PROCRASTINATION - THE THIEF OF TIME

Book Review: By Robyn Adams

Eat That Frog!

Brian Tracy’s book Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time takes what, at times, can seem like overwhelming tasks, and breaks them down to help the reader reach his fullest personal productivity potential. The book takes the guesswork out of how to be more productive in business and in life. Behind the Title: Eat That Frog! – Personal Productivity at Its Best. With a name like Eat That Frog!, one wonders what the book could possibly be. That alone is enough reason to pick up this book.

For author Brian Tracy the “frog” is not a literal frog. Instead it is that “thing,” for the reader, that looms in the distance each day, waiting to be done. But, if left undone, can completely disrupt lives and business. Tracy highly recommends eating the frog first, before any other tasks are completed. For example, a frog for a salesman might be following up with some key clients to not loose a sale. For a CEO, it might be contacting stockholders to inform them of some potential problems. The frog eating is not limited to business people. Even a housewife has frogs to eat. Getting housework done or done or bills paid can be a frog that must be swallowed each day.

Generally the “frog” is the dreaded task that the frog eater hopes to avoid. However, avoiding the frog will only create havoc in their business and/or life

Brian Tracy’s idea behind the frog eating is simple:

1. Eating the frog gets the task out of the way and avoids any negative consequences from avoiding it.

2. Being able to get the dreaded task completed, “the frog,” will increase overall personal productivity for the rest of the day.

Tracy says each day holds a frog to eat. By examining an upcoming day, the frog should be determined and done first.

As a successful businessman, the author gives a simple statement in the preface of the book that sets the tone for the entire book. “The ability to concentrate single-mindedly on your most important task, to do it well and to finish it completely, is the key to great success, achievement, respect, status, and happiness in life.”

The Subtitle 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done In Less Time” Says It All

The sign of a good book on personal productivity is small chunks of information to quickly read and apply during life’s hectic pace.

Brian Tracy spells out 21 steps to increase personal productivity and overall performance. Each step builds on the one before. A few of the steps are:

• Plan every day in advance

• Practice creative procrastination

• Focus on key results areas

• Identify key constraints

• Get out of the technological time sinks

• Single handle every task

Although these are just a few of the simple techniques that Brian Tracy suggests to increase one’s productivity, each of the 21 that he suggests is valuable. Few people in life are happy with their level of personal productivity. These steps can be applied, no matter where one is in life. It would be a real disservice to the book if it is only read by business workers, the primary target, because the benefit potential is much further reaching.

Eat That Frog! – A book that should be read over and over again. This book should not be read once and then spend the rest of its book life on the bookshelf. Instead, it can be used as a reference book to continue to practice the techniques that Brian Tracy suggests.

The book can easily be used, one a concept at a time, to motivate anyone who feels “stuck” in their ability to be more productive and successful in their life.

To truly harness of the power of this book, it should be read several times, with highlighter in hand, to pick out key parts which apply to the individual reader. It is difficult to absorb every concept in a book with one reading. People change over time and so do their strengths and weaknesses in the ability to be productive.

Brian Tracy, author of other best selling books, such as Maximum Achievement, Goals!, and The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business has done an amazing job in Eat that Frog! to motivate his readers to increase personal productivity.

Eat that Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time is not a cut and dry business book that is difficult to digest. Instead, it is a practical approach that anyone can take away valuable knowledge to create a more productive, successful life.

Eat that FROG now! Do not allow procrastination to steal your valuable time.

Author: Brian Tracy

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, 2006, 128 pp
ISBN: 978-1-57675-422-1

Time Management - Coming To Grips With The Time Management Myth

 

Do you feel the need to be more organized and/or more productive? Do you spend your day in a frenzy of activity and then wonder why you haven't accomplished much?

Time management skills are especially important for small business people, who often find themselves performing many different jobs during the course of a single day. These time management tips will help you increase your productivity and stay cool and collected.

Time Management Tips
1) Realize that time management is a myth.
No matter how organized we are, there are always only 24 hours in a day. Time doesn't change. All we can actually manage is ourselves and what we do with the time that we have.
2) Find out where you're wasting time.
Many of us are prey to time-wasters that steal time we could be using much more productively. What are your time-bandits? Do you spend too much time 'Net surfing, reading email, or making personal calls? Tracking Daily Activities explains how to track your activities so you can form a accurate picture of what you actually do, the first step to effective time management.
3) Create time management goals.
Remember, the focus of time management is actually changing your behaviors, not changing time. A good place to start is by eliminating your personal time-wasters. For one week, for example, set a goal that you're not going to take personal phone calls while you're working. (See Set Specific Goals for help with goal setting.) For a fun look at behaviors that can interfere with successful time management, see my article Time Management Personality Types. Find out if you're a Fireman, an Aquarian or a Chatty Kathy!
4) Implement a time management plan.
Think of this as an extension of time management tip # 3. The objective is to change your behaviors over time to achieve whatever general goal you've set for yourself, such as increasing your productivity or decreasing your stress. So you need to not only set your specific goals, but track them over time to see whether or not you're accomplishing them.
Continue on to the next page for more time management tips...Here are more time management tips to help you get more organized and be more productive:
5) Use time management tools.
Whether it's a Day-Timer or a software program, the first step to physically managing your time is to know where it's going now and planning how you're going to spend your time in the future. A software program such as Outlook, for instance, lets you schedule events easily and can be set to remind you of events in advance, making your time management easier.
6) Prioritize ruthlessly.
You should start each day with a time management session prioritizing the tasks for that day and setting your performance benchmark. If you have 20 tasks for a given day, how many of them do you truly need to accomplish? For more on daily planning and prioritizing daily tasks, see Start The Day Right With Daily Planning.
7) Learn to delegate and/or outsource.
No matter how small your business is, there's no need for you to be a one-person show. For effective time management, you need to let other people carry some of the load. Determining Your Personal ROI explains two ways to pinpoint which tasks you'd be better off delegating or outsourcing, while Decide To Delegate provides tips for actually getting on with the job of delegating.
8) Establish routines and stick to them as much as possible.
While crises will arise, you'll be much more productive if you can follow routines most of the time.
9) Get in the habit of setting time limits for tasks.
For instance, reading and answering email can consume your whole day if you let it. Instead, set a limit of one hour a day for this task and stick to it.
10) Be sure your systems are organized.
Are you wasting a lot of time looking for files on your computer? Take the time to organize a file management system. Is your filing system slowing you down? Redo it, so it's organized to the point that you can quickly lay your hands on what you need. You'll find more information about setting up filing systems and handling data efficiently in my Data Management library.
11) Don't waste time waiting.
From client meetings to dentist appointments, it's impossible to avoid waiting for someone or something. But you don't need to just sit there and twiddle your thumbs. Always take something to do with you, such as a report you need to read, a checkbook that needs to be balanced, or just a blank pad of paper that you can use to plan your next marketing campaign. Technology makes it easy to work wherever you are; your PDA and/or cell phone will help you stay connected.
You can be in control and accomplish what you want to accomplish - once you've come to grips with the time management myth and taken control of your time.