just eat the damn frog.

here’s some snippets of productivity wisdom that’s been helpful for me lately.

“If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.” - Mark Twain

mark twain means that if your task is to eat a frog, you should do it as soon as you can and nothing worse than that will happen for the rest of the day.

this method is more or less about getting better at prioritizing. you know what’s important to do, you know your focus and you get a clearer mindset. not only that, if you’re already done with the most difficult or important task as soon as possible in the day, you will probably be left with a great feeling in your stomach, a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. it will also increase your productivity. after your accomplishment, there’s a good chance that you will ride on that wave and get more things done in the day.

i needed to do something about my music production session. i am tired after work and the dark weather isn’t helping. so i decided to eat the frog by waking up one hour earlier before work to sit down and make music. these two weeks i’ve been working in the studio almost every day. for me, music production is an essential frog. but drinking green tea, vitamins, meditation, journaling, reading my vision board are also five frogs that i always get done in the morning.

i also use this method at work to sharpen my focus and increase my productivity. i feel satisfied by the end of the workday. no matter how much work needs to be done, i always know my priorities and i don’t feel overwhelmed or stressed. i plan my frogs like this structure:

To do:

FROG:

ADD:

FUN:

Frog is the most important task that needs to be done first.

Add is the second most important task that i do right after the first frog.

Fun is treating myself to a fun task at work, but it can also be things like eating chocolate, meditating or taking a walk.

Frog, Add, Fun = FAF.

so there you go. the summary is ”eat more frogs” i guess. :)

disclaimer: something to someone is something else to someone else. if you get inspired by my words and want to apply anything to your own life then that’s wonderful. if you don’t agree with me then that’s okay too. no hard feelings. i’m not trying to convince anyone of anything, i just want to write about interesting topics because it’s just a pure simple pleasure of mine. thank you for reading. :)

on keeping a journal.

hej, something i really enjoy is to write. i think the method i use is called microjournaling. you just write one or a few sentences. i use DayOne. it’s by far the best journaling app i’ve ever used (and i’ve used loads...)

sometimes it takes two minutes and sometimes it takes 30 minutes depending on my mood, what’s happening that day and how much time i have. but just one sentence is enough for me to have accomplished the goal for the day. with this mindset it makes it much easier to keep up the habit. most of the times, one sentence becomes two, three and four.

the thing with journaling is that i feel really good after writing. i feel lighter when i pour my thoughts on a paper or a screen. it helps me to organize my thoughts and feelings, and i don’t want good ideas or inspiring thoughts to disappear in an instant. so reflecting is definitely an emotional outlet for me and it helps me when i write songs. i get to pay my focus inwards.

here's what you can do:

• you can do a ”check-in" - how are you feeling right now? why are feeling this?

• you can ventilate your feelings - write about what upsets you and why it upsets yo

• you can improve your everyday life by reflecting about your good or bad habits

• you can keep a gratitude journal - truly recommend this

• you can keep yourself organized by writing tasks, shortterm or longterm goals, inspiration, lyrics, poems, this blog post :)

• you can keep a record of things you love to do

• you can take a brain dump if you’re feeling overloaded - you don’t have to keep them in your mind

i'm back blogging

i'm finally back here on this plattform and i'm happy to start blogging again from another computer. my old computer was really tired and ready to break anytime soon, so i decided to get a smaller computer which is more suitable for traveling and songwriting. it's really great how quiet this laptop is when i compare it to the old one.

as the structure geek i am, i also downloaded Day One which is an app for journaling and keeping lists and notes. i have another app for journaling but i feel like day one is one straw sharper and i can really enjoy my own private digital space. everything is not meant to be shared online and i really love writing and this will help me write more lyrics and music. i am also not a perfect person. i have flaws and weaknesses like any other person and i feel writing about improvements is a thing that i should do private.

on another note, my music making is continuing and i am happy with the songs i release right now, especially the videos, and i really like the stories behind the lyrics. and how about archery? not so much i'm sad to say. i really like archery and i miss it really much but under these circumstances i don't have too much time to go there. i don't want to take the bus and when i'm suppose to take the bike it rains.. i hope to be there soon though.

take care and have a nice day!