Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

The title of this book, Eat That Frog, comes from the old adage, reportedly attributed to Mark Twain, that “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 is probably the worst thing you’ll have to do all day long.” The frog of course, is a metaphor for your most important task, that will produce the most valuable result, often the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do it now. I’m a fitness coach, so I like to review and share personal development and motivation books that are applicable to fitness as well as business and life in general. This book is mostly slanted to work, business, sales and financial success, but there are some general productivity ideas in the book that could apply to every area in life. If your health and fitness is what’s most important for you right now, then certainly a workout first thing in the morning could be your frog. (I recommend it). I’ve followed Brian since 1993 and have had the 2001 hardcover edition since it was first published. I recently picked up the newest edition. The new update includes two extra chapters, the first with tips on how to use technology to remind yourself of what is most important and protect yourself from what is least important. The second offers advice for maintaining focus in the modern era of constant distractions. (Certainly useful since the internet was in its infancy and life was much slower-paced 20 years ago). Even the new expanded edition is still a short book at only 145 pages. Each chapter is the length of an article so it’s easy to read. It’s the type of book you can finish in two or three sittings (one if you’re ambitious), or you can slowly get through it one chapter at a time in spare minutes here and there. As mentioned above, this is a book about being more productive including how to stop procrastinating. But this is not just a book about time management or productivity (how to get more done), it’s a book about how to choose and tackle priorities (how to get the most important thing done first). There are many books about time management but not many about how to prioritize. Eat That Frog is one of the few. I agree with Brian that becoming a master of choosing the most important task and focusing on that before anything else is one of the most valuable skills you can possess. It can exponentially increase your success in any area of life. This is not the most in-depth book on these topics. There are other excellent reads that go deeper. For example, Brian gives one short chapter to the 80-20 rule. Richard Koch wrote an entire book on it. Some of my other favorites on focus and prioritization include The One Thing, Deep Work And Essentialism. Nir Eyal’s Indistractible is also a good read about how to stay focused in today’s world. But if you’re looking for a short, accessible primer on the most important fundamentals of productivity, prioritization, organization and focus, a book with absolutely zero space wasted on fluff, then you won’t be disappointed with Eat That Frog. Based on how often I’ve seen this book recommended and based on rankings, it looks like this is still one of Brian Tracy’s most popular titles.

In Eat that Frog, Tracy takes the concept for his book from the famous quote of Mark Twain, which is: "Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day." “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” The whole idea is If we can eat the "task" or "goal" we have always wanted to achieve right in the morning, then the rest of the day will be smooth. Tracy helps you to discover what is really what you wanting to accomplish, how to get rid of hinderances, and to do the thing you have always wanted to do. The book is broken down into 21 chapters, that are extremely applicable and life changing if we really put them into practice. Reading the book on it's own won't change you. You have to take the initiative to eat your frog. The crazy thing is that this book is about procrastination, but has a lot of powerful truths that are about leadership. I think that's why I enjoyed this book so much. It didn't just target my love to achieve goals, but my heart to be a good leader who won't just sit around and do nothing. This is really hard for me to do, but here are just 3 quotes that impacted me: Chapter 2 - Consider the Consequences: "Successful people are those who are willing to delay gratification and make sacrifices in the short term so that they can enjoy far greater rewards in the long-term" Chapter 9 - Prepare Thoroughly Before You Begin: "The biggest enemies we have to overcome on the road to success are not a lack of ability and a lack of opportunity but fears of failure and rejection and the doubts that they trigger. The only way to overcome your fears is "to do the thing you fear," as Emerson wrote "and the death of fear is certain." Chapter 16 - Motivate Yourself To Action: "Most of your emotions, positive or negative, are determined by how you talk to yourself on a minute-to-minute basis. It is not what happens to you but the way you interpret the things that are happening to you that determines how you feel. Your version of events largely determines whether these events motivate or de-motivate you, whether they were energized or de-energize you." So, if you are looking for a book that will give you a good kick of motivation, with tons of practical tools. I highly recommend Eat That Frog!

Very helpful with procrastinating

I'm the head of HR, and I use this book frequently as a resource for new managers struggling with time management, as well as employees that are new to the workforce. It's also a great refresher for tenured workers who just need a reminder of how and when to focus on what's important to get the job done. *It's a fast, easy read, with action steps that anyone can immediately implement. *A variety of methods are introduced, so you can pick and choose the ones that work best for you, and the specific problems you're working on or challenges you're facing. *It is easy to see what methods are most useful for specific situations. *Beyond the practical nature of the book, it is pretty inspiring, with anecdotal evidence. *At the end of each short chapter are questions and exercises that are well suited for individual or group training. *As an example, each chapter is 4-5 pages. Chapter Six is called "Use the ABCDE Method Continually." -Using a list of everything you have to do, put an A next to anything that MUST get done and has very positive/negative consequences. -Then put a B by tasks that you should do, but only have minor consequences. -C tasks are "nice to-dos" but don't have any consequences. -D stands for delegate, and are tasks you can give to others to free up time for "A" tasks. -E tasks can be eliminated all together. -A & B tasks can be further broken down by A-1, A-2, A-3, etc. *One of the practice suggestions is to use the ABCDE Method with a project list every day for a month until it becomes a habit. *Again, the practice suggestions can easily be used in trainings. A group could prioritize a project list by ABCDE on a whiteboard, for example.

The content is excellent but I bought the CD version since Audible is never loud enough on my phone or IPad over the noise of cleaning the kitchen while listening--and the narrator, although articulate, talks far too fast. And you can tell he didn't write the book.

This was my first time reading Eat That Frog! and I can see why it’s such a classic. The idea of tackling your hardest, most important task first thing each day sounds simple, but it’s been a huge shift for me. Instead of pushing off the big stuff, I’m actually making progress on the goals I’ve been avoiding. I really liked how short and practical the book is—no filler, just clear steps I could use right away. At the end of each chapter there are exercises to reinforce the concepts that have helped me apply the ideas as I read. I also found the accelerators at the end to be useful to summarizing the learnings. If you struggle with procrastination, this book is a must.

Practical and actionable. A great quick read for those looking to get work back on track or just to optimise their work flow.

Wonderfull. Must read book. Deep content and easy to apply. I recommand to any body struggling with Time management and Productivity

Book is a great tool, its written for megadisorganized people like me, who do everything exactly opposite from principles explained.. I will try to do everything by the book this time.. i swear.. or at least try.. i guess..

Very happy with my purchase

Este libro me ha ayudado a mejorar mi productividad identificando en donde procrastino, utilizar esa energía y tiempo en cosas de valor que realmente contribuyen en mi vida profesional.

It arrived earlier than I expected. It’s worth the price.

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