Years ago, when I was considering homeschooling my daughters, I read an article in which a mom advised, "For a homeschool that soars, start with the chores." Her point was that there will be some days when you and your kids do amazing science projects and have incredible literary discussions, and other days when it's a struggle to get anything done. That's why it's so important to DO THE CHORES FIRST - that way, on the days that are a struggle, even if nothing gets done but the chores, the most important stuff still got done.

First Thing

Mark Twain said, "Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day." Each day, I should identify the hardest thing I'll have to do that day, and then tackle that as the very first thing I do. Once I get that done, everything else will be easier for the rest of the day. I'll also feel productive and successful, which will give me motivation to keep rolling with the rest of the day's responsibilities.

A Coward's Thousand Deaths

This also calls to mind a current-day application for William Shakespeare's, "A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once." The irony of my comparing a To Do list item to death is not lost on me, but the fact remains: if I procrastinate about doing something I don't want to do, I spend my day dreading it and worrying about it. I'll be living through it repeatedly in my mind, as I picture the moment I'll have to do it. If I do it first, I only have to live through it once.

HabitNow

I downloaded an app called HabitNow on my phone, and I'm thrilled with how well it's been working. By contrast, my ridiculous To Do list is 16 Microsoft Word pages long, and each item seems as important as the next. My 7 or 8 truly critical HabitNow items for each day fit on 1 phone screen. These are the things which, if nothing else gets done, I can still consider the day a success. When I complete each item, the app gives me a happy green check mark, and moves the item to the bottom of the list. I can see which frogs I've eaten and which ones are still on the menu; and I feel the happy pressure of not wanting to lose a "streak" of successful days.

What's helping you to eat your frogs?