Brian Tracy cuts to the core of what is vital to effective time management: decision, discipline, and determination. Eat that Frog! Shows you how to zero in on the critical tasks and organize each day. You’ll not only get more done faster but get the right things done.
Set the Table
- Decide exactly what you want. Clarity is essential – be clear on what you want and what you have to do to achieve it. The worst use of time is to do something really well that doesn’t need to be done at all.
- Write you goals down. Goals that are not written down lead to confusion and misdirection.
- Set a deadline for your goal and sub-deadlines if necessary.
- Make a list – include everything you have to do to achieve your goal.
- Take action on your plan immediately – an average plan vigorously executed is better than the perfect plan with no action.
- Do something every day that moves you towards your goal – think about and analyse your goals daily.
Plan Every Day in Advance
- Always think on paper – every minute you spend planning returns up to 10 minutes in execution.
- The 6 “P” Formula – Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.
- The 10/90 Rule – The first 10% of time planning saves up to 90% of time in getting the job done.
Apply the 80 / 20 Rule to Everything
- Always Concentrate your efforts on the Top 20% of tasks – if you have 10 asks to choose which 2 will deliver 80% return? … work on these.
- Do not be tempted to complete small things first.
Consider the Consequences
- Take a long term view to make better decisions – Something that is important as 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 – if you want to learn to prioritise better, consider the consequences of not completing each task – the one with the greatest consequences is your highest priority.
Practice Creative Procrastination
- Procrastinate on unimportant tasks.
- Do not allow unconscious procrastination.
- Learn to say NO.
- Delegate and eliminate all posteriorities.
Practice the ABCDE Method Continually
- Use this priority setting tools with your tasks …
- A’s- very important and must be done
- B’s- a task you should do – NOT must … never do a B when an A is not done
- C’s- a task that is nice to do but has No consequence if it is not done
- D’s- A task that can be delegated to someone else
- E’s- A task that can be eliminated and it won’t make a real difference.
Focus on Key Result Areas
- Identify your Key Result Areas – these are the results that you must achieve to fulfil your responsibilities and make your maximum contribution to your rganisation e.g.
- Key Results Areas for management: Planning, organising, delegating,
supervising, measuring, reporting - Key Results Areas for sales: Prospecting, building rapport, opening new ccounts, closing, identifying needs, presenting, overcoming objections, referrals, resales.
- Question – what one skill if you developed and did it in an excellent fashion would have the greatest positive impact on your business?
Apply the Law of Three
- What are your top three highest value activities that you should be doing in each of these areas: Business, Family, Financial, Health, Personal, Social?
Prepare Thoroughly Before You Begin
- Begin by clearing space so you only have one task in front of you.
- Make sure you have everything you need to hand before you start your task.
- Build a comfortable and conductive working area – create a work area where you enjoy spending time. The cleaner and neater it is the easier it is for you to get started and keep going.
Take it One Oil Barrel at a Time
- Take it one step at a time – you can accomplish the biggest task in your life by disciplining yourself to take it just one step at a time.
Upgrade Your Key Skills
- Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.
- Read in your field for 1 hour every day
- Take every course and seminar available in your field
- Listen to audio programs in your car
Put the Pressure on Yourself
- Only 2% of people manage themselves effectively without supervision – these people are LEADERS.
- To reach your full potential you must form the habit of putting the pressure on yourself and not waiting for someone else to come along and do it for you
- If you had to leave town for a month at the end of the week, what do you have to make sure you do before you go?
Maximise your Personal Powers
- Make sure you are fully rested… you can be 3 to 5 times more efficient.
- Identify your peak performance periods – morning, noon, evening and plan your most difficult or demanding tasks for then.
- Eat healthy
- Exercise for 200 minutes every week
- Take at least one FULL day off each week, take regular vacations and allow yourself and your brain to recharge
Develop a Sense of Urgency
- Develop the habit of moving fast on your key tasks – by working on activities that are of high value and at high and continuous level of activity you can enter into an amazing mental state called ‘flow’.
- State of Flow: feel elated, clear, present, effortless and accurate. It is a state of increased personal effectiveness.
Single Handle Every Task
- Once you begin your task keep going until you complete 100% of the task.
- Keep saying ‘back to work’ when you are tempted to stop or do something else.
- Self Discipline – Self Mastery – Self Control …
- Self Discipline is “the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.”
- Persistence is Self Discipline in action.
- The more you discipline yourself to Persist, the higher your Self Esteem.
- The more you like and respect yourself, the more Self Control you have.
Book review by Stella Jones
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