Book Notes, A Book Summary on the Book "Eat That Frog" by Brian Tracy: Part 2
Here is part 2 of 6 on a book review of "Eat That Frog, 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time," by Brian Tracy. We'll be discussing principles 4, 5, 6, and 7 (out of 21) to help you "eat your frog."
Principle 4: Consider the Consequences
"The mark of a superior thinker is his or her ability to accurately predict the consequences of doing or not doing anything." Thinking through the consequences gives you an idea if an activity is important and is a way to determine the significance of a task. Any important task will have long-term potential consequences.
Dr Edward Banfield, from Harvard University, concluded that "the long-time perspective is the most accurate single predictor of upward social and economic mobility in America" (a rare trait in our instant gratification world). Your attitude towards time has an impact on your behavior and choices. Thinking about the long-term impact will help you make better decisions, thus, one of Brian's rules: "Long-term thinking improves short-term decision making."
Having a future orientation (5, 10, 20 years out) will allow you to analyze choices and will make your behaviors consistent with the future you want. Ask yourself, "What are the potential consequences of doing or not doing this task?"
Brian's follow-on rule is "Future intent influences and often determines present actions." The clearer you are on your future intentions, the better clarity on what to do at the present moment. Having a clear understanding of your future intention helps you evaluate a task, delay gratification, and make the necessary sacrifices in the future. Be willing to do what others aren't so you can have what others want later…greater rewards are in the long-term.
Dennis Waitley, a motivational speaker says, "Failures do what is tension-relieving while winners do what is goal achieving." Make important tasks a top priority and start them now. Time is passing anyway, so decide how you will spend it and where you want to end up. Thinking about the consequences of your choices, decisions, and behaviors is the best way to determine your priorities.
Principle 5: Practice the ABCDE Method Continually
The ABCDE method is a priority setting technique to help you be more efficient and effective. The premise behind the technique is that the more you invest in planning and setting priorities, the more important things you will do and do faster once you start.
You start by listing everything you have to do for the day and categorize everything into A, B, C, D, or E.
An "A" is something that is very important that you must do or there will be serious consequences (this is your frog.)
A "B" is something you should do that has mild consequences (Brian calls these your tadpoles). A "C" is something that would be nice to do but there are no consequences.
A "D" is something that you can delegate to someone, which frees up time for you to work your A.
An "E" is something you can eliminate because it makes not difference at all.
Discipline yourself to work your A and stay on it until it is complete. If you have more than one task in each category, label the most important A1, the next A2, etc., and do the same for the other categories. Never do a B before an A, or a C before a B.
Principle 6: Focus on Key Result Areas
This principle is about focusing on what you are working towards. Every job can be broken down into "key result areas," which are results you must achieve and for which you are responsible. For example, the key result areas for management are planning, organizing, staffing, delegating, supervising, measuring, and reporting.
Identify your key result areas and list your responsibilities for each. Then grade yourself on a scale of 1-10 in each result area. Where are you strong? Where are you weak? Are you getting results or underperforming? Brian's rule for this area is "Your weakest key result area sets the height at which you can use all your other skills and abilities. Essentially, your weakest area limits your overall performance.
This leads to another reason people procrastinate--they avoid things where they have performed poorly in the past. Procrastination doesn't usually happen in an area you're good in. Ask yourself, "What one skill, if I developed and did in in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact in my career" (or life, or business)? Ask those around you. Then set a goal to improve in that weak area.
Principle 7: Obey the Law of Forced Efficiency
"There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing." Brian's rule that applies here is "There will never be enough time to do everything you have to do." (That's a hard pill to swallow.) A fact Brian states in his book is that the average person is working at 110-130% of capacity, which means you will never get caught up. So what that means is that you need to stay on top of your most important responsibilities.
People create more stress for themselves when they procrastinate and put themselves under the pressure of a deadline. When you're up against a deadline, you tend to make more mistakes. The questions to ask yourself on a regular basis are:
1. What are my highest value activities?
2. What can I, and only I, do that, if done well, will make a real difference?
3. What is the most valuable use of my time right now?
The answers to these questions will identify your biggest frog at the moment. "Do first things first and second things not at all."
Part 2 Wrap Up
That covers principles 4-7. Part 3 will cover principles 8, 9, 10, and 11.
Happy Business Building,
Yoli
Principle 4: Consider the Consequences
"The mark of a superior thinker is his or her ability to accurately predict the consequences of doing or not doing anything." Thinking through the consequences gives you an idea if an activity is important and is a way to determine the significance of a task. Any important task will have long-term potential consequences.
Dr Edward Banfield, from Harvard University, concluded that "the long-time perspective is the most accurate single predictor of upward social and economic mobility in America" (a rare trait in our instant gratification world). Your attitude towards time has an impact on your behavior and choices. Thinking about the long-term impact will help you make better decisions, thus, one of Brian's rules: "Long-term thinking improves short-term decision making."
Having a future orientation (5, 10, 20 years out) will allow you to analyze choices and will make your behaviors consistent with the future you want. Ask yourself, "What are the potential consequences of doing or not doing this task?"
Brian's follow-on rule is "Future intent influences and often determines present actions." The clearer you are on your future intentions, the better clarity on what to do at the present moment. Having a clear understanding of your future intention helps you evaluate a task, delay gratification, and make the necessary sacrifices in the future. Be willing to do what others aren't so you can have what others want later…greater rewards are in the long-term.
Dennis Waitley, a motivational speaker says, "Failures do what is tension-relieving while winners do what is goal achieving." Make important tasks a top priority and start them now. Time is passing anyway, so decide how you will spend it and where you want to end up. Thinking about the consequences of your choices, decisions, and behaviors is the best way to determine your priorities.
Principle 5: Practice the ABCDE Method Continually
The ABCDE method is a priority setting technique to help you be more efficient and effective. The premise behind the technique is that the more you invest in planning and setting priorities, the more important things you will do and do faster once you start.
You start by listing everything you have to do for the day and categorize everything into A, B, C, D, or E.
An "A" is something that is very important that you must do or there will be serious consequences (this is your frog.)
A "B" is something you should do that has mild consequences (Brian calls these your tadpoles). A "C" is something that would be nice to do but there are no consequences.
A "D" is something that you can delegate to someone, which frees up time for you to work your A.
An "E" is something you can eliminate because it makes not difference at all.
Discipline yourself to work your A and stay on it until it is complete. If you have more than one task in each category, label the most important A1, the next A2, etc., and do the same for the other categories. Never do a B before an A, or a C before a B.
Principle 6: Focus on Key Result Areas
This principle is about focusing on what you are working towards. Every job can be broken down into "key result areas," which are results you must achieve and for which you are responsible. For example, the key result areas for management are planning, organizing, staffing, delegating, supervising, measuring, and reporting.
Identify your key result areas and list your responsibilities for each. Then grade yourself on a scale of 1-10 in each result area. Where are you strong? Where are you weak? Are you getting results or underperforming? Brian's rule for this area is "Your weakest key result area sets the height at which you can use all your other skills and abilities. Essentially, your weakest area limits your overall performance.
This leads to another reason people procrastinate--they avoid things where they have performed poorly in the past. Procrastination doesn't usually happen in an area you're good in. Ask yourself, "What one skill, if I developed and did in in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact in my career" (or life, or business)? Ask those around you. Then set a goal to improve in that weak area.
Principle 7: Obey the Law of Forced Efficiency
"There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing." Brian's rule that applies here is "There will never be enough time to do everything you have to do." (That's a hard pill to swallow.) A fact Brian states in his book is that the average person is working at 110-130% of capacity, which means you will never get caught up. So what that means is that you need to stay on top of your most important responsibilities.
People create more stress for themselves when they procrastinate and put themselves under the pressure of a deadline. When you're up against a deadline, you tend to make more mistakes. The questions to ask yourself on a regular basis are:
1. What are my highest value activities?
2. What can I, and only I, do that, if done well, will make a real difference?
3. What is the most valuable use of my time right now?
The answers to these questions will identify your biggest frog at the moment. "Do first things first and second things not at all."
Part 2 Wrap Up
That covers principles 4-7. Part 3 will cover principles 8, 9, 10, and 11.
Happy Business Building,
Yoli
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