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Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop…
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Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time (original 2001; edition 2007)

by Brian Tracy (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,168557,281 (3.58)7
This is a good, solid, well-written book on time management. Whether you are seeking to improve the management of your own time or empathize with others as they attempt to become better stewards of their own time, this book will say it all - in only 21 short chapters!

Its central premise, that time is best managed by taking the hardest project on first, is a reliable and well-tested one. From this premise (put into a metaphor by eating a frog first), the entire book flows.

As with any 100-to-150-page book, what it captures in its brevity, it leaves out in its depth. It does not dwell on these subjects for an extended outlay of pages. If that is what you want - a series of short "devotionals" on time management - this book is for you. If you want to dive into a topic in depth, this book is not for you; perhaps you should pick up something by Peter Drucker.

The third edition (which I read) contains two helpful chapters on the time management of email - of pertinence to our society today. I like Mr. Tracy's contributions to discussion on these topics and welcome his insights into my practice. ( )
  scottjpearson | Jan 25, 2020 |
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Showing 1-25 of 52 (next | show all)
This is a really solid productivity book. Although the chapters are very short and we sometimes feel we lack a bit of argumentation and supporting material, the essence stands out and it is common sense enough to be applicable. Brian Tracy managed to cover all aspects of personal productivity in 21 chapters. It deals with the highest considerations of goal setting and directing one’s life to the most prosaic methods of struggling with one’s own tools and agenda to deliver actual results in front of a sheet of paper (or most likely, a computer). That is the beauty of it, even if one will feel compelled to schedule complementary readings to deepen some aspects, it is extremely handy to have a manual that covers all matters productivity in a few pages.

Strong points
1. Engaging style and common sense
2. A comprehensive tour of personal productivity
3. All chapters fit well together

Weak points
1. Too short in some chapters
2. Some concepts would have deserved more meat
3. Lacked supporting data and references to be fully credible ( )
  corporate_clone | Mar 4, 2024 |
A decent synopsis of work done by others. I would suggest Getting Things Done by David Allen. Use this book as a quick refresher of some of Allen's points. ( )
  wvlibrarydude | Jan 14, 2024 |
Quick digest of principles covered in Covey (7 habits) and Allen ([b:Getting Things Done|1633|Getting Things Done The Art of Stress-Free Productivity|David Allen|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1158299716s/1633.jpg|5759]). Practical instruction on goal setting, planning, and achieving goals. I would like to see this topic as a reality show similar to the new Real Simple reality show on TLC, because I need to see case study after case study to apply concepts to my own situation. I'm not in a situation where only 3 tasks are important and can be accomplished by uninterrupted time, I must allow for constant interruption for most of the day and my most important task is answering reference questions at a public library. That being said, I'm convinced of a need to delegate more and carve out times when I can work uninterrupted even for short periods. I like to listen to productivity books while I'm cleaning house, driving, doing laundry, or exercising (should be!). This is a great one because of Brian Tracy's slight mid-western accent...not nearly "Fargo", but worthy of mocking imitation (in an affectionate, norwegian bachelor farmer slash preacher kind of way). ( )
  jennifergeran | Dec 23, 2023 |
This is an above average collection of commonly known time management tactics. They almost hang together as a strategy. One unwarranted assumption the author makes is that everyone has 100% control of their workday priorities. I have a very flexible job and still only control between 20% and 60% of my time. There is nothing really new here, but may be worth listening to (or reading) if you need some reminding of what you should be doing. ( )
  zot79 | Aug 20, 2023 |
Good stuff! I already do most of these things, but it's nice to see them explained clearly. Reading this was a good motivator. ( )
  beckyrenner | Aug 3, 2023 |
Random figures, excessive repetition, obscure quotes. A few good ideas which can be picked up by skimming through. ( )
  aashishrathi | Jul 1, 2023 |
I was thoroughly impressed with the content of the book. The author presents a unique and effective approach to goal setting and task prioritization that has helped me stay motivated and focused on my priorities. The concept of "eating the frog" - tackling the most difficult task first thing in the morning - has completely transformed the way I approach my day and has made me more productive and efficient. The writing style is engaging and easy to understand, and the practical tips and strategies provided in the book are extremely valuable. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to increase their productivity and reach their goals faster. ( )
  MelvinVarghese | Apr 30, 2023 |
Excellent book, simple and to the point solutions ( )
  machaith | Feb 27, 2023 |
According to this book, I should not be updating my Goodreads first thing in the morning, but here we are.

I had recently taken a quiz on PureWow or some such site about my "chronotype," which is like what kind of productivity schedule works best for you based on different animals, and that had convinced me to work on my most strenuous tasks between the hours of 10 and 2. But obviously, 10 became 10:30, then 11, or if I never got into my toughest stuff, I didn't even sweat it. It really just became a looming deadline of when I would have to start my most difficult, dreaded tasks. When I was discussing that concept with friends, they mentioned "eating the frog," which I had never heard before but could kind of guess what it meant.

The title is ostensibly based on a Mark Twain quote, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day," which gets transmuted into “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first,” somewhere on the back of the boook. Although actually, there isn't much evidence outside of the internet that Mark Twain ever actually said that, and it probably originated from the French humorist/social critic Nicolas Chamfort (this is according to what I read on quoteinvestigator.com), with a couple of journalists taking the liberty in the late 80s/early 90s of attributing this to Mark Twain, because, why not? This is a little bit depressing because obviously it makes one question the reliability of all of the other information that is presented as fact in the book, but I do like the approach in general, namely that you should get your biggest, most important, most vital tasks done first thing, rather than last thing. The book goes off the rails at some points; the author goes from saying that optimism (a.k.a. being action/solutions-oriented, practicing positive thinking) is an important virtue to saying that you should always answer "I'm feeling terrific" when someone asks you how you are and that you should never share your problems with anyone (80% of them don't care, 20% of them are happy that you have them–although I'm slightly obsessed with this). He spends a lot of time talking about the utmost importance of maximum productivity, but he also prefaces it with the overall goal of minimizing time at work and maximizing time with loved ones, for example, and how to set meaningful goals and define success for yourself in all areas of life. This book is from 2006, for better and for worse; there are references to Blackberries and PDAs (lol), but he still makes some good points about technology being a servant > master, and the value of unplugging. I'm also just a big fan of any book that doesn't primarily exist as a tool to sell you something else (a planner, journal, course, etc.).

I listened to this book, but I definitely just put a hold on it so that I can work through the exercises and activities on paper, too. I'm excited to institute this as my New Year's resolution and see what happens in my work and life spaces! ( )
  graceandbenji | Sep 1, 2022 |
This short book breaks offers 21 ways to be more productive. The visualization of eating the biggest ugliest frog just didn't appeal to me. And I've actually eaten frog.

Nothing earth shattering here. It's easily digestible. In the world of books, it's in the world of "less filling" and not "taste great".





( )
  wellington299 | Feb 19, 2022 |
This book starts out strong, centered around its valuable 'Eat That Frog' prescription, but then gets more and more ridiculous the further along you get. By the end, each chapter sounds like a parody of itself.

Once I got to the technology chapters, I was certain I was reading some poorly aged book from the 90's, which is mostly true since the first edition came out in 2001. But then the author includes specific mentions of smart phones so no one can claim it hasn't been updated. I think the truth is Eat That Frog was written for the boomer white-collar demographic, now at retirement age, and unfortunately that means you can expect a certain level of tone deafness about what challenges the younger digital natives are facing. ( )
  Daniel.Estes | Nov 9, 2021 |
I picked this book up from my local library after browsing the shelves for something that would catch my eye. I have been pretty good procrastination wise but I have been drifting along career wise for a little while. This book looked quite interesting and it looked nice and concise so I decided it would be worth a shot.

This book is broken into 21 sections with each section dealing with a different part of the overall time management plan. At the end of each chapter there is a short summary which details what your next step should be and what you should do to make the most of your time. Everything is well explained and laid out in a very easy to read way.

Like a lot of books in this field it is geared more towards middle management types who work in an office environment (this is not me). Despite this I found a lot of good points and there is a lot that I think I will use in my job and life. I planned to take a few notes along the way and when I had finished I ended up with 30 pages worth. ( )
  Brian. | Jul 24, 2021 |
In this glib tract, to "eat a live frog" is to get on with it. Launching his principles of time management, Tracy credits Mark Twain without quote or citation, a tipoff that his "laws" are not a product of rigorous scholarship. A real Twain quote, a Pudd'nhead Wilson epigraph in "Following the Equator," is more elegant and easier to follow: "Make it a point to do something every day that you don't want to do. This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain."
  rynk | Jul 11, 2021 |
There's some good advice in here, but it's both a bit dated and a bit cliched. Still, by virtue of being concise (rather than padded), it's a good book. If it were any longer it would be 3/5. Actually, it really is a 3/5.

There are some good things in here -- that you will ultimately be judged on effectiveness (actually, only true in certain jobs; there are a bunch of jobs where politics and appearance matter more than task completion, and jobs where adequacy in task completion effectiveness, coupled with good optics management, is the ideal), that there's a flywheel effect from success (when you finish something, you get better and more motivated at finishing), etc.

Something which presented largely the same ideas but using some real-world examples (both anecdotes and data) would be a lot stronger. Also, for me, a presentation using analogy or references to tech would make a lot of these concepts clearer -- "context switching" is a known performance cost in computing, and there are strategies to handle it, which the author didn't include. Economics includes the concept of "sunk costs fallacy", and if he referenced it, could have done a better job.

Fundamentally my problem with the book is he says "don't do X" rather than "this is how to do X in the least bad way". A blanket proscription on multitasking is nice, and encouraging single-minded focus on a single task to completion, but to make that work, you have to have either other people enabling you (by buffering interactions with the outside world), or you have to set up systems to, e.g. downconvert phone calls and IMs into email and then handle all of those in a single 30 minute period at the end of the day. There are tips for multitasking like breaking things up by location or time, leaving tasks in states which are easily resumed, etc. ( )
  octal | Jan 1, 2021 |
Most of this book can basically be boiled down to "focus on the key activities that you believe provide you the most value." Each chapter tries to look at this goal in a bit of a different light. Some chapters feel really similar to others, but since the book is so terse and to the point this isn't really as big a deal as it is in most other self-development books. Taking an approach of reviewing the chapter concept and then skipping to another section if it doesn't seem promising works well.

Some parts of this book are inconsistent - for example, Chapter 4 says "Many people say that they work better under the pressure of deadlines. Unfortunately, years of research indicate that this is seldom true." but then Chapter 13 encourages you to "Set deadlines and subdeadlines on every task and activity." I don't think this is necessarily a huge issue, because to me the book was mostly about providing new ways of thinking about prioritization. Still, it seems weird to put such diametrically opposed advice into the same volume.

Overall, I'd recommend reading it. I got enough insights that this is worth the ~hour you will spend on it. A few selections that jumped out to me:
* Self-esteem is the reputation you have with yourself.
* zero-based thinking: “If I were not doing this already, knowing what I now know, would I start doing it again today?”
* You'll never catch up on everything that you want to do. You have to accept that lower-priority tasks will likely never get done, if you are doing a good job prioritizing. ( )
  rsanek | Dec 26, 2020 |
This book has a lot of practical advice for getting things done. Even though I knew most of it, I found that reading the book (it's short) was worthwhile just as a source of motivation. It's going to change your life, but it might help. ( )
  isovector | Dec 13, 2020 |
The title refers to a comment by Mark Twain about being sure that eating a frog first thing is probably the worst thing your day might hold. Tracy plays up that theme throughout: eat the ugliest frog first, eat the frog bite by bite, etc. A little jargony and pop-psychology-infused (a lot of telling yourself things -- over and over: I like myself! Do it now!) but still some valid points about setting goals and priorities and making traction on the things that matter. Unfortunately, this isn't going to help me get 15 years of photos organized or clear through the kid detritus since it is very business-based and though I tried to find some takeaways for my life, they were few and far between. I could see it being effective in an office setting where a person could close a door and get a reasonable amount of flow going without constant interruptions and needs and demands. Very accessible and concrete. ( )
  CarrieWuj | Oct 24, 2020 |
An easy read, a fun read.

1 Set the Table p7
2 Plan Every Day in Advance p13
3 Apply the 80/20 rule to everything p19
4 consider the Consequences p25
5 Practice the ABCDE Method continually p31
6 Focus on Key Results Areas p35
7 Obey the law of Forced Efficiency p41
8 Prepare thoroughly Before you begin p47
9 Do your homework p51
10 Leverage your special talents p57
11 Identify your key constraints
12 Take it one oil barrel at a time
13 Put the Pressure on Yourself p71
14 Maximize Your Personal Powers p75
15 Motivate yourself into action p81
16 Practice creative procrastination
17 Do the most difficult task first
18 Slice and dice the task p93
19 Crate large chunks of time p101
21 Single handle every task p105
Conclusion: Putting it All Together ( )
  bread2u | Jul 1, 2020 |
This is a good, solid, well-written book on time management. Whether you are seeking to improve the management of your own time or empathize with others as they attempt to become better stewards of their own time, this book will say it all - in only 21 short chapters!

Its central premise, that time is best managed by taking the hardest project on first, is a reliable and well-tested one. From this premise (put into a metaphor by eating a frog first), the entire book flows.

As with any 100-to-150-page book, what it captures in its brevity, it leaves out in its depth. It does not dwell on these subjects for an extended outlay of pages. If that is what you want - a series of short "devotionals" on time management - this book is for you. If you want to dive into a topic in depth, this book is not for you; perhaps you should pick up something by Peter Drucker.

The third edition (which I read) contains two helpful chapters on the time management of email - of pertinence to our society today. I like Mr. Tracy's contributions to discussion on these topics and welcome his insights into my practice. ( )
  scottjpearson | Jan 25, 2020 |
Brian Tracy is no doubt a true master of his chosen craft for he has sold millions of copies of his self-help books to thousands, if not millions of people from all over the world, and has managed to push them forward with the power of his inspirational words to such an extent that they were able to discover and uncover their truest endless and limitless potential and make their dreams come true. However, this book's not one of his finest works, according to my humble opinion, for it didn't convince me at all as an avid reader. It's not that I disagree with 21 different ways on how to stop procrastinating and get more things done in far less time than usual that he has mentioned inside of this book, but I just think and I just feel that the only true way to actually stop procrastinating is by continuously taking massive action after massive action until your subconscious mind gets used to those massive actions and eventually accepts your grind. For you cannot really stop procrastinating, until your subconscious mind learns the true value and the true worth of hard work, immense effort, immense persistence, the true value and the true worth of your immense potential, and the true value and the true worth of your success. ( )
  Champ88 | Dec 25, 2019 |
Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy is about time management and personal productivity. If sometimes you find yourself cleaning your house, organizing files on your PC etc. instead of doing really important things that you should find this book really useful. Although many of these tiny activities seem to be productive they aren’t the best use of your time. So what you really should be doing is eating that Frog which means doing your most important task. Simultaneously, it is the task which has the greatest influence on your current situation.

Anyway, the book has 21 chapters and each of those chapters covers one specific tip on how to get more done, to stop procrastinating and use your time more wisely. The chapters are easily digestible, they all have actionable tips that you can apply to get better at your time management. The flip side of that is 21 things is pretty a lot and that might be a bit overwhelming. I have also found the chapters a little bit redundant and had the impression that the book might be compressed even more.

So there are a few general principles which you have to follow in order to get more done in less time. First, you have to assign your priorities by taking a few steps. For instance, make a list of things to do and consider the consequences of doing nothing with these tasks. Which of these unfinished tasks could be the worst to your role within your company. Then, use the Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) – in this example it means to focus on 20% of your tasks as they deliver 80% of your results. When you have your most crucial task defined plan them in advance. A day without a plan can easily be a wasted day so make sure that you have time in your day to take care of your priorities.

The interesting thing was the argument that we should avoid multi-tasking. You should devote all your attention to one thing at a time and you would be amazed at how much more you could accomplish than if you were trying to do five things at once. Easier said than done, nevertheless, the examples provided by the author were worth reading and pretty convincing.

I have touched only a few of rules provided by Brian Tracy but if I had to choose around 10 out of 21 the most important tips on personal productivity it would be:
1. Plan every day in advance
2. Consider the consequences of doing nothing
3. Apply the Pareto principle
4. Focus on key results
5. Upgrade your key skills
6. Identify your key constraints
7. Get out of your comfort zone...(if you like to read my full review please visit my blog https://leadersarereaders.blog/eat-that-frog/) ( )
  LeadersAreReaders | Jun 12, 2019 |
Gutes Buch, eine Menge hilfreiche Tipps. Man weiß eigentlich fast alles schon, aber das Buch fest es knapp und klar zusammen. ( )
  volumed42 | May 1, 2019 |
A very generic self-help book that draws strongly on other self-help books. On the plus side, it lines up with a lot of my own personal views and was very short. On the negative side, my wife and daughter are already tired of me talking about eating frogs. ( )
  villemezbrown | Jul 28, 2018 |
Although this book is geared for leadership/management people, I found this just as valuable me as a retired person. It had some chapters that gave me some glimpse to my own shortcomings that when implemented will add purpose and value to my day. ( )
  berthashaver | Jan 9, 2018 |
How to stop procrastinating so you can accomplish more and advance at twork. ( )
  lilibrarian | Oct 13, 2017 |
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