kiss the prince, eat the frog: do the most important or difficult thing first...

1. Towards pleasure — the prince of princes s

By nature, we love doing the things we... love to do. And we like to translate into shots of dopamine that we look forward to, the pleasant feeling after a reward, e.g. after processing your emails, handling your goodies, being able to finish a task. By definition, this does not make them useful, of course. Like a true dopamine junkie, you can tick off an entire day of instant satisfying stuff, keep your dopamine factory running at 100 per hour but... still not have done

What's really important

When we talk about kiss the prince-ss here, it's about those activities that really make a difference in your daily job or life.

That's how I once heard Lou Van Beirendonck from Quintessence at a time management course - when I was in my early 20s, a long, long time ago - say: make a living before 11 a.m. I don't think he did a bad job with it

So one way of working is to do today's most important task first,
just get started, space in your agenda for reservations.

What is your most important task today?

2. Away from pain — the frog

Not doing something can also have a rewarding effect. You can hide in your mailbox unconsciously or unconsciously, go get that fifth cup of coffee, put your things in order again, or quickly make six calls so as not to start that one big task. You push your frog forward. Procrastination with the result that you spend the whole day, week, month,... facing an unpleasant forward prospect that affects your mood

What have you been pushing forward for some time?

Pain shows the way!

If it's really part of your tasks; settle that trade!

So another approach is to do today's worst job first,
just get started, reserve space in your agenda here too.

Which of these two bio-logical reactions apply in your case and how do you want to deal with them in the future?

psssst 1: working on the right things?

How do you know if you - apart from pain and pleasure - are working on the right things?

psssst 2: leaving problems and the wrong things where they belong!

Be sure to also determine what are not the right things. What doesn't make you happy? What is not part of your tasks or would you rather not be part of your tasks? What could be better done by someone else? After all, work flows where it's done, so talk to your immediate supervisor in saying no to your boss in a customer-focused way: how to (re) determine goals together

And action!

• What are your concretely deferred frogs at the moment? Plan space for this right away, take that first step! Is it multiple steps?

Try out the technique in this blog: dismantling time bombs: dividing your work, estimating time & scheduling it right away!
• What are your princess sex, what makes a difference for your (job/life) and how can you do more of that?
• What do you need to discuss constructively with your immediate supervisor? Make an appointment right away!

You as a manager?

• Do you know the personal frogs & princesses of everyone on your team: what do they procrastinate, what do they love to do?
• What effects on your team's productivity and atmosphere?
• How do you want to deal with this yourself and how do you want it to be dealt with in your team?