Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

Brian Tracy gives simple and easily acted-upon suggestions for stream lining and maximizing your productivity. The title itself, Eat That Frog!, refers to completing the biggest, ugliest task you may have on your plate on any given day. If you do whatever that is first (the frog), in the morning when you're at your most energetic and before anything else distracts you, then at least you can say you got something done today. Most everything else will seem almost easy by comparison... at least, that's the theory.

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

His chapter summaries on conclusion are a good resource to review. It says, 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.

Fortunately, this is a learnable skill that you can acquire through repetition. And when you develop the habit of starting on your most important task before anything else, your success is assured.

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 your future will be guranteed.


1. Set the table: Decide what you want. Clarity is essential. Write out your goals and objectives before you begin.
2. Plan the day in advance: Think on paper. Every minute you spend in planning can save time in execution.
3. Apply the 80/20 rule: 20% of activity produces 80% of the results: Concentrate effort on top 20%
4. Consider the consequences: of your 20% activities
5. Practice creative procrastination: put off things of low value
6. Use the A B C D E Method continually: prioritize
7. Focus on key result areas: concentrate on results you HAVE to have - ASK - What one skill, if I developed and did it in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on career?
8. The Law of Three: Identify and focus on the top three before anything else
9. Prepare thoroughly before you begin: get set up to get things done
10. Take it one oil barrel at a time: do it one step at a time
11. Upgrade your key skills: sharpen your sword to do more and better
12. Leverage your special talents:do things you are good at wholeheartedly
13. Identify your key constraints: get rid of bottlenecks, choke points
14. Put pressure on yourself: think like you are on vacation tomorrow
15. Maximize your personal power: work hard at your best times of day
16. Motivate yourself into action: look at the positive now and move on
17. Get out of tech sinks: tech stuff can be time killers
18. Slice and dice the task: break it down, do one piece. Use 'salami slice' or 'Swiss Cheese' technique into action. Don't delay! Try today.
19. Create large chunks of time: to focus on certain things
20. Develop sense of urgency: move fast on key tasks
21. Single handle every task: start and fully complete most imp't task

The Three Ds of New Habit Formation: Decision, Discipline and Determination.

To stop Procrastinating, make a decision to develop the habit of task completion. Discipline yourself to practice the principles learned until they become automatic. Back everything with determination, until the habit is locked in and become a permanent part of Personality.

Time Management is really life management, personal management. It is realy taking control of the sequence of events. Time Management is taking control over what you do next. And you are always free to choose the task that you will do next. Your ability to choose between the important and the unimportant is the key determinant of your success in life and work. Effective, productive people discipline themselves to start on the most important task that is before them.