EAT THAT FROG....BRIAN TRACY

EAT THAT FROG! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy

EAT THAT FROG! is a compilation of ideas and techniques from many influencers in the time management and personal productivity industry. The book covers many different ways of overcoming procrastination and it makes it very accessible for people to apply the techniques.  The advice given by the author comes from his real life experience and the focus of the book lies in actionable exercises and tips to be implemented right away.

There are 21 chapters and each chapter introduces a different idea, tip, or technique that will help one overcome procrastination and get more things done.



Write everything down

The power of writing things down is emphasized here by the author – especially when it comes to planning and goal setting.  Brian Tracy encouraged the reader to try out different exercises but he also stressed the importance of putting same down on papers. In today’s world you can translate most of the writing into digital capturing but there is something to writing it down on paper – a goal written down on a piece of paper has a different effect than something typed up in a text file, and Brian Tracy reminded one of this.

Eat That Frog

The idea behind it is that each morning if you complete a task that you will most likely procrastinate on, you go about your day knowing you’ve done it and the rest of your day will be easy in comparison. Giving an example, the author said that if one has to do laundry, grocery shopping and prepare a report on the same day, and one knows that he hates doing laundry. According to the book, the way to prioritize the to-do list is to start doing the task that one will most likely procrastinate on. In this case, it would recommend that he does the laundry first before doing anything else. Once he had gotten the dreadful task out of the way, going grocery shopping and preparing a report don’t look that bad in comparison and he will feel more empowerment.

Success Habits

There are a lot of good habits introduced throughout the book and the author wants us to learn all of them to help us succeed in our chosen career. Brian Tracy puts it eloquently how important habits are:

Your success in life is the sum of your habits.

One of the mindsets given about this is that we should develop the habit of starting and completing tasks – do that and you will enjoy success. There are many more in the book that anyone can incorporate – no matter if you are a beginner or an advanced student of time management.

Purpose of Time Management

It’s nice to be able to do effectively work on projects and be more organized, but you have to remember that time management is a means to an end. The real purpose of time management, according to Brian Tracy, is to free up time to live life and to enjoy it with the people you care about. All the tips and techniques in the book will help you achieve this, but never lose sight that the real purpose behind it all is to enjoy a higher quality of life.

In a nutshell, the main concepts of Eat That Frog! are stated below:

 

v  The ability to concentrate single-mindedly on your most important task, to do it well and to finish it completely, is the key to great success, achievement, respect, status and happiness in life.

v  You need three key qualities to develop the habits of focus and concentration. They are all learnable. They are decision, discipline and determination.

v  One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very well that need not be done at all.

v  Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.

v  Your weakest key result area sets the height at which you can use all your other skills and abilities.

v  Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field. By the yard it’s hard; but inch by inch, anything is a cinch!

v  Difficulties come not to obstruct, but to instruct.

v  You can only get your time and your life under control to the degree to which you discontinue lower value activities.

 

 

Summary

 

Here is a summary of the 21 Great Ways to stop procrastinating and get more things done faster. Review these rules and principles regularly until they become firmly ingrained in your thinking and actions and you’ll see your life start to shift in some very exciting ways.

 

Set the table: Decide exactly what you want. Clarity is essential. Write out your goals and objectives before you begin;

 

Plan every day in advance: Think on paper. Every minute you spend in planning can save you five or ten minutes in execution;

 

Apply the 80/20 Rule to everything: Twenty percent of your activities will account for eighty percent of your results. Always concentrate your efforts on that top twenty percent;

 

Consider the consequences: Your most important tasks and priorities are those that can have the most serious consequences, positive or negative, on your life or work. Focus on these above all else;

 

Practice the ABCDE Method continually: Before you begin work on a list of tasks, take a few moments to organize them by value and priority so you can be sure of working on your most important activities:

 

Focus on key result areas: Identify and determine those results that you absolutely, positively have to get to do your job well, and work on them all day long;

 

The Law of Forced Efficiency: There is never enough time to do everything but there is always enough time to do the most important things. What are they?

 

Prepare thoroughly before you begin: Proper prior preparation prevents poor performance;

 

Do your homework: The more knowledgeable and skilled you become at your key tasks, the faster you start them and the sooner you get them done;

Leverage your special talents: Determine exactly what it is that you are very good at doing, or could be very good at, and throw your whole heart into doing those specific things very, very well:

 

Identify your key constraints: Determine the bottlenecks or chokepoints, internally or externally, that set the speed at which you achieve your most important goals and focus on alleviating them;

 

Take it one oil barrel at a time: You can accomplish the biggest and most complicated job if you just complete it one step at a time;

 

Put the pressure on yourself: Imagine that you have to leave town for a month and work as if you had to get all your major tasks completed before you left;

 

Maximize your personal powers: Identify your periods of highest mental and physical energy each day and structure your most important and demanding tasks around these times. Get lots of rest so you can perform at your best;

 

Motivate yourself into action: Be your own cheerleader. Look for the good in every situation. Focus on the solution rather than the problem. Always be optimistic and constructive;

 

Practice creative procrastination: Since you can’t do everything, you must learn to deliberately put off those tasks that are of low value so that you have enough time to do the few things that really count;

 

Do the most difficult task first: Begin each day with your most difficult task, the one task that can make the greatest contribution to yourself and your work, and resolve to stay at it until it is complete:

 

Slice and dice the task: Break large, complex tasks down into bite sized pieces and then just do one small part of the task to get started;

 

Create large chunks of time: Organize your days around large blocks of time where you can concentrate for extended periods on your most important tasks;

 

Develop a sense of urgency: Make a habit of moving fast on your key tasks. Become known as a person who does things quickly and well;

 

Single handle every task: Set clear priorities, start immediately on your most important task and then work without stopping until the job is 100% complete. This is the real key to high performance and maximum personal productivity.”

Now go eat your frog!