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

1. Identify and Tackle Your Biggest, Ugliest Frog First

If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.

Your frog is your most important task. It's the one you're most likely to procrastinate on, but also the one that can have the greatest positive impact on your life. By tackling this task first thing in the morning, you set yourself up for success and productivity throughout the day.

Develop the habit of starting with your biggest challenge. This approach builds momentum and gives you a sense of accomplishment early on. It also ensures that even if you accomplish nothing else that day, you've made significant progress on something crucial. Remember, procrastination is the thief of time and opportunity. By eating your frog first, you're taking control of your day and your life.

2. Plan Your Day in Advance and Prioritize Ruthlessly

Every minute spent in planning saves as many as ten minutes in execution.

Planning is a crucial time-management tool. By taking 10-12 minutes to plan your day in advance, you can save up to two hours in wasted time and diffused effort throughout the day. Use the ABCDE method to prioritize your tasks:

• A: Must do - very important tasks with serious consequences
• B: Should do - important but less crucial tasks
• C: Nice to do - tasks with no real consequences
• D: Delegate - tasks that can be done by someone else
• E: Eliminate - tasks that can be eliminated altogether

Always work from a list. When something new comes up, add it to the list before doing it. This simple habit can increase your productivity by 25% or more from the first day you start using it.

3. Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything You Do

20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results.

Focus on high-value activities. The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 Rule, suggests that 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results. Identify these high-impact tasks and prioritize them. This might mean:

• Focusing on the 20% of customers who generate 80% of your revenue
• Concentrating on the 20% of products that yield 80% of your profits
• Dedicating time to the 20% of your tasks that create 80% of your value

Continually ask yourself: "Is this task in the top 20% of my activities or in the bottom 80%?" This mindset helps you focus on what truly matters and avoid getting bogged down in low-value work.

4. Practice Creative Procrastination

You can't do everything that you have to do. You have to procrastinate on something!

Deliberately choose what to procrastinate on. Since you can't do everything, decide to procrastinate on low-value activities. This allows you to focus your time and energy on high-impact tasks. Some strategies for creative procrastination include:

• Saying "no" to non-essential tasks
• Delegating tasks that others can do
• Eliminating unnecessary activities altogether

Regularly review your responsibilities. Continually ask yourself, "If I was not doing this already, knowing what I now know, would I get into it again today?" If the answer is no, it's a prime candidate for elimination or creative procrastination.

5. Develop a Sense of Urgency and Take Action

The most outwardly identifiable quality of a high performing man or woman is "action orientation."

Cultivate a bias towards action. High performers think, plan, and set priorities, but then they launch quickly and strongly toward their goals. They work steadily and continuously, accomplishing far more than average people who waste time on low-value activities.

Aim to enter a state of "flow." This is a mental state of peak performance where you feel elated, clear, and highly productive. To achieve this:

• Work on high-value tasks
• Maintain a high and continuous level of activity
• Eliminate distractions and interruptions
• Focus intensely on the task at hand

By developing a sense of urgency and taking consistent action, you can dramatically increase your productivity and effectiveness.

6. Focus on Key Result Areas and Continually Improve

Your weakest key result area sets the height at which you can use all your other skills and abilities.

Identify your key result areas. These are the results that you absolutely must get to fulfill your responsibilities and make your maximum contribution to your organization. For a manager, these might include planning, organizing, staffing, delegating, supervising, measuring, and reporting.

Continually upgrade your skills. Once you've identified your key result areas:

1. Grade yourself on a scale of 1-10 in each area
2. Identify your weakest area
3. Set a goal to improve in that area
4. Make a plan to develop that skill
5. Take action on your plan every day

Remember, you may be only one critical skill away from top performance in your job. Continual improvement in your key result areas can have a dramatic impact on your career and life.

7. Create Large Chunks of Uninterrupted Time

Your ability to create and carve out these blocks of high value, highly productive time, is central to your ability to make a significant contribution to your work and to your life.

Schedule blocks of focused work time. Most important work requires large chunks of uninterrupted time to complete. Strategies for creating these blocks include:

• Working early in the morning before others arrive
• Turning off your phone and email notifications
• Using travel time for focused work
• Scheduling specific time blocks for important tasks

Protect your productive time. Once you've scheduled these blocks, treat them as appointments with yourself. Discipline yourself to use this time solely for high-value, focused work. This approach can dramatically increase your productivity and the quality of your output.

8. Motivate Yourself into Action and Stay Positive

Fully 95% of your emotions, positive or negative, are determined by how you talk to yourself on a minute to minute basis.

Become your own cheerleader. Your self-talk has a profound impact on your motivation and performance. To keep yourself motivated:

• Respond positively to challenges and setbacks
• Constantly tell yourself "I can do it!"
• Always look for the good in every situation
• Seek valuable lessons in difficulties
• Focus on solutions rather than problems

Cultivate optimism. Optimists are more successful and happier. They have three key behaviors:

1. They look for the good in every situation
2. They seek valuable lessons in every setback
3. They always look for solutions to problems

By maintaining a positive outlook and motivating yourself through positive self-talk, you can overcome procrastination and achieve higher levels of performance.

9. Maximize Your Personal Powers Through Self-Care

Your productivity begins to decline after eight or nine hours of work.

Prioritize your physical and mental well-being. Your energy levels are crucial for high performance. To maintain peak productivity:

• Get enough sleep (aim for 7-8 hours per night)
• Take regular breaks throughout the day
• Exercise regularly
• Eat a healthy, balanced diet
• Take one full day off each week to recharge

Identify your peak performance times. Most people are at their best in the mornings, after a good night's sleep. Some are better in the afternoons or evenings. Identify when you're most productive and schedule your most important tasks during these times.

Remember, working long hours doesn't necessarily mean higher productivity. Often, it leads to burnout and decreased effectiveness. By taking care of yourself, you ensure that you have the energy and focus to tackle your most important tasks efficiently.

10. Slice and Dice Large Tasks to Overcome Procrastination

Often, once you have started and completed a single part of the job, you will feel like doing just one more "slice."

Break large tasks into smaller, manageable pieces. Two effective methods for this are:

1. The "Salami Slice" method: Break the task into small, bite-sized pieces and commit to doing just one slice at a time.
2. The "Swiss Cheese" method: Resolve to work on the task for a specific, short period (e.g., 5-10 minutes), then stop and do something else.

Leverage the power of completion. Finishing even a small part of a task triggers a sense of accomplishment and releases endorphins in your brain. This positive feeling motivates you to continue working on the task.

By breaking large, daunting tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces, you can overcome the initial resistance to starting. This approach helps build momentum and makes it easier to complete even the most challenging projects.

Last updated: July 19, 2024