Eat that Frog! By Brian Tracy

1. Eat that Frog!ByBrian Tracy Presented by Mary T. Castañuela

2. Time • We all are overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time. • New tasks and responsibilities just keep coming in. • Therefore, we will never be able to do everything we have to do….. So what do we do?!?!

3. Key to Success • Select the most important task at each moment. • Get started on the task and get it done quickly. This is your frog!

4. Your Frog • The BIGGEST and MOST IMPORTANT TASK • The one you are most likely to procrastinate on….you don’t want to do it! • It is also the one that can have the greatest impact on your career.

5. Eat Your Frog! If you have to eat a live frog, it doesn’t pay to sit and look at it for very long.

6. Three Key Qualities for Efficiency • Decision • Make the decision to develop the habit of task completion. • Discipline • Discipline yourself to practice the principles until you master them. • Determination • Be determined to lock in the habit and make it a permanent part of your personality.

7. Principle #1Set the Table What are your goals and objectives? • Clarity is the most important concept in personal productivity. • Only about 3% of adults have clear, written goals.

8. Before you begin scrambling up the ladder of success, make sure that it is leaning against the right building.

9. Think on Paper – 7 Steps • 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 the goal. • Organize the list into plan. • Take action on your plan immediately. • Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal.

10. Principle #2Plan Every Day in Advance Planning is bringing the future into the present so you can do something about it now. So how do you eat your biggest, ugliest frog?

11. Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance • Make a list of everything you have to do in the next 24 hours. • Add to it as new items come up. • Lay out your goals, projects or tasks by priority and by sequence. • Start with the end in mind and work backward.

12. Principle #3Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything • Pareto Principle • 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results • 20% of your tasks will account for 80% of the value of what you do, and so on In other words, if you have 10 items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth as much or more than the other eight items put together.

13. Principle #4Consider the Consequences What are the potential consequences of doing or not doing this task? • If there is a task with large potential positive consequences, make it a top priority. • If there is a task with large potential negative consequences, make it a top priority.

14. Principle #5Practice the ABCDE Method Continually • A – Very Important (Major Consequence) – Your FROG • B – Should Do (Tadpoles) • C – Nice to Do • D – Delegate • E - Eliminate

15. Principle #6Focus on Key Result Areas • Identify the key result areas of your work. • Give yourself a grade of 1-10 on each one. • Determine the one key skill that, if you did it in an excellent manner, would help you the most in your work. • Never stop improving.

16. Principle #7Obey the Law of Forced Efficiency There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.

17. Three Questions to Stay Focused • What are my highest value activities? • What can I and only I do, that if done well, will make a real difference? • What is the most valuable use of my time, right now?

18. Principle #8Prepare Thoroughly Before You Begin • Clear off your desk or workspace so that you only have one task in front of you. • Gather everything you need to complete the task. • Make your work area comfortable, attractive and conducive to working for long periods.

19. Principle #9Do Your Homework If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. • Learn what you need to learn so that you can do your work in an excellent fashion. • Personal and professional improvement is one of the best time savers there is.

20. Principle #10Leverage Your Special Talents • Take stock of your unique talents and abilities on a regular basis. • You cannot do everything but you can do those few things in which you excel, the few things that can really make a difference.

21. Principle #11Identify Your Key Constraints • There is always a limiting factor that determines how quickly and well you get your task done. • The 80/20 Rule applies to the constraints in your life and in your work. • 80% of the constraints are internal while 20% of the limiting factors are external. • Often a key constraint or limiting factor is the most important frog you could eat at that moment.

22. Principle #12Take It One Oil Barrel at a Time A journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step. Focus on a single action that you can take.

23. Principle #13Put the Pressure on Yourself • You must choose your own frogs and then make yourself eat them in order of importance. • The standards you set for your own work and behavior should be higher that anyone else could set for you.

24. Principle #14Maximize Your Personal Powers • One of the most important requirements for being happy and productive is for you to guard and nurture your energy levels at all times. • When you are fully rested, you can get two times, three times and fives times as much done as when you are tired out.

25. Principle #15Motivate Yourself Into Action • Become your own personal cheerleader. • Fully 95% of your emotions, positive or negative, are determined by how you talk to yourself on a minute to minute basis. • You must determine to respond positively to the words, actions and reactions of the people and situations around you.

26. Principle #16Practice Creative Procrastination Deliberately procrastinate on those tasks that are of low value so that you have more time for those tasks that can really make a difference in your life and work.

27. Principle #17Do the Most Difficult Task First Eat your frog for breakfast! Starting with your most difficult job gives you a jump start on the day. You’ll be more energized and productive from then on.

28. Principle #18Slice and Dice the Task • Take a large, complex, multi-task job that you’ve been putting off and either: • Salami slice itor • Swiss cheese it

29. Principle #19Create Large Chunks of Time • Plan your day in advance. • Specifically schedule a fixed time period for a particular activity or task. • Keep focused on the important results for which you are responsible.

30. Principle #20Develop a Sense of Urgency • When you work on high value tasks at a high and continuous level of activity, you can actually enter into an amazing mental state called “flow.” • One of the ways you can trigger this state of flow is by developing a “sense of urgency.” • A sense of urgency shifts you automatically onto the fast track in your career.

31. Principle #21Single Handle Every Task • By concentrating single mindedly on your most important task, you can reduce the time required to complete it by 50% or more. • Discipline yourself to persevere without diversion or distraction until it is 100% complete. • Refuse to stop until the job is finished.

32. Eat that frog! • Practice these principles every day until they become second nature to you. • With these habits of personal management as a permanent part of your personality, your future will be unlimited!