Tackle Your Hardest Task First

What is it?

Tackle Your Hardest Task First means identifying the most challenging, important, or anxiety-inducing task on your to-do list and completing it before anything else. Often called "eating the frog" (after a Mark Twain quote), this approach flips the natural tendency to procrastinate on difficult work. Instead of warming up with easy tasks or endlessly checking email, you dive straight into the deep end when your energy and focus are at their peak.

This isn't about working harder—it's about working smarter by leveraging your best mental resources when they're most available. The hardest task is usually the one with the highest stakes or the most cognitive demand, and by finishing it early, you set a productive tone for the entire day.

How does it work?

Your willpower and decision-making ability are finite resources that deplete throughout the day. Research on decision fatigue shows that the quality of your choices and your ability to resist distractions decline as the day progresses. By morning, your mental reserves are full, making it the ideal time to tackle complex problems, creative work, or tasks that require sustained focus.

When you complete your hardest task first, you also eliminate the psychological weight of dread. That looming project stops draining your mental energy, freeing you to approach the rest of your day with momentum and confidence. The act of finishing something difficult triggers a dopamine release, creating positive reinforcement that carries forward into subsequent tasks.

Why adopt it?

The transformation happens on multiple levels. First, you make consistent progress on what actually matters. Hard tasks are often the ones tied to your biggest goals—launching a project, having a difficult conversation, solving a complex problem. By prioritizing them, you ensure they don't languish on your list for weeks.

Second, you gain psychological freedom. Once the hardest thing is done, everything else feels manageable. That afternoon meeting? Easy. Those emails? No problem. You've already won the day, and the rest is just cleanup.

Third, you build confidence and discipline. Each morning you prove to yourself that you can handle difficult things, which compounds into genuine self-trust. Over time, tasks that once seemed intimidating become routine, expanding your capacity for challenging work.

How to adopt it (First steps)?

Identify your frog the night before. Before ending your workday, write down the single hardest or most important task for tomorrow. Be specific: not "work on proposal" but "write the executive summary for the proposal." This removes morning decision-making and eliminates the temptation to choose something easier.

Protect your morning window. Block the first 60–90 minutes of your day for deep work on your hardest task. No email, no Slack, no meetings. Treat this time as non-negotiable. If you're not a morning person, identify whenever your personal peak energy window occurs and guard it fiercely.

Set up your environment. Before you begin, eliminate friction. Close unnecessary tabs, silence notifications, have your materials ready. The fewer decisions and distractions between you and the work, the easier it is to dive in.

Start with just 10 minutes. If the task feels overwhelming, commit to working on it for just 10 minutes. Often, starting is the hardest part, and momentum will carry you further. If not, you've still made progress and can return after a short break.

Celebrate completion. When you finish, acknowledge it. Take a short walk, grab your favorite coffee, or simply check it off with satisfaction. This reinforces the behavior and makes you more likely to repeat it tomorrow.

Challenges and how to overcome them

"I'm not a morning person and can't focus early." The principle isn't about the clock—it's about using your peak energy window. If you're sharpest at 2 PM or 9 PM, schedule your hardest task then. The key is tackling it when you're at your best, not squandering that time on low-value activities.

"My hardest task is too big to finish in one session." Break it into a concrete subtask you can complete. Instead of "write the report," make it "draft the introduction section." The goal is meaningful progress on the most important work, not necessarily completion in one sitting.

"Urgent things come up and derail my plan." True emergencies are rare. Most "urgent" requests can wait 90 minutes. Communicate your deep work window to colleagues, or work before they're online. If you consistently face genuine morning emergencies, shift your hard task to a more protected time slot.

"I freeze up when facing the hard task." This is resistance, not inability. Lower the activation energy: open the document, write one sentence, sketch one idea. Action creates clarity. If anxiety is severe, the task may need to be broken down further, or you may need to address the underlying fear separately.

Supporting apps/tools

Analog approach. Use a physical index card or sticky note with tomorrow's hardest task written clearly. Place it somewhere you'll see it first thing—on your keyboard, bathroom mirror, or coffee maker.

Eat The Frog (iOS/Android). A simple app specifically designed around this principle, helping you identify and track your daily "frog."

Sunsama. A daily planning tool that encourages you to drag your most important task to the top of your schedule and allocate focused time for it.

Freedom or Cold Turkey. Website and app blockers that enforce your distraction-free morning window by blocking social media, news sites, and other temptations.

Forest (iOS/Android). A focus timer that grows a virtual tree while you work, providing gentle accountability and a visual record of your deep work sessions.