Eat That Frog Summary – 21 Principles For Life

The Eat That Frog is one stop to learning about human behavior, and why human loves to give an excuse, even the work is important, even after knowing that, Exercise is good for health, human ignores it. That’s what Brian Tracy has shared in his book, its eye opener book and it will change the way you think about your life.

“One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very well that need not be done at all. – Brian Tracy

What is Procrastination?

Let’s say, you want to do exercise today at 7:00 PM but when that time comes, you will say, I have that work or I’m tired, so I will do exercise tomorrow at 9:00 AM.

Now, when tomorrow comes, you will say again, I have that or this work to do, this time for sure, I will do exercise at 5:00 PM.

So basically, Repeating the same thing again & again and giving an excuse to do something else is called Procrastination.

Talking about myself, I have given lots of excuses for exercise, reading, delaying work tasks, and many other things but when I understand why I was delaying tasks, that’s when I started doing what supposed to do in the first place.

So first, understand, why you’re giving an excuse, and once you realize that, you will never give an excuse.

Eat That Frog Summary

Now, before I read Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy, I had read quite of few books on time management. So Eat that Frog didn’t teach me lots of things but it did help me refresh my memory.

I started scheduling my day after reading the 7 habits of highly effective people, before that, I use to do all of my work on the spot.

I never had a to-do list, I use to search on Google to find out my next topic for my websites, and then I found the 7 habits of highly effective people and that’s when I understood the value of scheduling.

Coming back to Eat that Frog,

It says the same thing but in very a compact way, so if you don’t want to read 300 pages of a book then just read the Eat that Frog book and you will understand the importance of time.

So if you’re that person, who wanted to manage your time and task then you should read Eat that Frog, it will teach you everything from managing tasks to how to use time in the right way.

Technology Is a Terrible Master

It’s a simple thing, don’t use a smartphone or any kind of gadget for a timepass. Now, it looks simple but applying the same in real life is quite hard.

You might have an addiction to scrolling through apps like Instagram or even games like PUBG.

Now, when you realize that I have an addiction, you have to ask yourself, why do I play PUBG for hours or why do I have Instagram App on my smartphone?

This is where things get tricky, if you realize addiction within yourself then it will be easy to overcome, and if not, then you should ask for help or read books to understand yourself.

Let me give you my example, it’s not about technology, it’s coffee…

I use to drink three cups of coffee every day and that was affecting my life in a bad way. Believe me, I have consumed hall lot of coffee for years.

Now one fine day, I was browsing the Amazon and I come across Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, this book give me a reason to cut down on coffee and that’s where I went from three cups to one cup.

Today in 2022, I don’t drink coffee because I realized that I was dependent on coffee to do exercise, my work, or any kind of work. So I told myself, either you can drink one cup of coffee before noon or quit.

By the way, I tried doing the same but that didn’t work, so had to quit coffee.

The addiction to coffee or anything else is very bad, if you can control it then it’s a good thing but if not then I think, you have to sit down for movement and think about it.

Now, let me share with you some of the tips which Brian Tracy has shared in Eat that Frog to quit social media or playing games for hours.

• Resolve today to turn off all notifications, except for your emergency channels. Create special areas in your digital life for your most important tasks.
• Resolve to research and install one piece of software or one app that will help you be more efficient and focused.

Brian Tracy has said that technology can be very helpful if you use it on the right day. Let’s say, you use google calendar to schedule tasks, To-do apps for task management, and many other things.

Plan Every Day in Advance

I think I have already said that but hey, let’s repeat the same.

One of the most important rules of personal effectiveness is the 10/90 Rule.

The rule says that the first 10 percent of the time that you spend planning and organizing your work before you begin will save you as much as 90 percent of the time in getting the job done once you get started.

When you plan each day in advance, you will find it much easier to get going. The work will go faster and smoother than ever before. You will feel more powerful and competent. Eventually, you will become unstoppable.

Now let me share with you some of the key points from the book for better understanding…

• Begin today to plan every day, week, and month in advance. Take a notepad or sheet of paper (or use your smartphone) and make a list of everything you have to do in the next twenty-four hours. Add to your list as new items come up. Make a list of all your projects, and the big multitask jobs that are important to your future.
• Lay out all of your major goals, projects, and tasks by priority, what is most important, and by sequence, what has to be done first, what comes second, and so forth. Start with the end in mind and work backward.
• Think on paper! Always work from a list. You’ll be amazed at how much more productive you become and how much easier it is to eat your frog.

It’s a simple thing to do but it’s always hard to follow.

Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything

The 80/20 Rule is also called the “Pareto Principle” after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who first wrote about it in 1895.

Pareto noticed that people in his society seemed to divide naturally into what he called the “vital few,” the top 20 percent in terms of money and influence, and the “trivial many,” the bottom 80 percent.

He later discovered that virtually all economic activity was subject to this principle as well.

For example, this principle says that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results, 20 percent of your customers will account for 80 percent of your sales, and 20 percent of your products or services will account for 80 percent of your profits, 20 percent of your tasks will account for 80 percent of the value of what you do, and so on.

This means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth much more than the other eight items put together.

Brian Tracy summarised the 80/20 Rule in a very simple way…

1. Make a list of all the key goals, activities, projects, and responsibilities in your life today. Which of them is, or could be, in the top 10 or 20 percent of tasks that represent, or could represent, 80 or 90 percent of your results?
2. Resolve today that you are going to spend more and more of your time working in those few areas that can really make a difference in your life and career and spend less and less time on lower-value activities.

Before you begin work, always ask yourself, “Is this task in the top 20 percent of my activities or the bottom 80 percent?”

It’s always better to go as per plan, if you have made a list of tasks then follow the task from top to bottom.

Verdict

Whenever I feel procrastinating, I always go back to Eat That Frog and it gives me a clear idea of where I’m wasting my time.

So yes, I would highly recommend you to read Eat That Frog to understand the value of time management.

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