If there is one author I would always have his books on my bookshelf at any place and at any time, then that author would be Brian Tracy... He's one of the authors I appreciate a lot when it comes to writing books that offer great value and I don't joke with his books because reading his books has been extremely beneficial for me especially in when it comes to personal development, productivity, and business. As someone who works in the business space, his productivity books and business-related books have been a game changer for me. That's why for me, Brain Tracy is still up there as one of my favorite authors.
Today, I will be bring to you all another of my favorite books, this time, it is a productivity book which is one of my favorite books to read and books to always have on my shelf at all times. This book I'm going to be talking about today is not only one of my personal favorites, but also one of the personal favorites of many... as the book is an international bestseller with more than five hundred thousand copies sold. The numbers doesn't lie, which means the book is a great book to read.
The book I will be giving my own opinion about and what I think of the book is titled "Eat That Frog" by Brain Tracy. I really like the title of the book as it is basically an idiomatic expression that means tackling your most difficult and most challenging task first.
As I said earlier, this book is one of my best productivity books as it is packed with a lot of valuable and actionable tips that when put into practice can bring a positive change to someone's life.
The book is basically about overcoming procrastination and becoming better at getting things done by taking action. It gives 21 practical ways that anyone can implement to stop procrastination and get more things done in less time.
We all know that procrastination is bad and is what is stopping so many people from getting things done and achieving their dreams... Like the popular saying, your ideas and dreams means nothing if you don't take action... That's why I'm really glad that I came across the book and learnt a lot of valuable lessons from it.
For me, Eat That Frog by Brain Tracy is one of those books that you always have on your desk to read over and over again so as to practice the lessons it provides on a daily basis. Procrastination is one thing that is really difficult to overcome and a lot of us are guilty of it... that's why books like this are really valuable and come in handy as we all try to become better when it comes to getting things done at the right time.
In the book, the lessons are clear and is something the reader should learn from and practice...
The first way teaches about setting the table. This is basically saying that before you begin tackling your most difficult and challenging task, you need to first have clarity on what you want to achieve.
The second way teaches planning everyday in advance. This basically means that before you start any day's task, you have to plan it ahead.
The third way teaches applying the 80/20 rule. This basically means that 20 percent of the work you put in is most likely to yield 80 percent result.
The fourth lesson teaches considering the consequence. This means that you should always try to predict what will happen if you do or don't do something.
The fifth lesson teaches you to procrastinate on small tasks (which it calls creative procrastination), since as humans, we can't do everything... the bigger tasks should be tackled first.
The sixth way teaches that you should put more thought into planning and setting priorities.
The seventh way teaches focusing on key results This means focusing and having clarity on the things that matters.
The eight way teaches you the importance of applying the law of three. This means that identifying three of the core tasks that you have to and tackling them is key
The ninth way teaches that you have to prepare really well and thoroughly before you even begin.
The tenth way teaches to take it one step at a time when it comes to overcoming big challenges.
The eleventh way teaches upgrading key skills. This is really important to for personal development as it is key to learn important skills needed to tasks ahead.
The twelfth way teaches leveraging on your special skills to getting things done and also taking advantage of your special skills and becoming very good at it.
The thirteenth way teaches identifying your key constraints. This more like the opposite of the twelfth way... as it means that you should recognize your major challenges are... either improve and try to overcome them, or assign the task to people that are better suited or qualified for the task.
Fourteenth way teaches you to put the pressure on yourself. This simply means that putting pressure on yourself pushes you to sit up and not be complacent.
The fifteen way teaches maximizing your personal power.
The sixteen way teaches motivating yourself into action.
The seventeenth way teaches that you make use of technology in the right way and not be addicted to it.
The eighteenth way teaches slicing and dicing the task into small chunks and tackling the one at a time.
*The nineteenth way teaches that you create a very big chunk of time.
The twentieth way teaches developing a sense of urgency.
The twenty first way teaches you to single handle every task you have to overcome.
Looking at the 21 different ways to overcome procrastination and get things done in a short time, you can see why this book is very valuable and why i think it is one of the best productivity and self-help books out there
In my opinion, putting all the lessons into practice has made a positive change in me and how I am able to tackle tasks as the come. While sometimes it can be really difficult, but learning from this book has really helped me in reducing procrastination to the bare minimum.
If I'm to rate this book, I will give it a comfortable 9/10 or a 4/5 because I think this is one of the best productivity books out there and the author is one of the best out there when it comes to books that add value to people and impacts people positively. Eat that frog is a book that has proven to bring positive changes to people. The great thing about the book is that it is not a big book which means that anyone can pick up the book and finish reading it in about a day. Finally for, I would recommend this book to anyone that is struggling with procrastination and getting things done.