🐸 Eat the frog

It's actually a delicacy.

Eryn Peters
May 11, 2025

Happy Sunday, pals!

Please don’t distract me. I’m weak and trying to say “no“ this month. Let’s just do the thing, ok?

In today’s issue

⚡️ Lightning List - What I’m reading this week
🐸 Getting shit done - staying focused and eating frogs
⭐️ Community Spotlight - Ellen Donnelly
💰️ Sponsor - DataCamp - 50% off in May!

⚡️ Lightning List ⚡️

🚀 Love to see it. Despite a hiring slowdown, this recruiting startup is growing faster than ever.

✂️ Snip snip. PwC cuts 1500 jobs.

🤷 I’m tired tho. Why change management fails: it’s about people, not process.

🚗 Ride to office? Uber cracking down on remote work with RTO policies.

🧠 Shoulders of giants. Why solopreneurs should think like startup founders.

🥔 Stay on the couch. The dark side of ambition.

🌶️ Neurospicy. Employers could benefit from hiring neurodivergent workers.

😍 This is an intervention ✨

🙈 No more new shiny objects.

The Neuroscience of Distraction & Modern Work

Our brains aren't built for multitasking; they're built for focus. But the dopamine hit we get from novelty – that exciting new project idea, that fascinating new tool – creates an addiction cycle that's hard to break. What’s worse? We have more distractions than ever before with the average worker being interrupted 275 times a day.

Confession - I am neurospicy 🌶️ . I was diagnosed with ADHD last year (which is probably a surprise to nobody lol). For ADHD brains like mine, this is amplified. We're already working with executive function challenges and dopamine processing differences that make us especially susceptible to "shiny object syndrome."

The worst part? Startup culture rewards this behavior. We celebrate "failing fast," pivoting, and constant innovation without acknowledging the crucial distinction: Testing hypotheses is valuable. Abandoning viable directions because execution gets difficult is fatal.

Introducting the 95% Month

The most dangerous trait in founders isn't lack of vision. It's our addiction to constant change. When we chase new directions before current ones mature, we kill potential success.

This pattern creates the illusion of strategic agility while actually guaranteeing failure. I’ve decided that in May, I’m calling myself out and putting myself in another time out. I’m doing a 95% month. No new projects. No new ideas. Only finishing what I started and tying up loose ends.

My first 95% period last year was transformative. I painted and tiled my house, reorganized my work and finances, cleared out mental and physical spaces, and ended work projects and relationships that needed completion or weren't serving me. The weight lifted was incredible.

10 Rules for May

Rule #1: No new projects, period	Create a physical "Not Now" list to capture new ideas without acting on them Draft a template response: "I'm completing priorities until [date]. Can we discuss after?" Put a Post-it on your monitor with "FINISH, DON'T START" as a visual reminder
Rule #2: Daily "how long does it actually take" task	Set a 15-minute timer for your most dreaded task and see how far you get - eat that frog, boo Log both estimated and actual completion times to calibrate your time perception Start with the smallest, most avoided task to build momentum with a quick win
Rule #3: Celebrate small completions publicly	Post one completed task daily on your preferred social platform Create a simple completion ritual (like a victory dance or special coffee) Find accountability partners
Rule #4: Delete, delegate, or finish - no other options	Sort all pending projects into three physical or digital folders Set a 2-minute timer for each decision to prevent overthinking Start each day by completing one small task, delegating another, and deleting a third
Rule #5: Quantify the mental cost of procrastination	Track how many times per day you think about postponed tasks Rate your anxiety about each unfinished item on a 1-10 scale Calculate the actual time cost of context-switching back to the worry
Rule #6: Unless it brings you joy, income, or an orgasm - get rid of it	Be ruthlessly critical with the importance that these tasks and projects have in your broader life Schedule a weekly 30-minute pruning session to review commitments Create a "stopped doing" list to celebrate what you've eliminated
Rule #7: Public accountability sticks	Find an accountability buddy who can check your daily progress Set a meaningful consequence for missing days (like donating to a cause you hate lol) Schedule a calendar reminder for weekly progress reports to your network
Rule #8: Accountability carrots	Set a timer for 25 minutes of focus followed by a 5-minute novelty break Create a "dopamine menu" of quick, enjoyable activities for between tasks Use app blockers during focus periods but allow full access during breaks
Rule #9: Track and celebrate increased focus metrics	Measure and record tangible metrics before starting (email open rates, task completion time) Visualize your progress - on paper, whiteboard, gold stars, however Schedule a mid-month review to appreciate improvements already achieved
Rule #10: Build in transition periods between task completion	Take 5 minutes to document and celebrate each completion before moving on Use a physical gesture (like closing a notebook) to signal task completion Schedule buffer time between tasks rather than back-to-back obligations

The most counterintuitive truth in business building: Stubborn execution on a good strategy beats brilliant strategy with scattered execution every time.

Will you join me in a 95% Month? What project graveyard are you ready to resurrect? Remember: changing direction is easy. Staying the course when challenges emerge separates successful founders from the perpetually "almost successful."

⭐️ Community Spotlight ⭐️

Meet Ellen Donnelly, founder of The Ask and a powerhouse coach helping entrepreneurial professionals build profitable one-person businesses around their unique talents. She’s got a decade of experience and is also a part-time improv comedian, bringing creativity and spontaneity to her coaching approach.

Ellen's newsletter has grown organically to over 4,000 subscribers, delivering weekly wisdom every Wednesday on building sustainable businesses aligned with your skills and passions. Her guidance helps entrepreneurs overcome what she calls "the four horsemen of early-stage entrepreneurship" - lack of time, money, confidence, and focus. We know all about new shiny object syndrome amiright?

If you’re not already connected and subscribed - get on it!

Bonus - We had a great lil chat recently about the future of freelancing. Check it out here.

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📚️ Term of the Week 📚️

Eating the frog verb | PRODUCTIVITY HACKING TERM

a productivity technique that advocates tackling your most difficult, important, or dreaded task first thing in the morning. Based on the Mark Twain quote: "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning." This approach prevents procrastination, reduces anxiety about difficult tasks, and leverages morning willpower when decision fatigue is lowest.

_{Related terms: time blocking, priority matrix, deep work, Pomodoro technique}

That’s all for now, pals. See ya next week.

Eryn