Frog Time: Do the Hard Thing
“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)
It was a (briefly) pleasant discovery to find it was a writer—Mark Twain, at that—who came up with the “eat the frog” catchphrase. (Until I learned that Twain, like Lincoln, is credited online with things he never said.)
Social distancing in the COVID-19 era, in turn, provided me with a choice opportunity to whip up my own Amphibious Barbeque Cookout (ABC).
The lesson of Frog Time is simple: do the unpleasant thing first, and all else seems enjoyable by comparison. But there’s a reason why the unpleasant thing has been put off so long.
Nobody, writers included, enjoys tasks or challenges that aren’t in their natural wheelhouse.
We avoid it—almost neurotically. We’d much rather bury ourselves in world creation, outlines, editing, polishing, or getting our fingernails ripped out. Or perhaps have our livers filleted by mutant insectoid aliens from the Black Nebula. Anything but eat the frog squatting on the lily-pad of our waking mind and haunting the pond of our uneasy sleep.
COVID-19 has driven everyone indoors. Most writers have no problem with that. We’re creatures of solitude, furrowed brows, and too much caffeine. Yet COVID-19 has added a layer of anxiety that none of us expected. The loss of control and fear of the unknown is far more unsettling than the Toilet Paper Apocalypse.
So, how to disarm the anxiety?
Eat the frog. Start with the biggest one lurking under your bed. We all have lists of things we “need to get around to.” Now’s our chance. Dis-empower the anxiety one frog at a time. Don’t fret about what you have no control over. Get busy with what you can.
This past week has been a Frog Leg Fricassee of epic proportions for me. Website migration. New hosting company. Disentangling my website from unnecessary add-ons and plug-ins. Mailing list integration. New delivery system for giveaways. And last but not least, redesigning business cards (which felt like a reward compared to everything else).
That may not sound like your grandmother’s recipe for Louisiana Garlic Frog Legs with Creole Dipping Sauce, but it whittled a big chunk of the COVID-19 anxiety down. And the pond-water in my writer’s brain is now less murky.
Go ahead—eat the frog. Fire up the barbie and host your own Amphibious Barbeque Cookout. It won’t alleviate the pandemic, but the less anxiety we live in, the better.
Y’all excuse me while I go wash my hands and listen exclusively to medical experts. And stir the garlic sauce.