Mark Twain’s secret

Mark Twain was an amazingly prolific writer and speaker.
The ex-journalist did not have the aid of a laptop.
He didn’t have email and text message distractions.
People still wrote each other letters - with a pen.

Mark’s secret was to avoid busy work.
You know what that is. The stuff in your in box.
Mark swallowed the big frog first each morning.
That’s a figurative frog, not a literal one.
By that, Mark meant the #1 project on your list.
The biggie. The most important. The high payoff one.
Don’t scramble for the loose change.
Go after the million dollar stuff.
That’s how he wrote all those wonderful books.
Tom and Huck and Jim on the Mississippi.
That’s how he found time for lucrative lecture tours.

What if you dumped everything in your in box right now?
Just dump it all in your waste basket.
Horrors, you say. Well, what about it?
Most of it is busy work. It’s dictated by others.
Are you going to let them set your agenda?

Don’t be enslaved by your in box and email.
Ignore those text messages.
Let voicemail take care of incoming calls.
If it’s a genuine emergency, someone will yell at you.
If the building’s on fire, you’ll smell the smoke.
Otherwise, take care of that big frog.
Make it Numero Uno. Projecto #1.

Mark joked that we should swallow the big frog first.
Then we know that’s the worst that will happen all day.
Not all big frogs are fun to swallow. But they’re critical.
What Mark didn’t say: The frog won’t like it much either.

Ignore those calls, emails and text messages.
Get down to work right now. Yes. Right now.
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.