What Is The Book About As A Whole
The book Eat That Frog! is all about doing things in the right order and learning to manage your time effectively.
It’s normal to feel like you’re drowning in work, but if you can learn to “eat your frogs,” which means to do the most critical tasks first, you’ll not only be able to get more done in less time, but you’ll also enjoy your work more.
This presentation by Brian Tracy will provide you 21 strategies to help you avoid putting things off and get more done in the same amount of time.
This practical action guide is based on 30 years of research on how to manage time. It is for anyone who feels like they don’t have enough time or wants to plan, prioritize, and get more done in less time.
Book Title— Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less
Author— Brian Tracy
Date of Reading— January 2023
Rating— 8/10
What Is Being Said In Detail
On this book, the author states that your “frog” is the most crucial task you have. It’s the one you’re most likely to delay on if you don’t act. Find time to eat your frog as soon as you arrive at work.
Fortunately, this is a skill that can be developed with time and effort. If you have to eat two frogs, start with the ugliest one. When deciding between two vital activities, prioritize the most important one.
The following are the 21 techniques to quit procrastinating and get more things done faster:
CHAPTER 1 – Set the Table
In this chapter the author states the importance of making a clear decision about what you desire. Before you begin, make a list of your aims and objectives.
It’s doubtful that you’ll be able to identify and prioritize the precise activities you need to focus on to attain your goals if you don’t know what they are.
After you’ve written out your goals, set a deadline for attaining them, break them down into tasks, and commit to focusing on one of them every day.
Clear written explanations help you be more creative, release your energy, and keep you from putting things off. When you think about your goals more, you become more motivated to reach them.
CHAPTER 2 – Plan Every Day in Advance
The author states that every minute spent preparing can save you five or ten minutes when it comes time to execute. The best way to plan is to sit down and make a list and add any upcoming tasks to this list.
Lay out each item on your list by priority and sequence. This list can take the form of a master list which includes all your ideas or a monthly list consisting of tasks reserved for the upcoming month. You may also have a weekly or daily list.
Once you accomplish the tasks on your list, it will not only motivate you but also raise your self-esteem and self-respect. You will also have a visual picture of progress in front of you every time you tick off an item.
CHAPTER 3 – Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything
In this chapter, Tracy addresses the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, says that if you have ten things to do, two of them will be worth a lot more than the other eight put together.
People put off doing these tasks the most, which is a shame because they are the big frogs that need to be eaten first. One very important rule is to fight the urge to solve small problems first.
Remember that getting started is the hardest part. Both important and unimportant tasks take the same amount of time, but the results are so different that it’s hard to believe.
Your success depends on how well you can choose between important and less important tasks.
CHAPTER 4 – Consider the Consequences
There are activities and responsibilities that will have the most impact on your life or career, whether that impact is favorable or negative, should always be your top priority.
Prioritize this above anything else. If you’re having trouble with this activity, you might want to investigate the GTD®-recommended “do it, delegate it, delay it” decision-making method.
A successful person accurately predicts the consequences of doing or not doing something.
This not only helps them determine the importance of a task but also what their next frog might be. Furthermore, people who take the long view of their lives and careers make better life decisions.
Long-term thinking improves short-term decision making. A clearer idea of what is important to you in the long term helps you prioritise better in the short term.
Also, continually thinking about the potential consequences of your choices and decisions is the best way to determine your true priorities.
CHAPTER 5 – Practice Creative Procrastination
What people choose to delay on determines the difference between high and low performance.
It has a bad connotation since we usually procrastinate on our frogs, which are frequently large, tough jobs that are easy to put off. Instead of delaying on your frogs, Tracy suggests actively procrastinating on your 80 percent duties.
CHAPTER 6 – Use the ABCDE Method Continually
Practice the ABCDE Method Continually. Organize your tasks based on their importance and worth. Tracy suggests the ABCDE technique.
- “A” chores are mandatory; they are your frogs.
- “B” chores are those that you should complete. Responding to emails and attending meetings are frequently must-do jobs. People may be disappointed if you don’t, but because these activities aren’t necessarily moving you closer to your goals, they’re a lesser priority than “A” duties.
- “C” tasks are excellent to have. You presumably want to do them, but there are no ramifications if you don’t.
- “D” chores are those that should be delegated to someone else so that you may devote more time to your “A” responsibilities.
- “E” tasks are those that should be avoided. You don’t need or want to do them and assigning them to someone else is pointless.
CHAPTER 7 – Focus on Key Result Areas
Identify the outcomes you need to achieve in order to accomplish your job properly, then focus on them all day. Work is one of the most difficult places to focus on your frogs since there are so many distractions.
To avoid becoming derailed by these factors, you must first identify and focus on your result important areas. You are also fully responsible for something that is a key result area.
It doesn’t get done by itself, and the results of your work are usually tied to what other people put into their work.
You must first identify and talk with your boss about the most important results of your work. Then, you must write down your responsibilities and make sure that everyone else agrees with them.
Then, give yourself a score between 1 and 10 in each important area. Sometimes, you might only be weak in one or two key areas, but that would hurt your performance in other key areas and in the big picture.
You have to ask yourself, “What is the one skill that, if I worked hard at it and did it well, would help my career the most?”
CHAPTER 8 – Apply the Law of three.
Distinguish three activities you perform at work that account for 90% of your contribution and place them at the top of your priority list.
Find out what the three most important things you do at work are. Ask yourself, “If I could only do one thing all day, what would be the most valuable thing I could do for my career?”
Do this exercise again and again. Once you know what your “big three” are, give them your full attention. As a consequence, you will have more time to spend with your family and on your personal life.
CHAPTER 9 – Prepare Thoroughly Before You Begin.
Planning your frog for the next day at the conclusion of the previous workday and cutting off time to focus on that frog so you may tackle it interruption-free is part of preparing for your task in advance.
Make sure that everything you need to do the job at hand is close by. Spend some time setting up your workspace so that it is comfortable, clean, and nice to look at.
When you sit down to work, you’ll feel more positive, productive, confident, and ready to go.
CHAPTER 10 – Take it Out One Oil Barrel at a Time.
In this chapter, Tracy explains that, If you want to make it simpler to achieve your objectives, you should break them down into a number of smaller jobs. The more time-consuming and difficult a task looks to be, the more probable it is that you will put it off until later.
CHAPTER 11 – Upgrade your Key Skills.
In this chapter it is stated the importance of you to know that you are one of a kind, and it is your responsibility to determine what makes you stand out from everyone else and then devote yourself to excelling in that particular field(s).
Your “earning ability,” which, unlike your other assets, cannot be erased, is by far the most valuable asset you own. It’s common sense that the activities that bring you the greatest pleasure are also the ones in which you excel.
When you have these areas identified, they should become the exclusive center of your attention and concentration.
The more informed and proficient you become at your main duties, the faster you can begin and complete them. You may take a professional development course online.
CHAPTER 12 – Identify Your Key Constraints.
There is always something in our lives that makes it hard or slow for us to do a job well or quickly. We need to find this factor and then put all of our efforts into getting rid of that one roadblock.
This could be a person, a resource, or a flaw in the way your organization works. Using the 80/20 rule, we can see that 80% of these problems are caused by things inside you or your organization, while only 20% are caused by things outside you or your organization.
This key limiting factor could also be something small and hard to spot in your business or personal life, so you need to look around with complete honesty.
People who are successful always look inward to find both the cause and the solution to their problems. Once you know exactly what this problem is, you can come up with a plan to fix it.
CHAPTER 13 – Put the Pressure on Yourself
Tracy states in this chapter that if you want to do well in life, you have to push yourself and learn to do things on your own. Just pick your frogs and eat them in the order you think is best.
In addition, you should hold yourself to a higher level in your work and conduct than is required of you by others. Only you can raise or lower your own sense of self-worth.
By putting yourself under pressure, you become a high achiever and start to feel great about yourself.
It’s more difficult to start and finish an activity simply because you want to, even if you know the conclusion will be pleasant.
You must discover ways to drive yourself to eat your frogs by applying the same pressure on yourself as you do when your employer assigns you a work with a deadline.
Make your own deadlines, attempt to beat your own deadlines, and hold yourself to high standards.
CHAPTER 14 – Maximize Your Personal Powers.
Taking care of and building up your energy is one of the most crucial things you can do to be happy and productive. When you’re tired, you make more mistakes.
You need to figure out when you are most productive and then make the most of that time. Find out when you have the most mental and physical energy throughout the day.
Plan your most time-consuming and important tasks around these times. Get enough sleep to function at your best.
CHAPTER 15 – Technology Is a Terrible Master
However, inefficient use of technology might have the opposite effect of what was intended for it: a decrease in production.
It’s time to hit the reset button and reevaluate how you approach your use of technology if you feel as though you spend your days flitting between tasks such as checking emails, instant chatting, and phone alerts rather than doing important work.
CHAPTER 16 – Technology Is a Wonderful Servant.
On the other side, technology has the potential to enhance both our lives and our level of productivity. Blocking websites, turning off notifications, and arranging time in your calendar are all good ways to protect the time you have available.
Because of this, you need to educate yourself about new technologies and become comfortable with them so that they may help you in doing more in less time.
CHAPTER 17 – Focus Your Attention.
Dopamine levels may be artificially boosted throughout the day by engaging in a variety of distractions, such as checking and responding to emails, chats, and direct messages.
You need to put all of your attention and effort towards swallowing that frog first thing in the morning and keep away of any distractions.
People are only able to concentrate on one thing at a time, hence they cannot multitask effectively. “Multitasking” is really just “task shifting,” which makes you work harder, get less done, and make more mistakes.
CHAPTER 18 – Slice and Dice the Task.
In this chapter, it is advised that when dealing with large, complex operations, we can deconstruct them into tiny, manageable chunks using one of two methods: Using the task-based method, map out the activity in detail, writing down all phases in sequence, and resolving to do one task at a time.
Time-based Method in which we set up a specified period of time and decide to work on only one activity during that time. When you work on a tiny task at a time, you will gain momentum toward your greater ambitions.
CHAPTER 19 – Create Large Chunks of Time.
Some of the most important things we do take long stretches of time to do. For this strategy to work, you have to make a promise to work on your big tasks at the times you set.
Success with this strategy depends on prioritizing activities and assigning each one a specific block of time in the timetable. Set yourself up with work appointments, and then force yourself to keep them.
A day-by-day, hour-by-hour, and minute-by-minute time planner can be the most useful tool for getting things done. During these times, you must stay away from anything that could distract you. In other words, the best plan is to make the most of every minute.
CHAPTER 20 – Develop a Sense of Urgency.
When you work consistently on high-value tasks, you get into a mental state called “flow,” which is the best state for human performance. This way of thinking makes you feel excited, happy, and full of energy, and it also makes you more creative, clear, and skilled.
This makes you more sensitive and aware, and it also sharpens your intuition to an amazing degree. Creating this ‘flow,’ which is akin to competing against oneself in a race, requires cultivating a sense of urgency.
It also gives you a “bias for action,” which makes you a person who acts and, in the end, makes the “Momentum Principle” work. This principle says that it may take a lot of energy to get going and overcome inertia, but then it takes much less energy to keep going.
Having a sense of urgency puts you on the fast track in your career right away. The faster you move, the more you’ll get done and the more you’ll like yourself, respect yourself, and be proud of yourself.
It is critical to cultivate a sense of urgency by taking action on what has to be done. Start working on your most vital activities right away to get into flow.
CHAPTER 21 – Single Handle Every Task.
Make it a habit to completely eat that frog, that is, the capacity to choose your most essential assignment, begin working on it, and focus on it until completion.
You must discipline yourself to continue working on eating that frog without interruption or distraction until the task is completed completely.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that the secret to maximizing your own productivity is to choose the most beneficial and significant activity that you could possibly undertake at any given moment, and then to “eat that frog.”
Most Important Keywords, Sentences, Quotes
CHAPTER 1 – Set the Table
“Your “frog” is your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it. It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment.”
“Your ability to select your most important task at each moment, and then to get started on that task and to get it done both quickly and well, will probably have more of an impact on.
CHAPTER 2 – Plan Every Day in Advance
“Your success in life and work will be determined by the kinds of habits you develop over time. Once something becomes a habit, it becomes automatic and easy to do.”
“All improvements in your outer life begin with improvements on the inside, in your mental pictures.”
CHAPTER 3 – Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything
“Before you begin work, always ask yourself, “Is this task in the top 20 percent of my activities or in the bottom 80 percent?”
CHAPTER 4 – Consider the Consequences
“The hardest part of any important task is getting started on it in the first place. Once you actually begin work on a valuable task, you seem to be naturally motivated to continue.”
CHAPTER 5 – Practice Creative Procrastination
“Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.”
CHAPTER 6 – Use the ABCDE Method Continually
“You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue lower-value activities.”
CHAPTER 7 – Focus on Key Result Areas
“You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue lower-value activities.”
“The law of Forced Efficiency says that “There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.”
CHAPTER 8 – Apply the Law of three.
“The only way to overcome your fears is to “do the thing you fear,” as Emerson wrote, “and the death of fear is certain.”
“What one skill, if I developed and did it in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my career?
CHAPTER 9 – Prepare Thoroughly Before You Begin.
“Anytime you stop striving to get better, you’re bound to get worse.”
“Before you begin scrambling up the ladder of success, make sure that it is leaning against the right building.”
CHAPTER 10 – Take it Out One Oil Barrel at a Time.
“The critical determinant of the quality of your relationships is the amount of time that you spend face-to-face with the people you love, and who love you in return.”
CHAPTER 11 – Upgrade your Key Skills.
“Get it 80 percent right and then correct it later.”
“Your ability to choose between the important and the unimportant is the key determinant of your success in life and work.”
CHAPTER 12 – Identify Your Key Constraints.
“An average plan vigorously executed is far better than a brilliant plan on which nothing is done.”
“You need three key qualities to develop the habits of focus and concentration, which are all learnable. They are decision, discipline, and determination.”
CHAPTER 13 – Put the Pressure on Yourself
“You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue lower-value activities.”
CHAPTER 14 – Maximize Your Personal Powers.
“There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants and a burning desire to achieve it.”
CHAPTER 15 – Technology Is a Terrible Master
“Thinking continually about the potential consequences of your choices, decisions, and behaviors is one of the very best ways to determine your true priorities in your work and personal life.”
CHAPTER 16 – Technology Is a Wonderful Servant.
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CHAPTER 17 – Focus Your Attention.
“The biggest enemies we have to overcome on the road to success are not lack of ability and lack of opportunity but fears of failure and rejection and the doubts that they trigger.”
CHAPTER 18 – Slice and Dice the Task.
“Before you begin scrambling up the ladder of success, make sure that it is leaning against the right building.”
CHAPTER 19 – Create Large Chunks of Time.
“Anytime you stop striving to get better, you’re bound to get worse.”
CHAPTER 20 – Develop a Sense of Urgency.
“For maximum productivity, ask…What are my highest value activities? … What is the most valuable use of my time now?” …Say no to anything that is not a high-value use of your time and your life.”
CHAPTER 21 – Single Handle Every Task.
“Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. The bigger your goals and the clearer they are, the more excited you become about achieving them. The more you think about your goals, the greater becomes your inner drive and desire to accomplish them.”
Book Review (Personal Opinion):
The advice that Brian Tracy offers is simple and direct, making it easy to put the ideas into practice and increase one’s productivity.
The phrase “Eat That Frog!” refers to the concept of tackling and finishing the most difficult and unpleasant task that you are likely to face on any given day.
If you handle whatever it is that has to be tackled first (the frog), do it first thing in the morning when you have the most energy and before anything else can divert your attention, then at the very least you can say that you accomplished something today.
When taken as a whole, this book provides the reader with the resources necessary to either completely change their life (if they are currently in a poor position) or take them to the next level (if they are already on their way).
It is not enough to simply get familiar with technologies that can increase your productivity; you must also determine what it is that you do most effectively and then make it a top priority to do that activity to the best of your abilities.
Rating: 8/10
This Book Is For:
- Anyone that is battling with procrastination or with taking the essential first steps towards getting the important things done.
- Anyone who is tired of wasting time on things that are not important.
- People who want to be more productive and want to improve their time management.
If You Want To Learn More
Here is a great overview that Brian Tracy makes in regards of this book and the methods used. Eat That Frog & The ABCDE Method
How I’ve Implemented The Ideas From The Book
The way the book is written makes it easy to use in different parts of your life and doesn’t make things too complicated. This book opened my eyes to the significance of doing the challenging jobs first and making sure to give my “ugly frogs” the highest priority.
When I work from task lists in this manner, I find that I am more driven to complete the chores on the list, which is one of the outcomes that I have previously noticed.
This provides me a sense of success, which makes me feel better about tackling the larger tasks first.
One Small Actionable Step You Can Do
What you can start doing is do a complete inventory of everything that is on your individual to-do list. If it helps, just concentrate on one part of your life when reviewing your list of potential frogs.
Write down the tasks you need to accomplish for work or in your spare time but never seem to find the time to complete. You may then start to go through this list in order to discover the jobs that are thought to be the most important.
If there is more than one frog, you should start by eating the largest one. Keep in mind that frogs have two primary characteristics: first, they are tasks that are important, but second, they are tasks that you may be most inclined to put off or avoid.
Use these two things to help you find the largest frog you can.
