When it comes to getting into the sea, there are two types of people – jumpers and splashers. The splashers enter slowly. They stand ankle deep in the water, splash their faces and hope to acclimate to the cold temperature over time. The jumpers simply dive straight in.

In an interview with Newstalk, psychologist Dr Kevin Dutton, refers to a study in which the jumpers and splashers were put to the test. Scientists studied the pain levels of the two groups as they got into the ocean and they found that the splashers suffered the most. They had to deal with the pain of the cold, as well as the mental pain of dread, nervousness and anticipation. The jumpers eliminated mental suffering by getting it over with straight away. They only had to deal with the cold. All that dread melted away as soon as they jumped in.

When it comes to the important tasks that we may not want to do – but that are fundamental to our goals – it is helpful to embrace the mentality of the jumpers. When we put it off, our anticipation grows while the unfinished task looms on the horizon. Mark Twain once said: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.” Brian Tracy uses this metaphor in his approach to culling procrastination. Tracy says: “Your frog is your biggest, most important task, the one that you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it.”

Rebel entrepreneurs channel this mentality to maximise productivity and to cut their pain in half. They jump straight in, eat the frog and eliminate that dread. This allows them to cross that uncomfortable but necessary task off the list and move forward.