Eat That Frog! – A Book Review

I actually finished reading Eat That Frog! a while back, but am just getting around to posting some thoughts.  As someone who often feels there is more to to than I can possibly get done I thought I would pick up this book on time management, as it came recommended by a friend.  Their recommendation was a good one, as the book did not disappoint.  I would recommend getting this book.  It will help you manage your time better.  Promise.  Here are few highlights from the book.

The first rule of frog eating is this: If you have to eat
two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.
This is another way of saying that if you have two important tasks
before you, start with the biggest, hardest, and most important task first (2).

The second rule of frog eating is this: If you have to eat a
frog at all, it doesn’t pay to sit and look at it for very long. The key to reaching high levels of
performance and productivity is to develop the lifelong habit of tackling your
major task first thing each morning (3).

“Failure to execute” is one of the biggest problems in
organizations today. Many people confuse
activity with accomplishment. The talk
continually, hold endless meetings, and make wonderful plans, but the final
analysis, not one does the job and get the results required” (3-4).

There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that
is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants and a burning
desire to achieve it. Quoting Napoleon
Hill on page 9.

Here is a great rule for success: Think on paper. Only about 3 percent of adults have clear,
written goals. These people accomplish
five and ten times as much as people of equal of better education and ability
but who, for whatever reason, have never taken the time to write out exactly
what they want (10).

One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very
well that need not be done at all (10).

Before you begin scrambling up the ladder of success, make
sure that it is leaning against the right building.” Quoting Stephen Covey on page 10.

Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you
can do something about it now. Quoting
Alan Lakein on page 14.

The good news is that every minute spent planning saves as
many as ten minutes in execution. It
takes only about 10 to 12 minutes for you to plan out your day, but this small
investment of time will save you up to two hours (100 to 120 minutes) in wasted
time and diffused effort throughout the day (15).

We always have time enough, if we will but use it aright. Quoting Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe on page
20.

Rule: Resist the temptation to clear up small things first
(22).

Rule: Long-term thinking improves short-term decision making
(26).

The law of Forced Efficiency says that “There is never
enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most
important thing” (28).

Rule: There will never be enough time to do everything you
have to do.

Rule: You can get your time and your life under control only
to the degree to which you discontinue lower-value activities (34).

“Why am I on the payroll?”
This is one of the most important questions you can ever ask and answer,
over and over again, throughout your career (41).

Rule: You weakest key results area sets the height at which
you can use all your other skills and abilities (44).

What one skill, if I developed and did it in an excellent
fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my career? (45).

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Quoting Theodore Roosevelt on page 47.

You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. Quoting Wayne Getzky on page 58.

Persons with comparatively moderate powers will accomplish
much, if they apply themselves wholly and indefatigably to on thing at a
time. Quoting Samuel Smiles on page 60.

There is an old saying that “by the yard it’s hard; but inch
by inch, anything’s a cinch!” (60).

A journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single
step. Quoting Lao-tzu on page 60.

The only certain means of success is to render more and better
service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be. Quoting Og Madino on page 63.

Anytime you stop striving to get better, you’re bound to get
worse. Quoting Pat Riley on page 63.

Rule: Continuous
learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field (64).

Concentrate all your thoughts on the task at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought into
a focus. Quoting Alexander Graham Bell
on page 70.

Only about 2 percent of the people can work entirely without
supervision. We call these people
“leaders.” This is the kind of person
you are meant to be and that you can be, if you decide to be (76).

Imagine each day that you have just received an emergency
message and that you will have to leave town tomorrow for a month. If you had to leave town for a month, what
you make absolutely sure that you got done before you left? (77).

The fact is that your productivity begins to decline after
eight or nine hours of work. For this
reason, working long hours into the night, although sometimes necessary means
that you are usually producing less and less in more and more time (80-81).

There is more to life than just increasing its speed. Quoting Gandhi on page 89.

The beginning of a habit is like an invisible thread, but
every time we repeat the act we strengthen the strand, add to it another
filament, until it becomes a great cable and binds us irrevocably, thought and
act. Quoting Orison Swett Marden on page
97.

It has been estimated that the tendency to start and stop a
task – to pick it up, put it down, and come back to it- can increase the time
necessary to complete the task by as much as 500 percent (110).