Book Review: Eat That Frog!

Procrastination is a part of the human condition. Even the most successful people and small business owners procrastinate. But if it is holding you back and you are looking for a basic primer on goal-setting and productivity, Brian Tracy's Eat That Frog! is a useful, easy-to-read guide. Tracy is a personal and professional development specialist and prolific author and it shows in this book. There is no fluff.While I expected tips and tools on "eating the frog" (conquering your most dreaded task. My favorite tip: "If you have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn't pay to sit and look at it for very long"), I didn't expect such a concise guide on goal-setting and producing real results in your life.Like me, Tracy also recommends relying on Pareto's 80/20 law and examining closely everything you do to see if it really matters, is taking you closer to achieving your goals or you are spending too much time on useless time-wasters.To prevent overwhelm when facing your to do list, I like Tracy's Law of Three and identifying the 3 single most important things to help you achieve your goals or increase success each day. Work on those (which should include your major "frog") and the rest of the list becomes easy. Also, you know that the most important things have been accomplished as you continue through your day which increases overall productivity.The best tip, in my opinion, for overcoming procrastination itself, is in the chapter titled Take it One Oil Barrel at a Time. The story is great (page 60) and is all about not focusing on the "huge task ahead" but on the next step only. For me, the hardest part of writing is sometimes just coming up with a title or topic. That is my first "oil barrel".All in all, if you are well-versed in goal-setting and productivity enhancement, Eat That Frog! might be a repeat of things you already know. But if you are struggling and need a readable, highly usable introduction, I highly recommend the book. by Steven Schlagel