Want to become more productive? Want to be more productive not just today but every day? Then first, you gotta eat the frog.

Mark Twain said it – if you eat a frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you’ll do all day. Okay – we don’t mean literally eating one of those little green toads from the garden.

Actually they’re too valuable to eat. But what we do mean is starting your day by tacking that task you’ve been putting off – the one you’ve been dreading.

Twain’s sage advice will not only help you overcome procrastinating that not-so-appetizing task. It will also help you become much more productive.

So, when you walk into work each morning, tackle the nastiest, most disagreeable jobs first. If that means picking up the phone and calling the family who left an unpleasant voice mail yesterday, then “eat the frog.”

Here’s how you handle this menu:

• When you arrive at work, determine which is the biggest, ugliest, most awful frog on your plate for the day. All those other little tadpoles can wait.
• Start chunking your frog into several bites…and share if you can.
• Once you’ve begun, don’t stop eating until you’ve cleaned your plate.
• Then, reward yourself by doing a task that’s tastier – and one you’ll really enjoy.
• Keep the momentum going and be a role model for your colleagues. Once they see you downing those ugly frogs, they’ll soon find the nerve to follow your lead.
• And when the next frog lands on your plate, say loud enough for everyone to hear, “Would you supersize that, please?”