Eat That Frog!

Today we’re talking about eating frogs 🐸 

No, not the French delicacy but the productivity method:

“If the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that it’s probably the worst thing you’ll have to do all day.” - commonly attributed to Mark Twain.

In the metaphorical sense, your “frog” is your most important, challenging task…the one you are most likely to put off but also the one that can have the greatest positive impact on your life or work. The key is not just doing more, but doing what matters most, first.

Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy offers a practical and powerful solution to one of the most common challenges we all face: procrastination. This international bestseller isn’t just another self-help book. It’s a productivity bible that arms you with simple, actionable strategies to take control of your day and get more done with less stress.

Eat That Frog! is a concise and straightforward guide that describes 21 principles to stop procrastinating and start taking purposeful action. Tracy’s philosophy draws heavily from time-tested methods in goal setting, task prioritisation and discipline. The book is deeply influenced by the Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule), Parkinson’s Law (work expands to fill the available time) and the importance of clarity in personal and professional goals.

The central premise revolves around one concept: focus on your biggest, ugliest, most important task first, your “frog”, and get it done.

Tracy encourages readers to build momentum by planning daily, setting priorities, developing lifelong habits and resisting the urge to delay difficult tasks. His insights are broken into digestible chapters, each ending with a practical action step that makes it easy to apply what you learn immediately…it also helps that the book is only 108 pages long which makes it a great introduction to the subject of productivity! 📖 

✏️ 1. Define your daily frog

Your “frog” is your most valuable task. It’s the one that will have the most significant, positive impact if completed. Identify it clearly and tackle it first each day.

💪🏻 Actionable Tip: Every evening or morning, list your top three priorities for the day ahead. Highlight the one that scares or challenges you most - this is your frog.

Do it first…before checking emails, scrolling social media or engaging in low-value tasks. Over time, this habit rewires your brain to seek focus over distraction.

✏️ 2. Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything

80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. Don’t try to do everything, focus on what matters most.

💪🏻 Actionable Tip: Review your to-do list and identify the top 20% of tasks that yield 80% of your outcomes. Delegate, defer or drop the remaining 80% that don’t contribute meaningfully to your goals. This method keeps your attention on high-value tasks and prevents burnout from low-return activities.

✏️ 3. Use the ABCDE Method for Prioritisation

Not all tasks are created equal. Assigning clear priorities to each task using the ABCDE method can transform how you manage time and reduce overwhelm.

💪🏻 Actionable Tip: Label your tasks as follows:

• A = Must Do (serious consequences if not done)

• B = Should Do (mild consequences)

• C = Nice to Do (no consequences)

• D = Delegate (someone else can do it)

• E = Eliminate (no longer necessary)

Start each day by tackling your A task - your biggest frog. Avoid touching B, C, D, or E tasks until all A tasks are complete.

✏️ 4. Follow the Law of Forced Efficiency

There’s never enough time to do everything, but there’s always time to do the most important thing.

💪🏻 Actionable Tip: Impose artificial deadlines to activate your sense of urgency. Use time-blocking to allocate specific periods for deep work and stick to them as if they’re non-negotiable meetings. Treat your time like money, spend it only on what brings return on investment (this includes ‘me’ time to recharge - you are your best investment).

✏️ 5. Build a Habit of Single-Tasking

Multitasking is a myth. Just don’t do it. Focused, uninterrupted work leads to greater productivity and better results.

💪🏻 Actionable Tip: Choose one task and commit to working on it for 25–45 minutes using the Pomodoro Technique. Remove all digital distractions - mute notifications, shut down unnecessary tabs and put your phone away. Give your full attention to one task at a time. Over time, this discipline becomes second nature.

Want to learn more? If you would like to buy a copy of Eat That Frog! and support us at the same time, you can shop at our affiliate link here. When you buy through this link, we will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. We’re excited to share our takeaways and insights from the top non-fiction books every fortnight and truly enjoy writing this newsletter. Thank you for your support and for being part of our growing community. 📚️ 

Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog! is more than just a manual on getting things done, it’s a call to action for anyone who’s tired of spinning their wheels and ready to reclaim their time and energy. By changing your mindset, clarifying your priorities and committing to focused daily action, you can achieve more in less time, with less stress.

You don’t need to be in France to eat frogs…you can start from wherever you are in the world, tomorrow morning. 😉

Bon appétit!

Beck
Team Thrive in Five