I have started taking notes on really important books lately so I can easily go back and reference certain ideas or as a nice and quick refresher. "Eat That Frog" is one of those books that once you pick up you will not want to put it down. I truly believe that reading this book and Getting Things Done will make you accomplish more things in one day that others accomplish is seven.
Since I am posting this I added some of my thoughts which hopefully will help the reader out. Scroll all the way to the bottom if you just want to read the summary.
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
Introduction
Each morning eat a live frog. You can go through the day knowing that you just did the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day.
If you have two important tasks before you, start with the biggest, hardest and most important task first. Discipline yourself to begin immediately and then to persist until the task is complete before you go on to something else.
Think of it as a test. Treat it like a personal challenge. Resist the temptation to start with the easier task.
If you have to eat a live frog it doesn't pay to sit and look at it for very long.
Productivity and high levels of performance is developing the habit of tackling your major task first each morning without taking too much time to think about it.
Keep practicing until it becomes habitual and then part of your subconscious.
Three key qualities to develop the habit of focus and concentration. They are decision, discipline and determination.
Make a decision to develop a habit. Discipline yourself to practice the principles until you master them. Back everything you do with determination until the habit becomes part of your personality.
Accelerate your progress by continually thinking about the rewards and benefits of what you are trying to accomplish.
Your mental picture of yourself has a powerful effect on your behavior. Visualize yourself as the person you intend to be in the future.
“The person you see is the person you will be” - Jim Cathcart
Eat that Frog!
Chapter 1 – Set the Table
“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” - Napoleon Hill
Clarity is the most important concept in personal productivity. Be absolutely clear about your goals and object and do not deviate from them.
Rule for success: Think on paper
7 Steps for setting and achieving goals
Decide exactly what you want
Write it down
Set a deadline on your goal
Make a list of everything that you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal
Organize the list into a plan (by priority and sequence) (Niko's note: Mind Mapping is a useful tool for this)
Take action on your plan immediately
Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal
An average plan vigorously executed is far better than a brilliant plan on which nothing is done.
Keep pushing forward. Once you start moving, keep moving. Don't stop. This decision, this discipline alone, can make you one of the most productive and successful people.
Think about your goals and review them daily.
Exercise: Take a sheet of paper and write down a list of ten goals you want to accomplish next year. Write them as though the year has already passed and they are now a reality. Then go back to your list of ten goals and select the goal that would have the greatest positive impact on your life. Write that goal on a separate sheet, set a deadline, make a plan, take action on your plan and then do something every single day that moves you toward that goal.
Chapter 2 – Plan Every Day in Advance
“Planning is bringing the future into the present so you can do something about it now” - Alan Lakein
How do you eat the biggest, ugliest frog? You break it down into specific step by step activities and then you start on the first one. (Niko's note: Getting Things Done by David Allen is a great book for creating actions, I highly recommend that book, I believe GTD and Eat That Frog principles combined will change your entire life because they are both very effective books and tend to complement each other)
One of your top goals should be to get the highest possible return on your investment of mental, emotional and physical energy.
Always work from a list. When something new comes up, add it to the list before you do it.
Make out your list the night before. Move everything you have not accomplish onto your list for the next coming day. (Niko's note: GTDify - Getting Things Done! is a great tool for creating a list of actions)
Create a master list to write down everything that needs to be done some time in the future.
Create a monthly list at the end of the month for the month ahead that may contain items transferred from your master list.
Create a weekly list where you plan your entire week in advance. This list should be under construction as you go through the current week.
Create a daily list. These are the specific activities that you are going to accomplish that day.
When you have a project of any kind, begin by making a list of every step that you will have to complete to finish the project from beginning to end. Organize the project by priority and sequence.
10/90 rule: The first 10% of time that you spend planning and organizing your work before you begin, will save you as much as 90% of the time in getting the job done once you get started.
(Niko's thoughts: I have been a huge Getting Things Done guy if you have not noticed already. I find it very interesting that there is a radical difference between GTD and EtF. GTD is all about thinking about your next action, while EtF is about planning your entire project from the beginning.
One of the problems I have with GTD at times is that I complete an action, then have to think about what needs to be done next. I am guessing with EtF that problem is eliminated. GTD though has one thing working for it, its very dynamic, since working on just one action instead of a series of actions allows you to change priorities quickly. In extremely complex work environments being dynamic in your action plan is a tremendous asset.
However I feel that in less dynamic environments EtF planning procedure comes out on top. I sense that this is highly dependent on the kind of work you do. Perhaps the best solution is combine the two ideas. Create an overall plan of attack for your projects but be fluent enough to realize that unexpected situations will come up. So plan your actions and prioritize them, then go after them action by action is probably the most effective way to combine both ideas.)
Exercise: Begin today to plan every day, week and month in advance. Write down everything you have to do in the next 24 hours. Add to it as new items come up. Make a list of all your projects and multi-task jobs that are important to your future.
Prioritize all your major goals, projects and tasks and by sequence. Start with the end in mind and work backwards.
Chapter 3 – Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything
The Pareto Principle: 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results
If you have a list of ten items to do, two of those will turn out to be worth much more than the other eight put together. Those two items are your frog.
Refuse to work in the bottom 80% while you still have tasks in the top 20% left to be done.
Resist the temptation to clear up small things first.
Time management is really life management, personal management. It taking control over the sequence of events.
Exercise: Make a list of all the key goals, activities, projects and responsibilities in your life today. Which ones are top 10-20%? Which ones are 80%? Resolve today that you are going to spend more and more time working in the areas that can really make a difference in your life and career and less and less time on lower value activities.
Since I am posting this I added some of my thoughts which hopefully will help the reader out. Scroll all the way to the bottom if you just want to read the summary.
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
Introduction
Each morning eat a live frog. You can go through the day knowing that you just did the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day.
If you have two important tasks before you, start with the biggest, hardest and most important task first. Discipline yourself to begin immediately and then to persist until the task is complete before you go on to something else.
Think of it as a test. Treat it like a personal challenge. Resist the temptation to start with the easier task.
If you have to eat a live frog it doesn't pay to sit and look at it for very long.
Productivity and high levels of performance is developing the habit of tackling your major task first each morning without taking too much time to think about it.
Keep practicing until it becomes habitual and then part of your subconscious.
Three key qualities to develop the habit of focus and concentration. They are decision, discipline and determination.
Make a decision to develop a habit. Discipline yourself to practice the principles until you master them. Back everything you do with determination until the habit becomes part of your personality.
Accelerate your progress by continually thinking about the rewards and benefits of what you are trying to accomplish.
Your mental picture of yourself has a powerful effect on your behavior. Visualize yourself as the person you intend to be in the future.
“The person you see is the person you will be” - Jim Cathcart
Eat that Frog!
Chapter 1 – Set the Table
“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” - Napoleon Hill
Clarity is the most important concept in personal productivity. Be absolutely clear about your goals and object and do not deviate from them.
Rule for success: Think on paper
7 Steps for setting and achieving goals
Decide exactly what you want
Write it down
Set a deadline on your goal
Make a list of everything that you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal
Organize the list into a plan (by priority and sequence) (Niko's note: Mind Mapping is a useful tool for this)
Take action on your plan immediately
Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal
An average plan vigorously executed is far better than a brilliant plan on which nothing is done.
Keep pushing forward. Once you start moving, keep moving. Don't stop. This decision, this discipline alone, can make you one of the most productive and successful people.
Think about your goals and review them daily.
Exercise: Take a sheet of paper and write down a list of ten goals you want to accomplish next year. Write them as though the year has already passed and they are now a reality. Then go back to your list of ten goals and select the goal that would have the greatest positive impact on your life. Write that goal on a separate sheet, set a deadline, make a plan, take action on your plan and then do something every single day that moves you toward that goal.
Chapter 2 – Plan Every Day in Advance
“Planning is bringing the future into the present so you can do something about it now” - Alan Lakein
How do you eat the biggest, ugliest frog? You break it down into specific step by step activities and then you start on the first one. (Niko's note: Getting Things Done by David Allen is a great book for creating actions, I highly recommend that book, I believe GTD and Eat That Frog principles combined will change your entire life because they are both very effective books and tend to complement each other)
One of your top goals should be to get the highest possible return on your investment of mental, emotional and physical energy.
Always work from a list. When something new comes up, add it to the list before you do it.
Make out your list the night before. Move everything you have not accomplish onto your list for the next coming day. (Niko's note: GTDify - Getting Things Done! is a great tool for creating a list of actions)
Create a master list to write down everything that needs to be done some time in the future.
Create a monthly list at the end of the month for the month ahead that may contain items transferred from your master list.
Create a weekly list where you plan your entire week in advance. This list should be under construction as you go through the current week.
Create a daily list. These are the specific activities that you are going to accomplish that day.
When you have a project of any kind, begin by making a list of every step that you will have to complete to finish the project from beginning to end. Organize the project by priority and sequence.
10/90 rule: The first 10% of time that you spend planning and organizing your work before you begin, will save you as much as 90% of the time in getting the job done once you get started.
(Niko's thoughts: I have been a huge Getting Things Done guy if you have not noticed already. I find it very interesting that there is a radical difference between GTD and EtF. GTD is all about thinking about your next action, while EtF is about planning your entire project from the beginning.
One of the problems I have with GTD at times is that I complete an action, then have to think about what needs to be done next. I am guessing with EtF that problem is eliminated. GTD though has one thing working for it, its very dynamic, since working on just one action instead of a series of actions allows you to change priorities quickly. In extremely complex work environments being dynamic in your action plan is a tremendous asset.
However I feel that in less dynamic environments EtF planning procedure comes out on top. I sense that this is highly dependent on the kind of work you do. Perhaps the best solution is combine the two ideas. Create an overall plan of attack for your projects but be fluent enough to realize that unexpected situations will come up. So plan your actions and prioritize them, then go after them action by action is probably the most effective way to combine both ideas.)
Exercise: Begin today to plan every day, week and month in advance. Write down everything you have to do in the next 24 hours. Add to it as new items come up. Make a list of all your projects and multi-task jobs that are important to your future.
Prioritize all your major goals, projects and tasks and by sequence. Start with the end in mind and work backwards.
Chapter 3 – Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything
The Pareto Principle: 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results
If you have a list of ten items to do, two of those will turn out to be worth much more than the other eight put together. Those two items are your frog.
Refuse to work in the bottom 80% while you still have tasks in the top 20% left to be done.
Resist the temptation to clear up small things first.
Time management is really life management, personal management. It taking control over the sequence of events.
Exercise: Make a list of all the key goals, activities, projects and responsibilities in your life today. Which ones are top 10-20%? Which ones are 80%? Resolve today that you are going to spend more and more time working in the areas that can really make a difference in your life and career and less and less time on lower value activities.
