Book Information
Title: Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time (BK Life)* (aff)
Author: Brian Tracy
Rating (of 10): 7
ISBN: 978-1576754221
Book Summary
Eat That Frog! is a book with 21 ways to get over procrastination and into results.
Review
I loved the first part of the book: the introduction gave the three frog sayings that inspired the book’s title:
- If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long.
- If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest first.
- If you have to eat a live frog, it doesn’t pay to sit and look at it for very long.
I adore these sayings. They are to the point, and unusual enough to stick with me. It really does boil down the way to get things done.
When I first read and reviewed this book, it was already dated. First published in 2001, it was on the cusp of the personal productivity movement along with Covey and Allen. And it reflects the times. This time I read the 2017 edition, which had a nice intro tacked on.
So the thing with old productivity books, especially from those right around the century mark, is that technology has changed the landscape so much that most of the books are not fully relevant anymore. That being said, there is still a lot of wisdom to be found in this book.
Advice to put your time and energy into high-value activities that move you toward your goals is first and foremost. These are big ugly frogs that should be eaten first. But in order to do that, you have to distinguish these from the army of not-so-ugly frogs that surround them.
I like the way this book breaks things down into small digestible chunks (not frogs) which are more accessible than some of the other books out there.
Do I agree with the 21 items? Not completely. As a software engineer, and a former project management, I know that the method Tracy uses, of mapping an entire goal out before you begin, doesn’t work well. Using the ABCDE method doesn’t necessarily work when you’re drinking from a firehose. But other things are good to remember: plan your day; apply the 80/20 rule; focus on what is in front of you.
There was one piece that struck me soundly. The chapter on constraints points out that most of what holds us back is in ourselves. If that is true, then this is where the efforts need to be made to remove the sticking points. This is something I will be thinking about in the next few weeks.
All in all, I think this is a book worth reading, both for those new to the productivity sphere, and for those who have been there a while. There is no denying that Tracy’s success is real, and these are the “secrets” he has shared to help us along the road.
