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Eat that frog by Brain Tracy 12 lessons

Eat that frog

The book “Eat That Frog” provides readers with valuable insights on how to overcome procrastination and increase productivity. It offers practical tips and techniques to help individuals prioritize tasks and manage their time effectively. By emphasizing the importance of tackling the most challenging task first, the book encourages readers to take control of their schedules and focus on what truly matters. It highlights the significance of setting clear goals and breaking them down into manageable steps to achieve success. Through real-life examples and actionable advice, “Eat That Frog” serves as a guide for individuals looking to improve their time management skills and accomplish more in less time. It empowers readers to take charge of their productivity and make the most of each day.

Chapter 1: Set the Table

In the first chapter of “Eat That Frog,” he shows the importance of clarity in setting and planning your goals. Setting the table is a most important part of defining your goals, breaking them down into manageable tasks, then finally organizing these properly. It would seem very apparent that this is the bottom line of productivity and time management.

It begins with deciding precisely what exactly you want to achieve. Specific beans reap specific results, so the goals have to be very specific. Next in order is writing down the goals. This step alone can increase the chances of the goal’s achievement by a significant margin. It sets the subconscious mind and focuses attention towards the result desired. Then, breaking down the goals into shorter tasks with a clear deadline will make it easier. It makes the goals a lot less overwhelming and provides a road map to follow.

The other important aspect described in this chapter is the visualization. It will motivate you and tell you how you should act, telling you whether you are on course or not by looking at your goals regularly, for which a mental picture you can create by picturing the successful completion of all your tasks and goals.

Practical tools presented include the “ABC” method for prioritizing tasks. These ‘A’ tasks are, therefore, such activities with the most influence in attaining your goals. ‘B’ tasks are vital but not very significant in comparison to the ‘A’ tasks. ‘C’ tasks can be nice to do but really do very little toward your main objectives. This helps in focusing efforts on what really matters.

Key Statistics and Facts:

  • Studies show that written goals increase success rates by 42%.
  • Visualization techniques can enhance performance by up to 20%.
  • Prioritization can save up to 2 hours per day in wasted time.

Time Saved Through Prioritization

By time analytic :credit

Below is a graph depicting the potential time savings from effective prioritization methods such as the ABC method.

The graph illustrates how focusing on ‘A’ tasks can significantly reduce the time spent on less important activities, thus boosting overall productivity.

Chapter 2: Plan Every Day in Advance

Chapter 2 describes the author’s move into the critical habit of daily planning. Effective daily planning is compared to movement through the complexities of time management, but with a clear map at your side. This chapter will, therefore, underline the fact that mapping out a daily plan will let you maximize your productivity so that you have peace of mind, knowing each day that you are moving toward your goals.

Starting your day with a plan is basically winning half the battle. It really all started the previous night. After taking ten to fifteen minutes writing down what you will do on the following day, you’ve got an intention set and wake up with a purpose. Such a little act may cut down your stress greatly and really give a boost to your productivity.

I propose what I call the Six P Formula: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. This formula reflects my opinion that planning in business is core to achieving optimal performance. A good plan will keep one on track and focused on relevant value-enhancing activities rather than time-wasting side-tracks.

This chapter also shows how important flexibility is to have within your plan. Having a carefully structured plan is very important, but it always does not hurt to be flexible to change for circumstances you cannot plan for.

Key Statistics and Facts:

  • Planning the day before can increase productivity by up to 25%.
  • Structured daily planning reduces stress levels by 20%.
  • People who plan their day in advance are 10 times more likely to achieve their goals.

Chapter 3: Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything

Basically, what this suggests is that 20% of your activities will be accounting for 80% of your results, and this is referred to as the 80/20 Rule, alias Pareto’s Principle. It is imperative to learn about this principle and how to apply it to maximize productivity and attain goals.

To use the 80/20 Rule to the best of your ability, you will need to learn how to identify the top 20% of tasks that make up 80% of your success. These tasks are your “frogs” — the most central and meaningful activities. By focusing on those high-value tasks, you can do more with less effort.

Tracy show that as often as possible, you should analyze tasks and activities alike to find which of them fall into that top 20%. All of this will be in terms of making a critical assessment of how you use your time and exertion to do the right things. Make sure to eliminate or delegate low-value tasks and focus on high-value tasks that matter.

The chapter also covers the discussion on leveraging: being able to focus on high-value tasks by leveraging your strengths and resources as concentrated areas of attention, attaining which can only happen when you are focused in core competencies with tasks that do not require your unique skills outsourced or automated.

Chapter 4: Consider the Consequences

In Chapter 4, he moves into the importance of long-term considerations about what one is doing. There is one major reason behind why understanding how the potential outcome of a decision forms the basis of effective time management and achievement of goals. This chapter practically indicates very critically thinking ahead and considering repercussions from decisions.

He introduced the concept of a “long-time perspective” as a major determining factor of success. The successful ones are those who have the ability to look a long way into the future; decisions they undertake stay within the preview of the goals set for an end time. Contrarily, people who are driven by the now, or the short term, usually end up not achieving long-lasting success.

Application of this principle involves constant reviewing of one’s tasks and activities against their long-term effects. Therefore, it means that higher priority ought to be given to tasks with strong future benefits, which would yield a more satisfactory whole. It generally involves depriving oneself of some things and remaining focused on activities that are not rewarding in the short term but relevant for long-term growth.

It also discusses the most important thing: relating a person’s actions to his values and goals. If your daily activities are focused on the kind of long-term goals you want, you are most likely going to achieve meaningful success.

Key Statistics 

  • Long-term thinking can increase success rates by 40%.
  • Considering consequences leads to better decision-making in 70% of cases.
  • Aligning actions with goals can improve overall satisfaction by 50%.

Chapter 5: Practice Creative Procrastination

It’s what’s called “creative procrastination”: when one wastes time consciously on something less important to avoid doing something even more important. This is a counterintuitive example of how important it is to set priorities and manage time wisely.

It’s not about creative procrastination and avoiding tasks; it’s about the strategy of putting off low-importance activities. Only with this will you be able to concentrate your energy and resources on high-value tasks that would contribute to the attainment of a goal in the best possible way. You just need to have a no-nonsense view of what is important for you and be able to identify a must-do from a nice-to-do.

This chapter interestingly includes several pragmatic suggestions on how to transfer the fundamental principles of creative procrastination into concrete real-life use. One is the “zero-based thinking” strategy, by which you continually challenge your tasks and activities with a question: Would you choose to take up this activity today if you knew what you know?.
Another approach is the use of deadlines. Most importantly, set them for tasks that are of urgent importance in order to avoid procrastination. Delegating tasks that do not require your expertise enables you to really focus on what does.

Chapter 6: Use the ABCDE Method Continually

The ABCDE Method, a powerful tool for prioritizing tasks and managing time effectively. This method involves categorizing tasks into five categories: A, B, C, D, and E, based on their importance and urgency.

  • ‘A’ tasks are the most important and must be done immediately. These tasks have serious consequences if not completed.
  • ‘B’ tasks are important but not as critical as ‘A’ tasks. They should be done after ‘A’ tasks.
  • ‘C’ tasks are nice to do but do not have significant consequences if left undone.
  • ‘D’ tasks can be delegated to others, freeing up your time for more important activities.
  • ‘E’ tasks can be eliminated altogether as they do not contribute to your goals.

Using the ABCDE Method continually ensures that you are always focusing on the most important tasks. This approach helps in managing time effectively and avoiding the trap of spending too much time on low-value activities.

Chapter 7: Focus on Key Result Areas

It, therefore, means that for one to be more productive and successful, there is a need to focus on key result areas. KRAs refer to those important things or tasks in your role that determine the overall effectiveness of your work. Now, the way forward towards the achievement of goals lies in identifying such areas of work and excelling in them.

First and foremost, KRAs should be identified through a personal evaluation of the current job or responsibilities, and activities that result in success in any area should be identified. These would then become areas of focus. Developing clear goals for each KRA and measuring regular progress go hand in hand in doing this.

It also addresses the need to develop a habit of constant improvement in your KRAs. Finding ways to enhance your skills, sharpen expertise, and bring efficiency in them can ensure one is pushed towards higher performance. To achieve this, train, ask for feedback, and adopt best practices.

Chapter 8: The Law of Three

The Law of Three: it means that just three essential tasks really contribute to your results. If you could identify and concentrate on such tasks, that would increase a lot your productivity and success. This chapter shows a way of determining such tasks and setting the right priority for them.

It all starts by writing down all your responsibilities and tasks. Out of this list, identify the three tasks that have the greatest effect on your goals. These tasks will thus be your highest priorities and receive the most attention and resources.

By setting a focus on these very basic activities, you can create larger results with less work. The Law of Three will help you deaden your workload down toward what is important every day; it will also provide a clear framework for delegation or erasure of activities that don’t fall into one of these core areas.

Key Statistics 

  • The Law of Three can increase productivity by 50%.
  • Focusing on core tasks reduces stress levels by 30%.
  • Delegating non-core tasks can free up to 25% of your time.

Chapter 9: Prepare Thoroughly Before You Begin

Lesson it teaches: Good preparation is the key to any work or project. It ensures that you are well equipped with all the resources, information, and tools that can help maximize tasks at hand by working out their completion rate efficiently. This chapter, therefore, discusses several strategies on how to prepare effectively.


First and foremost, it is about getting all the information and materials one needs. Researching and planning your resources in order are steps which can help reduce clogs of hindrances. When one is sure that everything is ready in advance of committing to the work, he is able to work with good time management and integral focusing.

Another important thing in the preparation process is to get your workspace arranged. If you have everything put away, you will stay focused and be efficient. Be sure that all the tools or equipment are within your reach so that you may avoid wasting a lot of time searching for things, which might distract your focus on the subject of interest.

The chapter also covers mental preparation, which is supposed to be clearly intentional and visualization-oriented, meaning that one has to envision the successful completion of their tasks. It helps reduce anxiety and increases confidence, hence improving performance.

Chapter 10: Take It One Oil Barrel at a Time

It is the strategy for breaking very large tasks into their smaller components to be dealt with in more easily managed steps. The strategy, like ‘one oil barrel at a time,’ is what reduces my sense of being overwhelmed so that very large projects seem more reachable.

The chapter is based on the need to take small, steady steps toward your goals. At any one time, focus your attention on just one small step you can take toward your goal. You’ll make steady progress, bit by bit, without overwhelming yourself with the enormity of the full project. It works especially well for big or long-term projects that demand ongoing energy and dedication.

Setting up milestones and celebrating small wins will be another thing that serves motivation for you and enables tracking. Every step achieved gets you closer to the final aim and gives a feeling like nothing else, which serves as fuel for further progress.

Chapter 11: Upgrade Your Key Skills

The continuous development of the key skills needed to achieve your goals; upgrading your skills is the key to staying competitive and realizing improved effectiveness. The chapter focuses on strategies for identifying and developing skills that matter.


First, you would have to know those key skills which influence your performance the most. This would be something that has a key part related to your job and probably related to tasks for which you are responsible and labeled as a success. Once identified, you will then need further development and enhancement of those skills through training, practice, and feedback.

The chapter further focuses on lifelong learning. If one has to remain relevant in the fast-changing world, they need to update with seminal knowledge and techniques that will keep them ahead of others with similar qualifications. This means constant search for opportunities to learn and improve through either higher education or professional development programs or even through self-directed learning.

Chapter 12: Identify Your Key Constraints

It means the identification and dealing with the constraints to your finest progress, therefore. Such constraints might be either internally or externally imposed and might make deprived realization of your goals very difficult. Such barriers identification and work will increase your potential productivity and chances for success.

This process initiates by making an analysis of your tasks, after which the factors limiting you are identified. It may be due to resources, skills, or lack of knowledge. This may also be external in terms of time constraints or organizational limitations. The constraints are then identified, after which ways of circumventing them are strategized to remove the barriers to success.


This chapter also emphasized the need to focus on the most critical constraints. You will have the greatest impact on your progress once you resolve the biggest obstacles first. It simply means dealing first with those constraints that display the most profound effect on your ability to achieve goals.

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