One-page summary · 2 min read
Eat That Frog!
21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less
by Brian Tracy
The big idea
Identify your single most important, most difficult task each day, your frog, and do it first, before anything else. Tackling the biggest challenge early builds momentum and eliminates the procrastination that drags down everything else.
Label every task A, serious consequences if not done, B, should do with mild consequences, C, nice to do with no consequences, D, delegate, or E, eliminate, then work strictly in order, never touching a B task until all A tasks are finished.
One of 21 techniques in the book and Tracy's most widely cited system for daily prioritization; it requires honest self-assessment of which tasks are truly A priority.
Key ideas
Eat the frog first
Do your hardest, most important task at the start of the day when willpower is highest.
Plan each day in advance
Make tomorrow's task list tonight so you start the day with clarity instead of drifting.
The 80/20 rule
Roughly 20% of your tasks will account for 80% of your results, so find and prioritize those.
Single-handle every task
Once you start your top task, stay with it without interruption until it's complete.
Slice and dice the task
Break large, intimidating projects into small chunks to lower the barrier to starting.
Create large chunks of time
Protect long, uninterrupted blocks for deep, high-value work rather than fragmenting your day.
Try it this week
- Tonight, write tomorrow's task list and label each item A through E before you go to bed.
- Pick your single frog for tomorrow and schedule it as the very first thing you do at work.
- Take one large, stalled project and slice it into 15-minute sub-tasks; do just one slice.
- Identify one recurring C task, nice to do with no real consequence, and eliminate it from your week entirely.
Is it for you?
Best for
- Chronic procrastinators who need a simple daily system
- People drowning in long to-do lists
Less useful if
- Readers who prefer psychological, root-cause explanations of procrastination
- Those who already use a robust task-management system, where the tactics can feel basic