G et M oti v ated S emina r s P r esents
v o lu m e 7 5 , n u m be r 1 5 5
Fo r Le a d e r s and A c h i e v e r s W h o Wa n t
Eat that Frog!
By Brian Tracy
INTRO D U CTION
Power Points
from Peter Lowe
Abraham Lincoln is supposed to have said,
“Things may come to those who wait, but
only the things left by those who hustle.”
You are on quest to improve as a person—
to make your external situation match up with the excel-
lence within—and you know that comes in large part from
changing the external by getting things done. One of the
major forms of self-sabotage in this quest comes from pro-
crastination. Just about all of us wrestle with it at one point
or another, and my friend Brian Tracy has put together a
collection of strategies for conquering procrastination in Eat
that Frog! As you read this summary, I hope that you’ll par-
21 Great Ways to Stop
ticularly note that:
Procrastinating and Get
• Written goals are powerful. As a creative, vision-
More Done in
ary person, you are constantly coming up with great
ideas—things you want to do, things you wish you Less Done
could do, things you should do. The only proven, powerful way to
translate intentions into action is writing them down. Just try it!
• Assigning a block of time to accomplish a task will help you get it
done faster. Doing this creates a sort of deadline that will invariably
spur you on to get it done faster.
• Keep first things first. Do the most important thing on your list
first—not the easiest thing. Always be working on your reputation
as a person of high accomplishment. Accomplishment is much
more important than activity!
Enthusiastically,
Peter Lowe is Founder & CEO of Get Motivated Seminars
the F a c t s . . . FAST!
the net net
Nowadays, most people are overwhelmed with the sheer
number of tasks they have to accomplish in a day. Author
Brian Tracy shares with you 21 effective methods that
you can use to conquer the problem of procrastination.
Through these methods, you can learn how to plan each
day, set priorities and complete jobs faster than usual.
About the Author
Brian Tracy is Chairman and CEO of Brian
Tracy International, a company specializing in
thetraininganddevelopmentofindividualsand
organizations.
Brian Tracy has consulted for more than
1,000 companies and addressed more than
4,000,000 people in 4,000 talks and seminars
throughout the US, Canada and 40 other
countries worldwide. As a Keynote speaker and seminar leader, he
addresses more than 250,000 people each year.
Hehasstudied,researched,writtenandspokenfor30yearsinthefieldsofeconomics,history,
business,philosophyandpsychology.Heisthetopsellingauthorof40booksthathavebeen
translated into dozens of languages.
CONT E NT S
1. Set the table.......................................................................... Page 2
4. Consider the consequences........................................... Page 2
7. Obey the law of forced efficiency................................. Page 3
10. Leverage your special talents...................................... Page 3
13. Put the pressure on yourself........................................ Page 4
16. Practice creative procrastination................................ Page 4
21. Single handle every task................................................ Page 5
 Eat that Frog!
The Complete Summary
1. Set the table
Determine what you want
Clarity is essential. You should be clear on what
you want and what you have to do to achieve
it. Remember, the more apparent you are about
what you want and what you have to do to get it,
the easier it is for you to get on with the comple-
tion of your task.
Written goals vs. unwritten goals
Goals which are not written lead to confusion
and misdirection. Goals which are clearly writ-
ten motivate you and stimulate you into action.
Create a deadline for your goal
You will naturally procrastinate and get almost
nothing done without a definite deadline.
Prepare a list
Make a list of everything that you have to do to
achieve your goal. Keep building your list until
it is complete. A list gives you a visual picture of
the larger task or objective.
Act on your plan immediately
Take action. Do anything that can help you
reach your goal. Remember, execution is every-
thing.
Keep moving
Decide to do something every single day that
moves you towards your major goal. Incorpo-
rate this activity into your daily schedule. Push
yourself forward. Once you begin to move ,
keep moving. Think about your goals and ana-
lyze them daily.
2. Plan every day in advance
The most powerful tool for overcoming pro-
crastination and increasing your productivity is
your ability to think, plan, and to decide. Your
ability to set your goals, plan, and take action on
them determines the path of your life.
By Brian Tracy
Always think on paper
Every second you spend in planning can save
you five to ten minutes in execution.
The six “P” formula
Prepare an efficient plan. Remember the six “P”
formula: proper prior planning prevents poor
performance.
The 10/90 rule
This rule states that the first 10 percent of time
that you spend planning and organizing your
work will save you as much as 90 percent of
the time in getting the job done once you get
started.
3. Apply the 80/20 rule to
everything
Always concentrate your efforts on
that top 20 percent
Productive and effective people discipline
themselves to begin with the most important
task that is before them. In effect, they accom-
plish infinitely more than the average person
and are much contented as a result.
Defy the temptation to complete
small things first
If you decide to begin your day with tasks that
are low-value, you will soon acquire the habit of
always starting and working on low-value tasks.
This is not the kind of habit you want to develop
or inculcate.
4. Consider the
consequences
One quality of a superior thinker is his or her
ability to precisely and accurately predict the
consequences and possible effects of doing or
not doing something.
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Long-term thinking improves
short-term decision making
People who succeed in life and work have a clear
future orientation and direction. They analyze
their choices and behaviors in the present to
make sure that they are working hand-in-hand
with the long-term future that they want to
achieve. Something that is important has long-
term potential consequences while something
that is unimportant has few or no long-term
possible consequences.
Focus on your most important
tasks and priorities
Make a task or activity top priority if it has great
potential positive consequences. If something
can have large potential negative consequences
if it is not done immediately, that task should
become top priority as well.
Bibliographic Information
Title: Eat that Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop
Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Done
Author: Brian Tracy
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc, 2001
ISBN: 1583762027
Pages: 113
SUCCESS SUMMARIES
For Leaders and Achievers
Who Want the Facts…Fast!
Peter Lowe: Founder and CEO
Tamara Lowe: Executive Vice President
— Published by —
Get Motivated Seminars, Inc.
4710 Eisenhower Blvd., Suite C-4
Tampa, FL 33634
Continually thinking about the possible consequences of your choices,
decisions and behaviors is one of the very best ways to know your true
8. Prepare thoroughly before you begin
priorities.
Poor performance may be prevented by proper prior
preparation
5. Practice the ABCDE method continually Make sure that you have everything you need before you start your task.
When everything that you need is laid out in order and sequence, you feel
Definition of the ABCDE method more comfortable starting the task.
The ABCDE Method is a powerful priority-setting tool. You begin by mak-
ing a list of everything you have to do for the coming day. You then list the
tasks as A, B, C, D or E—depending on the classification below: Build a comfortable and conducive working area
The most productive people take the time to create a work area where they
1. A: considered as something that is very important. It is something enjoy spending time. The cleaner and neater your work area is before you
that you must do. It is something that carries with it serious conse- begin, the easier it is for you to get started and keep going.
quences.
2. B: a task that you should do but has only mild consequences. These
items are the tadpoles of your life. You should make it a habit to never
do a “B” task when there is still an “A” task left undone. “Getting your mind off the huge task in front
3. C: is denoted as something that would be nice to do. Whether or not
of you can be one of the best ways to overcome
you do it, there are no consequences at all. This sort of task has no
affect at all on your work or personal life. procrastination and focus on a single action
4. D: is referred to as something you can delegate to someone else. that you can take.”
5. E: is something that you can get rid of altogether and it will not make
any real difference nor pose any serious effects.

6. Focus on key-result areas 9. Do your homework

Identify your key-result areas
A key-result area is something you must achieve to succeed at your job. It
is a task area for which you are completely responsible.
Each job can be broken down into about five or seven key-result areas,
seldom more. These are the results that you absolutely, positively have to
get to fulfill your responsibilities and make your maximum contribution
to your organization.
Once you have determined your key-result areas, the second step is for you
to grade yourself on a scale of one to ten in each of those areas and work
on those key result areas.
Learn what you need to learn
To be able to do your work in an excellent manner, you should learn what
you need to learn. The better you become at a task, the more likely you are
to just throw yourself into it and get it done.
Stop feeling inadequate
Feelings of inadequacy, lack of confidence, or the inability to perform in a
key area are some of the reasons why people fail to do tasks. It is important,
therefore, to constantly upgrade your skills in your key result areas.

10. Leverage your special talents

Strengths and weaknesses
Refuse to rationalize, justify or substantiate your areas of weakness. Instead, Know what you are at
identify them clearly. Set a goal and make a plan to become very good in You have special talents and abilities that make you unique and different.
each of those areas. Your duty is to know your special areas of uniqueness and then to com-
mit yourself to becoming very, very superior in those areas. Identify your
unique talents and abilities on a daily basis.
7. Obey the law of forced efficiency
Three questions to use regularly 11. Identify your key constraints
1. What are my highest-value activities?
2. What can I, and only I, do that, if done well, will make a real Know your bottlenecks or choke points
difference? What are your bottlenecks or choke points? What are those things that are
3. What is the most valuable use of my time right now? holding you back? Your job is to study the task and identify the limiting
factor or constraint within it. In virtually every task, large or small, one fac-
First things first tor sets the speed at which you achieve the goal or complete the job.
Always make it a habit to do first things first and second things not at all.
There is never enough time to perform everything assigned to you, but
there is always enough time to do the most important things. It is impor-
tant, however, to identify them.

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12. Take it one oil barrel at a time
One step at a time
Getting your mind off the huge task in front of you can be one of the best
ways to overcome procrastination and focus on a single action that you
can take. You can accomplish the biggest task in your life by disciplining
yourself to take it just one step at a time.
Take the first step
To accomplish a great task, you must believe and have complete confidence
that your next step will soon become clear to you. You can overcome pro-
crastination and accomplish extraordinary things by just taking the first
step, by getting started toward your goal and by then taking it one step, one
oil barrel, at a time.
13. Put the pressure on yourself
Go the extra mile
Make a conscious effort to start a little earlier, work a little harder, and stay
a little later. Always look for ways to go the extra mile or to do more than
what you are paid for. People who are successful continually put pressure
on themselves to perform at high levels. Unsuccessful people have to be
instructed and supervised and pressured by others.
One day left
One of the great ways to overcome procrastination is by working as if you
had only one day to get everything done. By putting pressure on yourself,
you accomplish more and better tasks, faster than ever before. You become
a high-performance, high-achieving personality.
14. Maximize your personal powers
Take a break
A major reason for procrastination is fatigue. Sometimes the very best use
of your time is to go home early and go to bed and sleep for ten hours
straight. Take one full day off every week. Take regular vacations.
Rejuvenate yourself
By eating lean and healthy, exercising and getting lots of rest, you’ll get
more work done.
Highest mental and physical state
Determine your periods of highest mental and physical energy each day
and structure your most important and demanding tasks and activities
around these times.
“Make it a habit to split or break
large and complicated tasks down
into bite-sized pieces.”
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15. Motivate yourself into action
Always be optimistic and constructive
To keep yourself motivated, you must decide to become a complete opti-
mist. You should also make it a habit to talk to yourself positively to boost
your self-esteem. No matter how you really feel at the moment or what is
happening in your life, resolve to remain cheerful and upbeat all the time.
Three Special Behaviors by Optimists
1. Optimists look for the good in every situation.
2. Optimists always seek the valuable lesson in every setback
or difficulty.
3. Optimists always look for the solution to every problem.
16. Practice creative procrastination
Put off low-value tasks
Master the habit of deliberately putting off tasks that are of low value so
that you have enough time to do the few things that really count. Decide to
procrastinate, outsource, delegate, and eliminate activities that don’t make
much of a contribution to your life in any case.
17. Do the most difficult task first
Remember to always start your day with your most difficult task. Make it
a habit to begin each day with the task that can make the biggest contribu-
tion to yourself and to your work, and resolve to continue with it until it
is complete.
A habit to develop
1. Make a list of everything you have to do the next day.
2. Review and analyze this list using the ABCDE Method, combined
with the 80/20 Rule.
3. Select your A-1 or your most important task.
4. Put together everything you need to start and finish this job and lay
it out.
5. Clear your workspace or work area completely so that you have only
this one, most important task sitting on your desk waiting for you in
the morning.
6. The next day, immediately start on your most difficult task.
7. Do this everyday for twenty-one days until it becomes a habit.
18. Slice and dice the task
Make it a habit to split or break large and complicated tasks down into bite-
sized pieces. After this, you then just perform one small part of the task to
get started and get motivated. To do this, you can use either the salami-slice
method or the Swiss-cheese method.
Definition of the salami-slice method
Through this method, you lay out the task in detail and then resolve to do
just one slice of the job for the time being. Psychologically, you will find it
easier to do a single, small piece of a large project than to start on the whole
job right away.
Meaning of the Swiss-cheese method
With this method, you get yourself into gear by resolving to punch a hole into
the task, like a hole in a block of Swiss cheese. You Swiss cheese a task when
you resolve to work for a specific time period. This may be as little as five or
ten minutes, after which you will stop doing it and decide to do something else.
You will take just one bite of your frog and then rest or do something else.

19. Create large chunks of time

Plan your day in advance and specifically schedule a fixed time period for
a particular activity or task. A time planner can be one of the most power-
ful personal-productivity tools of all. It enables you to see where you can
consolidate and create blocks of time for concentrated work.

20. Develop a sense of urgency

Develop the habit of moving fast on your key tasks
Get into the habit of becoming known as the person who does things
quickly and efficiently. While working on activities that are of high value at
a high and continuous level of activity, you can actually enter into an amaz-
ing mental state called “flow.”
One of the ways you can trigger this state of flow is by developing a “sense of
urgency.” This is an inner drive and desire to start a job quickly and get it done fast.

Do it now!
Basically, one of the simplest and yet most powerful ways to get started is to
repeat the phrase “Do it now!” over and over to yourself.
“Pull Quote.”

21. Single handle every task

Make clear priorities, start right away on your most important task, and
then work without stopping. After setting your priorities, begin immedi-
ately on your most important activity and then resolve to work without
stopping until it is at least 10 percent complete.
Your capability to select your most important task, to begin it, and then to
concentrate on it single-mindedly until it is accomplished is the key to high
levels of performance and personal productivity. You can also keep push-
ing yourself onward by repeating the words “Back to work!” over and over
whenever you are tempted to stop or do something else.

Become a superior person

By concentrating clearly on your most valuable and important task or
activity and focusing single-mindedly until it is 100 percent complete, you
actually shape and mold your own character. You become a stronger, more
competent, more confident, and happier person. You also feel more power-
ful and productive and become the master of your own destiny.

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