ribbit

eat a frog for breakfast

no, not literally — at least not for today! it’s vegan week, remember? [source]
this famous amphibious phrase comes from mark twain who said:

“Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

while i’m not sure he was really referring to productivity, i really love simple mom‘s take on it.

her guidelines ➜ my interpretation
1. Create something that outlines your tasks for the day. this may look like her docket, or you may rock the rhodia like i do:

2. Narrow down your list to ten items. i’ve gotten more realistic over the years about what is actually possible to accomplish over the course of one day . . and i’d say that even 10 would be steep for me. however, i suppose all ‘items’ are not created equal! whatever your magic number, they key is to not overwhelm yourself — instead, set up for success!

3. Out of those ten things, pick your three Most Important Tasks (MITs) – ie, your priority tasks for the day. if you can get these done, the day has gone well.

4. Out of those three things, pick the worst one. then, make that task the first thing you do.

5. Out of your list of ten, pick your favorite or easiest item. this task becomes a reward for finishing up with the frog!

or be bold like me and pick TWO favorites
of course, since in reality i actually start my day with my most favorite task (writing these posts!), i don’t truly ‘eat a frog for breakfast.’ but i’d like to make a habit of choosing a daunting item of my list next (um, frog for mid-morning snack?).

what do you think of this strategy? and uhh, what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever had for breakfast? i remember when my oats + pb combo was considered weird — and perhaps it still is in certain circles! but not this one.

vegan week: day 2
another day of animal-free grub. again, this didn’t feel hard or forced — but i still think that’s because i know that come monday, pizza WILL be making its way back into my life. there is a huge difference between a permanent commitment to veganism and a weeklong experiment, but i still think this is a valuable exercise.

again, breakfast was business as usual.

snack #1 (post-workout)

relieved to find that TJ’s pb pretzels = vegan
lunch (@ work)

leftover kale/tofu scramble + baked sweet potato
snack #2 (while waiting for josh to get home . . .)
[note: this is a small plate. those chips are not ginormous in real life!]

flax chips, hummus + tabbouli
dinner (finally)

ED & BV sweet potato stew with chickpeas + peanut butter
this was silky smooth, delicious, and SO easy, thanks to the best kitchen tool ever (i know i’ve said it before, but if you don’t own one of these, YOU SHOULD!).

dessert (always)

chocolate square + almond milk
one topic that has come up among those doing this challenge is the reaction that our significant others (generally husbands/boyfriends) are having to this little exercise.

some are fully participating! — and others are just going along for part of the ride. josh is in the latter category, but he has been very good-natured about the whole thing. honestly? if i cook it and he gets to eat it, he’s happy!

as it should be 🙂
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2.8.11

workout: 3.25 mi run in 30 minutes on the TM. these mini-runs now feel somewhat satisfying. huh.

reading: 30 minutes on the female reproductive system. honestly, my own TTC journey has taught me a lot in this realm — but there’s still more to learn!