Eat the frog is a powerful productivity technique, which suggests that you should do your most difficult and important task (your ugly frog) first thing in the morning; everything after that is much easier. This is incredibly powerful if you are able to make it a habit.

The Pareto Principle (also know as the 80/20 rule) shows up everywhere. Try to look for it. It can help you to identify the most important tasks you should focus on. They are the ones that provide the most leverage. They have the most impact. This is also true the other way around. Avoid tasks that don’t give you leverage as much as possible.

Here are my tips on how to use the Pareto Principle in academia.