, once you’re centered and grounded, eat your frog.
For most real estate agents, the frog is lead generation…prospecting…making “cold” calls. No matter how uncomfortable you are making those calls, no matter how awful the frog tastes, lead generation is your key to creating and maximizing both your client base and your sales base. Make those minutes of calls in the same way that you exercise – by building up stamina a little each day.
If overhauling your entire morning routine seems just too much to do all at once, begin by making calls/generating leads in 15 minute blocks (followed by a 5 minutes break) immediately after you’ve grounded yourself through meditation or exercise or whatever for one week. The next week, add 5 more minutes to that base line of 15 minutes to make calls. Add 5 more minutes of lead generation for weeks three and four respectively and then see if you notice some improvement in your level of productivity. You may even notice that the frog doesn’t taste as awful as it did during week one.
Another option is to end your day by essentially beginning the next one. That’s what American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault does every evening…he writes down three things he wants to accomplish the next morning. Then he doesn’t even have to think about his morning routine because he already has…the night before. And just like you, Chenault eats his frog every morning right after he’s run his routine time allotted to center himself and focus his best energy.
Productivity experts say that if you “win” the morning, you “win” the day. So, win your morning to win your day every day…and remember to drink plenty of water (8 ounces of water every hour) throughout the day to keep your energy high!
