Eat That Frog!

The frog and the two rules

Brian Tracy builds the book around a saying often credited to Mark Twain: if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day. In Tracy's terms, your frog is your biggest, most important task. It is usually the one you are most likely to put off. It is also the one that can have the greatest positive effect on your life right now.

He adds two rules:

• If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first. In other words, start with the hardest and most important task.
• If you have to eat a live frog, it does not pay to sit and look at it for long. Do not wait. Start.

The book is short. It has 21 brief chapters, and each one gives one method to stop procrastinating and get more of the right work done. Tracy's central claim is that success depends on the habit of picking your most important task, starting it at once and staying with it until it is complete. He argues that this habit can be learned through practice, like any other skill.

The chapters group into a few themes: setting goals and planning, choosing priorities, preparing and building skills, motivating yourself and managing technology, and focusing to finish.

Set goals and plan in advance

Tracy says clarity is the most important concept in personal productivity. Many people procrastinate because they are not sure what they want or which task matters most.

He gives a seven-step method for setting and reaching goals:

1. Decide exactly what you want.
2. Write it down.
3. Set a deadline.
4. List everything you need to do to achieve it.
5. Organize the list into a plan by priority and sequence.
6. Take action on your plan right away.
7. Do something every day that moves you toward your major goal.

Planning comes next. Tracy argues that each minute you spend planning saves several minutes in execution. He describes the 10/90 rule: the first 10 percent of time you spend planning and organizing saves you up to 90 percent of the time needed to do the work. He recommends several layers of lists: a master list of everything you want to do, a monthly list, a weekly list and a daily list. Make the daily list the night before, so your subconscious mind works on it while you sleep.

Choose your priorities

Most of the book is about deciding what to do first, and what not to do at all.

Apply the 80/20 rule to everything. Tracy applies the Pareto principle to tasks: 20 percent of your activities produce 80 percent of your results. On a list of ten items, two are often worth more than the other eight combined. Those two are your frogs. He notes that people often do the easy, low-value tasks first because they feel productive.

Consider the consequences. Tracy draws on the work of sociologist Edward Banfield, who found that people with a long-time perspective tend to move up in society. They think about how today's choices affect their future. A task is important if doing it, or not doing it, has serious long-term consequences. He offers a few guiding questions, such as "What are my highest-value activities?" and "What can I, and only I, do that, if done well, will make a real difference?"

Practice creative procrastination. You cannot do everything, so you must choose what to put off. Tracy recommends that you deliberately delay low-value tasks. Ask what you would stop doing if you were starting again today. This frees time for your frogs.

Use the ABCDE method. Before you start, label each item on your list:

• A: must do. Serious consequences if you skip it. If you have several, rank them A-1, A-2 and so on. A-1 is your biggest frog.
• B: should do. Mild consequences.
• C: nice to do. No real consequences.
• D: delegate to someone else.
• E: eliminate entirely.

The rule is simple: never do a B task while an A task is still undone.

Focus on key result areas. Every job has a small number of key result areas, often five to seven, where you must perform well to succeed. Tracy suggests you list yours, grade yourself on each and work on the weakest one, because your weakest key skill sets the limit on your overall results.

Apply the Law of Three. Tracy describes an exercise he uses with clients. List everything you do in a month. Then ask: if you could do only one task all day, which would add the most value? Then ask for a second and a third. Those three tasks, he argues, usually account for most of your contribution. Focus your time on them.

Prepare and build your skills

Prepare thoroughly before you begin. Gather everything you need before you start: papers, information, tools and supplies. Clean your workspace. A tidy, ready setup removes excuses and makes it easier to begin.

Take it one oil barrel at a time. Tracy tells of crossing the Sahara Desert. The route across a long empty stretch was marked by oil barrels placed at regular distances. The travelers could always see the next barrel, even if they could not see the end. The lesson: you do not need to see the whole path. Just take the next step, then the next.

Upgrade your key skills. A major cause of procrastination is a feeling of inadequacy in one area of a task. The more skilled you become at your key tasks, the faster you start and finish them. Tracy recommends that you read in your field, take courses and listen to educational audio in the car.

Leverage your special talents. Identify what you do well and enjoy, and what others find hard. Focus on tasks that use those strengths.

Identify your key constraints. Between you and any goal, there is a limiting factor. Tracy suggests that about 80 percent of constraints are internal, such as a missing skill or habit, and only 20 percent are external. Find the main constraint and focus on removing it.

Motivate yourself and manage technology

Put the pressure on yourself. Do not wait for someone else to push you. Tracy suggests that you imagine you must leave town for a month tomorrow and must finish your key tasks before you go. Set your own deadlines and standards, and hold yourself to them.

Maximize your personal powers. Your energy is limited. Notice when you are most alert and do your frogs then. Tracy advises enough sleep, regular exercise and good food. He also recommends regular full days off with no work at all.

Motivate yourself into action. Be your own cheerleader. Tracy urges you to control your inner dialogue and stay optimistic. He suggests you look for the good in each situation, seek the lesson in setbacks and focus on solutions rather than problems.

Technology is a terrible master and a wonderful servant. Tracy argues that constant connection to email and devices drains your time and focus. He recommends regular digital detox, turning off notifications and checking email only at set times. Used on purpose, though, technology can help you plan, organize and protect your attention.

Focus and finish

Focus your attention. Multitasking, in Tracy's view, is really task shifting. Each switch costs time and focus. Work on one thing at a time.

Slice and dice the task. Big tasks feel overwhelming. Tracy offers two methods. The salami slice method breaks a task into thin, detailed steps and asks you to do just one slice. The Swiss cheese method asks you to punch a hole in the task by working on it for a set period, such as five or ten minutes. Once you start, it is easier to keep going.

Create large chunks of time. Many important tasks need long blocks of uninterrupted time. Tracy suggests that you schedule these blocks in advance, for example 60 to 90 minutes early in the day, and treat them as fixed appointments. He also suggests that you use small gaps, such as travel time, for reading or planning.

Develop a sense of urgency. Top performers take action rather than just talking or planning. Tracy calls the state of energized, fast progress flow, and says a habit of moving quickly on key tasks helps you reach it. He suggests the motto "Do it now!"

Single handle every task. Once you start your frog, stay with it until it is 100 percent complete. Each time you stop and restart, you lose time and momentum. Tracy argues that finishing a big task also gives you a burst of energy and self-esteem, which reinforces the habit.

What the critics say

Some readers find the book repetitive, with many ideas restated across short chapters. Others note that it offers few sources for its claims, such as the 10/90 rule and the 80/20 split, which work better as rules of thumb than as measured facts.

Who should read it

This book suits people who procrastinate on big tasks or feel buried under long to-do lists. It is quick to read and works best as a practical checklist you return to.