DevCareer BookClub: A Review of Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
NOBODY WILL EVER TELL YOU, BUT EVERYONE IS A CHRONIC PROCRASTINATOR.
Especially those perfect people who get things done faster than everyone else. There are certain techniques they use to get it done, but you have consciously run away from the solution while thinking “TLDR” continuously. I have summarized it for you after reading one of the books sworn to change the lives of any procrastinator: Eat That Frog–21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy.
How it starts
Procrastination probably begins every time someone writes down their New Year resolutions. It is a human thing. We revel in it and fall for it all of the time. It is a fact of life, but does it need to be? There is no perfect time or enough time to do anything. Nothing is waiting to become perfect for you before it will get done. There just is not time for it.
Setting goals and accomplishing them is something considerably difficult for most people to do, and even those who do so are still not perfect at it. The essence of setting goals is to accomplish them and get a dopamine rush, but how many times have we stopped a to-do list at the first item or maybe as far as just the third, or maybe leaving all except the last undone?
Only 1% of people actually use their skills/productivity to do the most important 20% of the things that come their way and in doing so become the most successful people on the planet. Read that again. 1 % of all the humans alive will be wildly successful in any of their endeavors, and how they do it is by focusing their productive energies on only 20% of the things they do. That differentiates them from the other 99%, and wouldn’t you love to be one of them? Take a world-famous actor, for example. He probably does nothing but practice his script and immerse himself in his craft as that is the most important thing that will bring about change in his life. He is not concerned about the moon landing, though he probably knows about it. He focuses most of his energy on what gives him the best shot at the Oscars. Everything he does every day is carefully calculated to get him closer to owning an Oscar. That is the goal.
How to work magic
There are motivated people who can do tasks and do them so effortlessly and committedly that you would think they cheated or have too much time on their hands. How do they do it? Here are some hacks that I have learned from reading the book that will move you to that point where you are more productive and tackle things as they come:
- Eat that frog!
Eat the biggest frog, the ugliest one in the pond — and be done with it. Do not hesitate, don’t think about it. That activity that you dread that seems so difficult is probably the most important thing you should do. It will appear as the biggest thing in the world that you don’t feel like doing, and it is not going anywhere. It will always wait for you. Nobody else will do it for you. And that is why you must develop the habit of tackling the most difficult activities first and fast. That way it gets easier as you go along.
2. Write down your prominent activities and goals
What are those things that you do that add value to your life? To your job? What are those most important tasks? Write down exactly what you want to gain from doing those things so that you will know what frogs you need to eat to get it done and get the best out of life.
3. You are the master of your ship
You are your cheerleader, your motivator, your boss and your pressure giver. It means that you give yourself the tasks that you need to do and that you ensure they are done well, and then you celebrate your win. There is the misconception that others can make your life easier, that they owe you something to give you a shot at what you want. If you want to win and overcome procrastination, acknowledge that nobody is coming to save you and that you are your best bet, so you have to whip yourself into shape by yourself. If you slack on yourself, nobody will come save you. You will still have to do what you must do.
4. The Law of Threes is on your side
Rather than having a long list of things that you never do, select your top 3 activities that yield the most value to you and make a habit of doing them with all the motivation and optimism you can muster. That simple outlook is the Law of Threes. Prioritize the 3 activities that you do according to their value and do the one that has the most value, then the next one and the next one… Easy, right?
5. Use the salami slice and Swiss cheese methods to get things done
Measurable accomplishments are a great way to ensure that you do not get overwhelmed or discouraged by the progress of what you are working on. For people who do not like to see large activities lined up, this works well. How can salami and swiss cheese make it better?
The salami slice method means reducing your tasks to slices of things to be done, the smallest units of a full task, and then doing them in order until 100% completion. If that is not your way, the Swiss cheese method can work for you. Pick out any task within an activity, do it and then go and do something else for a short while. Then come back to pick another task, complete it go do something else and then return to the activity again. In no time you will realize that you are 100% done with it, but that is only if you are dedicated to it.
6. Use landmarks
It would be nice to know you are not stranded in the desert when you see barrels positioned on the horizon in the sand to help you know that you are not lost. This same approach is useful in getting started on an activity and staying on track. Have things that stand out to you as markers that indicate how far along you are and what you have accomplished, that way you can see where you have come from and where you are going.
7. Do it now!
What are you waiting for? You have realized you are the only one responsible for becoming a part of the most successful 1% in the world. You have written down what you need to do, you have simplified your tasks into the most valuable ones and you know what is holding you back from getting things done.
What are you doing about it? Do it now! Do not wait for any perfect conditions before you start, because chances are you will wait 40 years if at all any ever come for you to do that.
You can do it
If you are procrastinating, I think you know a bit about the why. These tips could help you, but ultimately it lies with you to take the next step and get things done for yourself. Cut out your needless use of technology and focus on improving your productivity and eliminating procrastination. Go the extra mile in doing what you do, it will improve your self-esteem and give you the courage to do more.
What I think about the book
Rating? 10/10. If you want to get your activities back on track, then start here. You won’t regret it. Brian Tracy reveals it all.
Join me on my next review as a pioneer member of the DevCareer book club: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
