Eat that frog!
21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
These are just my personal notes about the book "Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time" by Brian Tracy. Things that are important to me may not be as significant to you, and vice versa. If you are interested in the book, you can buy your copy here.
Introduction
Identify Your Frog: Focus on the task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results.
Prioritize: When faced with multiple tasks, start with the most important one. Discipline yourself to begin immediately and persist until it's complete before moving on to the next task. Resist the temptation to start with the easier task.
Develop the habit of tackling your most important task first, without overthinking it.
Completing important tasks provides immediate and continuous benefits, making you feel happy and accomplished.
Steps to Habit Formation:
Decide to develop the habit of task completion.
Discipline yourself to practice the principles repeatedly until they become automatic.
Back your actions with determination until the habit becomes a permanent part of your personality.
1 - Set the table
Clarity of goals: Decide exactly what you want to achieve in each area of your life. The clearer you are about your goals and the steps to achieve them, the easier it will be to overcome procrastination and complete tasks.
Steps to achieve your goals:
Decide: Determine exactly what you want.
Write it down: Give your goal tangible form by writing it down.
Set deadlines: Establish a deadline for your goal and sub-deadlines if necessary to prevent procrastination.
Make a list: List everything you need to do to achieve your goal. Update it as you think of new tasks.
Organize: Prioritize and sequence your list into a plan.
Take action: Start working on your plan immediately.
Daily progress: Resolve to do something every day that moves you toward your major goal. Never miss a day.
Daily review: Think about your goals and review them daily.
2 - Plan every day in advance
Breaking down tasks: Tackle your biggest tasks by breaking them down into specific, step-by-step activities, and then start with the first one.
Work from a list:
Always work from a list. Add new tasks to the list before doing them.
Prepare your list the night before for the next workday.
Transfer unfinished tasks to the next day's list and add any new tasks.
You should have different lists:
Master list: Write down everything you want to do in the future. This list captures all ideas and new responsibilities.
Monthly list: Create at the end of each month for the upcoming month, including items from the master list.
Weekly list: Plan your entire week in advance.
Daily list: Transfer items from your monthly and weekly lists to your daily list, detailing specific activities for the next day.
Tracking progress: Tick off items as you complete them to create a visual picture of accomplishment. This process generates a feeling of success and forward motion.
Project planning:
For any project, list every step needed to complete it from start to finish.
Organize steps by priority (most important tasks) and sequence (order of completion).
3 - Apply the 80/20 rule to everything
20 percent of your tasks will account for 80 percent of the value of what you do. Focus on this principle when selecting your key goals, activities, projects, and responsibilities.
4 - Consider the consequences
Long-term thinking: Long-term thinking improves short-term decision making. Successful people have a clear future orientation, thinking five, ten, or twenty years ahead. They ensure their present choices and behaviors align with their desired long-term future.
A clear idea of long-term importance aids in making better short-term decisions about priorities.
Evaluate tasks based on their long-term potential consequences. Ask, "What are the potential consequences of doing or not doing this task?"
Successful people delay gratification and make short-term sacrifices for greater long-term rewards.
Prioritize tasks with large potential positive or negative consequences and start on them immediately.
Determining priorities: Continuously think about the potential consequences of your choices, decisions, and behaviors to determine your true priorities in work and personal life.
Time management:
Plan your time carefully in advance and include a buffer for unexpected delays. Add at least 20% more time than you think a task will take.
Aim to complete tasks well before deadlines to stay relaxed and perform better.
High-value activities:
Always ask yourself, "What are my highest-value activities?" Focus on the biggest tasks that contribute most to your organization, family, or life.
Do first things first and second things not at all. Prioritize what matters most over what matters least.
5 - Practice creative procrastination
Say no to low-value tasks: Say no to anything that is not a high-value use of your time. Creative procrastination means thoughtfully deciding which tasks you will not do right now, or ever. Delegate or eliminate tasks that don't contribute significantly to your life.
Avoid unconscious procrastination: Most people unconsciously procrastinate on important tasks with significant long-term consequences. Avoid this tendency by being mindful of what you procrastinate on.
Ongoing review: Continually review your duties and responsibilities to identify time-consuming tasks you can abandon without real loss. This should be an ongoing responsibility.
Optimize your time:
In your free time, reduce time spent on low-value activities like television watching and internet surfing and spend more time on activities that enhance the quality of your life, such as spending time with family, reading, or exercising.
Identify work tasks that can be delegated or eliminated to focus more on high-value activities.
6 - Use the ABCDE method continually
The ABCDE method:
Start with a list of everything you need to do for the day. Think on paper.
Assign an A, B, C, D, or E to each item on your list:
A: Very important tasks with serious positive or negative consequences if done or not done. Prioritize multiple A tasks as A-1, A-2, etc. Your A-1 task is your biggest one.
B: Should do tasks with mild consequences. Never do a B task if an A task is left undone.
C: Nice to do tasks with no consequences.
D: Delegate tasks. Delegate everything that someone else can do.
E: Eliminate tasks. Tasks that won't make any real difference if not done.
Key to success: Discipline yourself to start immediately on your A-1 task and stay at it until it is complete.
7 - Focus on key result areas
Identify key result areas:
The starting point for high performance is identifying the key result areas of your work.
Grade yourself on a scale of one to ten in each area.
Overcoming procrastination:
Procrastination often occurs in areas where you have performed poorly in the past.
Instead of avoiding these areas, set goals and make plans to improve.
Improving in a particular skill area increases motivation and reduces procrastination.
Key question for career growth: Ask yourself: "What one skill, if I developed and did it excellently, would have the greatest positive impact on my career?" Use this question to guide your career development continually.
8 - Apply the law of three
Identify core tasks: Three core tasks usually contain most of the value you contribute to your business or organization. Accurately identify these three key tasks and focus on them most of the time. Delegate, downsize, outsource, or eliminate other tasks.
Set goals in key areas:
Ask yourself about your three most important goals in various areas:
Business or career goals
Family or relationship goals
Financial goals
Health goals
Personal and professional development goals
Social and community goals
Biggest problems and concerns
Balance work and life: At work is quality time what counts, with family is quantity. Resolve to work diligently when at work. Avoid wasting time in idle chitchat with coworkers, put your head down and work the whole time. Time wasted at work often reduces the time you have for your family.
9 - Prepare thoroughly before you begin
Create a productive workspace: Productive people create a work area where they enjoy spending time. Organize your work area to be clean and neat before you begin.
Start and maintain momentum: After preparing your work area, pick up your first item and start working. Once you start, keep going until the job is finished.
10 - Take it one oil barrel at a time
Focus on one action: overcome procrastination by focusing on a single action you can take, rather than the huge task ahead. Accomplish big tasks by disciplining yourself to take it one step at a time.
Faith and confidence: step out in faith with the confidence that your next step will become clear.
Action steps:
Select a goal, task, or project you've been procrastinating on.
Make a list of all the steps needed to complete it.
Take just one step immediately.
11 - Upgrade your key skills
Importance of skill upgradation: Continuously upgrade your skills to enhance personal productivity. Learn what you need to excel in your work.
Overcome procrastination: Procrastination often stems from feelings of inadequacy, lack of confidence, or inability in a key task area. Improve your skills in key result areas to boost confidence and reduce procrastination.
Lifelong learning:
Your current knowledge and skills are rapidly becoming obsolete. Refuse to let weaknesses hold you back.
Everything is learnable. What others have learned, you can learn too.
Continuous education:
Read in your field for at least one hour daily.
Take every available course and seminar on key skills.
Listen to audio programs in your car, turning driving time into learning time.
12 - Identify your key constraints
Focus on key factors: In every task, a single factor sets the speed at which you achieve the goal or complete the job. Concentrate your mental energies on this key area for maximum productivity.
Identify the limiting factor: This constraint could be a person, a required resource, an organizational weakness, or something else. It's your job to find and address the limiting factor. Correctly identifying the limiting factor can lead to significant progress in a shorter period. Misidentifying the constraint can result in solving the wrong problem.
Strategic approach: The definition of the constraint determines the strategy to alleviate it. Always ask yourself, "Why haven't I reached my goal already?" Find the answer and take immediate action.
13 - Put the pressure on yourself
Self-supervision: Only about 2 percent of people can work entirely without supervision; these people are leaders. Aspire to be this kind of person by deciding to be self-driven.
Self-imposed pressure: Form the habit of putting pressure on yourself instead of waiting for someone else to do it. Choose your own tasks and tackle them in their order of importance. Successful people continuously put pressure on themselves to perform at high levels. Unsuccessful people need external pressure and instruction.
Role model mindset: See yourself as a role model and raise your own standards. Set higher standards for your work and behavior than anyone else would.
Going the extra mile: Always look for ways to go the extra mile and do more than you are paid for. Your reputation with yourself is built or diminished by your actions.
Self-motivation: Feel better about yourself when you push to do your best. Overcome procrastination by working as if you had only one day to complete your most important tasks.
Set deadlines: Set deadlines and sub-deadlines for every task and activity.
14 - Motivate yourself into action
Self-coaching: Develop a routine of coaching and encouraging yourself to perform at your best. Your interpretation of events determines your feelings, not the events themselves.
Stay motivated with optimism: Resolve to become a complete optimist. Respond positively to people and situations, and don't let difficulties affect your mood or emotions. Optimism is crucial for personal and professional success and happiness. Optimists are more effective in almost every area of life, they look for the good in every situation, seek valuable lessons in setbacks, find solutions to problems.
Self-esteem and motivation: Your self-esteem, or how much you like and respect yourself, is central to your motivation and persistence.
Control your thoughts:
Think about what you want rather than what you don't want.
Keep your mind positive by taking complete responsibility for yourself and everything that happens to you.
Avoid criticizing, complaining, or blaming others. Focus on making progress rather than excuses.
15 - Technology is a terrible master
Control your relationship with technology: Technology becomes the enemy when we feel an obsessive need to use it continually, leaving no time to stop and collect our thoughts. Keep your relationship with technology under control to avoid being overwhelmed.
Regular detachment: To stay calm, clearheaded, and perform at your best, regularly detach from overwhelming technology.
16 - Technology is a wonderful servant
Prioritize with technology: Use technological tools to remind yourself of what is most important and protect yourself from distractions.
Control communication channels: Keep only necessary communication channels open to complete your tasks. Disable all smartphone notifications and check your phone on your schedule.
Evaluate invitations: Don’t automatically accept digital invitations. Ensure they fit your priorities before accepting.
Time management with calendar: Schedule large blocks of time for task completion in your calendar, treating them as appointments. Be aggressive with time blocking to show minimal free time, motivating others to schedule shorter meetings.
17 - Focus your attention
Importance of focused attention: Focused attention is crucial for high performance. Continuously responding to emails, calls, texts, and instant messages shortens your attention span and hinders task completion.
Manage device usage:
Leave your devices off whenever possible.
If you must check email, do it quickly and return to work immediately, but try to check emails and instant messages only at predetermined times, not whenever you get a notification.
During meetings, turn off other devices and give 100 percent attention to the people you are meeting with. Avoid using laptops or phones during meetings to show respect and focus.
A plan to boost productivity:
Plan each day in advance.
Select your most important task, and start on it first.
Work nonstop for ninety minutes without distraction, then take a fifteen-minute break.
Repeat with another ninety-minute work session.
After three hours of focused work, reward yourself with a brief break (checking email, instant messages, internet surfing).
Completing three hours of important work each morning can double your productivity. This practice helps break the habit of constantly checking email, phone, or browsing the web.
18 - Slice and dice the task
Break down the tasks: Big, important tasks often appear daunting, leading to procrastination. Break down the task in detail, writing every step in order.
Focus on small steps: Resolve to do just one small part of the job at a time. Psychologically, it’s easier to handle a small piece of a large project than to start the whole job.
Sense of completion: Starting and completing any task makes you feel happier and more powerful. Completing tasks satisfies a subconscious need for finality, motivating you to start the next task. Each small step forward energizes you and develops an inner drive to continue until the task is fully completed.
19 - Create large chunks of time
Advance planning: Plan your day in advance and schedule fixed time periods for specific activities or tasks. Make work appointments with yourself and discipline yourself to keep them. Set aside 30-, 60-, and 90-minute time segments to work on and complete important tasks.
Eliminate distractions: Work nonstop during these dedicated time periods, turn off the telephone and eliminate all distractions.
20 - Develop a sense of urgency
Action orientation: High-performing individuals are action-oriented and eager to complete key tasks. They think, plan, and set priorities, then quickly and strongly launch toward their goals.
Triggering flow: Consistent effort can lead to a mental state called flow, where work feels effortless and highly productive. Develop a sense of urgency to trigger the flow state. This inner drive pushes you to start tasks quickly and complete them fast.
Overcoming inertia: Initial effort to start a task may require significant energy, but it takes less energy to keep going. Use the simple but powerful mantra "Do it now! Do it now! Do it now!" to get yourself started.
21 - Single handle every task
Single handling: Select your most important task, begin it, and concentrate on it until it is complete for high levels of performance and productivity. Concentrate single-mindedly on your most important task and work on the task without diversion or distraction until it is 100 percent complete.
Avoiding task switching: Continually starting and stopping a task requires re-familiarizing yourself each time, overcoming inertia, and developing momentum again. Persisting without stopping helps maintain energy, enthusiasm, and motivation.
Conclusion
The key to happiness, satisfaction, great success and a wonderful feeling of personal power and effectiveness is for you to develop the habit of eating your frog first thing every day when you start work.
☺ My rating: ★★★★★