Eat That Frog
January 2023
I spent the end of Dec 2022 and the beginning of 2023 reading this book. It truly is a great book in teaching more about perfecting time management. A frog is symbolised as the task that requires the most effort in an individual’s day and hence, it focuses on making it easier to get that task done, in the simplest and most effective manner. It follows an old saying, that if the first thing anyone does each morning is eat a frog, they’ll have the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that it’ll be the worst thing they’ll do all day and would hence be able to breeze through other tasks. The book is a great help as it helps me get more done by doing a set of simple things that I refer to as resolutions from each of the chapters. It is also great at helping you to discern what are high-value vs low-value tasks.
1. Set the table
Clarity is vital in getting any task done, and done to the best of your ability. The more clear a task is, the less procrastination and lack of motivation one experiences. This is extremely true when I look back at tasks I have had to accomplish, being clear is often overlooked, but when the goals and objectives are crystal clear, the process to reach them becomes way more frictionless.
Resolutions: Think on paper, make a list of 10 goals I would like to accomplish this year. Use the present tense, positive voice to dream the goal into reality. Review the list and pick the one (major) goal that would have the greatest impact in my life. Write that goal somewhere else, set a deadline and work on that goal every single day.
2. Plan every day in advance
Planning is a key step to any task or project. No matter how large it may look, a detailed plan breaking it down into it’s simplest parts (atomicity) can be the single most important thing once can do. The 6-P Formula, “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance” is very evident in almost anything we do as humans.
Resolutions: Plan every day, week and month in advance. Simply, always work from some sort of list. This frees up my brain to do more important cognitive tasks.
3. Apply the 80/20 Rule to everything
This is also known as the Pareto Principle. It states that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results. If we have a list of 10 tasks, then by this principle, 1 or 2 of those tasks will contribute five or ten times the value of any of the other tasks. These tasks are the most valuable, and often the hardest and most complex. Note though, the payoff for completing these are tremendous.
Resolutions: Make a list of all the key goals, activities and projects I am doing each month and clearly delineate which fall in the top 10 or 20 percent of tasks that are the most valuable to me. Resolve that I will spend more time attending to those and spend less time on lower-value activities.
4. Consider the consequences
It can be noted that people who take a long-term view of their lives and careers always seem to be ahead or make better decisions than the rest of the competition who give little to no time of day thinking of the future. Long-term thinking can hence improve short-term decision making. A common interview question is “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”. While I don’t advocate for such a question, having a clear future orientation is vital to succesful people as they tend to analyze their choices and behaviors way more in-depth and hence work towards their long term desires. This affinity for success is likely what potential employers are looking for.
Resolutions: Review my list of tasks & activities and continuously ask myself which of them, if I did in an excellent and timely fashion, would contribute the greatest positive consequences in my work or personal life.
5. Practice creative procrastination
Creative procrastination sounds silly but makes a lot of sense when you think deeply about it. The simple fact is, there will never be enough time to do everything you have/want to do. Since procrastination (much like Thanos) is inevitable, learn to procrastinate on the lower-value tasks. It is also important to say no, especially when something will hinder you from your main goals or tasks. Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world at a net worth of 107.6 billion USD at the time of writing this, said one of his secrets of success is simply saying no to everything that is not absolutely vital to him at the moment.
Resolutions: Practice a form of “zero-based thinking” aka a KWINK analysis. Ask myself continually, “If I was not now doing this, knowing what I now know, would I get involved in this area again?”. If it’s something I would not start again today, it would be a prime candidate for abandonment or posteriority. Have a look at my current tasks and select at least one activity that I should creatively procrastinate until my more important goals have been achieved.
6. Use the ABCDE Method continually
This a simple technique that boils down to prioritisation of tasks. You write everything that needs to be done on a paper for the day and then place an A, B, C, D or E beside it. The order of importance is as follows:
A (Very important & will have serious positive/negative consequences if you do it or don’t do it),
B (Task that should be done & has mild consequences),
C (Task that would be nice to do & has no consequences if done or not done),
D (Can be delegated to someone else) and
E (Task that can altogether be eliminated).
Resolutions: Review my work list and prioritise according to the ABCDE method. Discipline myself to only tackle lower tasks like B if and only if A tasks are done.
7. Focus on key result areas
Have you ever asked yourself, why was I hired? What exactly am I being paid to do? In essence, your job can broken down into a set of 5-7 key result areas that will essentially provide your organisation a maximum ROI and allow you to also maximally contribute to the ultimate goals. A key result area, is something that you, and no one else, is directly responsible for. Defining these key result areas, will allow you become better at them through skill development and hence become a leader or SME in that specific area. Becoming better at something makes it easy for you to do and hence growth in a role becomes apparent.
Resolutions: Identify the key result areas of my work. Determine the skills that directly contribute to each of them, and outline the single skill that can contribute to all the areas at once. Work on that skill and develop it to a level unseen before. Discuss this list of key result areas with other people (direct or skip-level managers) and invite honest feedback, advice or appraisal. Do this analysis regularly, and never stop improving.
8. Apply the Law of Three
The number three is something we resonate with in our lives. Usually sets of three are the norm, and I personally, always prefer at least having 3 things in everything I do, for example, 3 benefits, 3 reasons to do something, 3 ideal destinations when planning a holiday, and the list goes on. In other aspects of life, we always notice the first 3, the “Top 3” and we have Bronze, Silver and Gold when it comes to handing out medals. Seems like it is a magic number, and for good reason.
Resolutions: Determine the 3 most important tasks I need to do in my work to achieve the greatest value. Concentrate on these 3 single-mindedly for the entire day. Then, identify the 3 most important goals in each area of my life (3 facets are financial/career, personal and health/fitness), organise them by priority and make plans for their accomplishment. Work on doing something small every single day to accomplish them.
9. Prepare thoroughly before you begin
An adage that I recall from my high school life is “failing to prepare, is preparing to fail” and this holds true to this day. Take time to create a comfortable place of work that will ease you into your flow state with minimal friction. The cleaner and neater it is, the easier it will be for you to start work and keep working. What follows is then simple, get started. Do something, anything, as long as you start.
Resolutions: Take a look at my desk and strive to keep it as neat as possible; this will inherently contribute to my positivity, productivity and confidence in any work I will be doing. Then take one step immediately and follow through.
10. Take it one oil barrel at a time
Similar to what people say, “take one step at a time”. Any task, no matter it’s size or complexity, can be achieved by simply discipling oneself to work at doing a single component of it at a time. These components are sometimes stand-alone but when integrated can contribute to task completion in a very efficient manner. Thus, do one task at a time, quickly and to the best of your ability and this momentum will push through towards ultimately finishing the huger task at hand.
Resolutions: Select any goal/project in my life and make a list of all the steps I need to take to eventually complete it, while being as specific as possible.
11. Upgrade your key skills
Never stop learning is a phrase I personally live by. Learning what you need to learn so you can do something better and in an excellent manner is one of the most important productivity principles around. The better you are something, the more likely you are able to jump in and tackle it to completion without hesitation. It is said that continuous learning is the minimum for success in any given field. Today, everything is learnable, so dedicate yourself to learning it.
Resolutions: Identify the most important skills that will allow me to achieve results better and faster than before. Determine the core competencies to become a leader in my field of choice, set a goal, make a plan and work at developing them tirelessly. It is also important to focus on the areas where I have special talents or interests that I enjoy and work on those to unlock my own personal potential.
12. Identify your key constraints
In Software Engineering, an agile methodology concept is to have standups every morning. I still recall when I was first introduced to this concept by Johannes (a CTO at a previous startup I interned at) where we huddled outside every morning and we all mentioned what we worked on the previous day, what we are working on that day and what blockers are present in achieving our tasks. A constraint is a blocker, something that must be overcome before achieving a goal or milestone. It becomes a choke point towards how efficient & effective you may be in doing something.
Resolutions: Identify my most important goal in life today, this is the goal that would have the greatest positive effect on my life, then determine what constraint is preventing me from achieving it. Ask myself, “Why haven’t I achieved it yet? What is holding me back?” and work at taking action immediately towards eliminating/reducing those constraints.
13. Put the pressure on yourself
In life, people usually wait for that one person to come along to motivate them, to be that catalyst that will propel them towards unimaginable levels of success. I have also been a victim of this way of thinking. The reality is, no one is going to do that for you. No one will take charge of your life other than yourself. “Taking charge” is akin to working entirely without any supervision and is a clear trait of the upper echelon of individuals we refer to as leaders. You must be able to choose what is important to you, in your career and life, and work at it with utmost precision. This will lead to mastery of oneself, being a leader to yourself and only then can you be in a position to lead anyone else.
Resolutions: Set deadline and subdeadline on each and every task and activity I have. Stick to the deadlines and always aim to beat them.
14. Motivate yourself into action
To perform at your best, you must also become your own personal cheerleader (armed with pompoms and all). This self-encouragement and self-patting-on-the-bank will push you to always be at the very top of your game. I have always been an optimist, a glass half-full type of person and having a positive mental attitude is a great trait to have when dealing with difficult tasks. You must also refuse to complain about problems, as this does not really help anyone, other than serve as a waste of time. Move away from thinking “I have a problem” to “How can I solve this problem?”. Simply changing a statement to a question opens a world of possibilities.
Resolutions: Control my thoughts and always think with a positive outlook. If I think I can or can’t, I am right. Think what I want into reality. Take full responsibility for any task I am doing and never complain or criticize anyone. Look to always make progress and not give excuses.
15. Technology is a terrible master
The key is to always your interaction with technology under control. A book I read early on in my life, An Enemy of the People, Aslaksen (a character in the play) always spoke about moderation. As with technology, moderation is key. We should focus on taking back our time from mindless scrolling on Instagram or answering a Slack message or email as soon as it arrives.
Resolution: Create zones of silence during my day. This will involve me turning off my computer and smartphone so as to disconnect digitally for 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon. Resolve to creating a full “silent” day every other week to completely disconnect and enjoy a digital detox.
16. Technology is a wonderful servant
We should view technology as a servant, and not a master. After all, we humans breathed technology into existence to make our lives easier, not to create more complexity and confusion. We should hence strive to use technology to our advantage, by reminding us of the high-value “frogs” and help us to forget the lower-value tasks.
Resolutions: Turn of all notifications when working and unsubscribe from digital noise, and create special digital zones to house my most important tasks. Research every quarter and install a single piece of software or app that will help me be more efficient and focused in my goals.
17. Focus your attention
Your attention is super important to anything you do. Constantly responding to emails, text and other notifications has a negative effect on one’s brains by making the attention span shorter and making it extremely difficuly to actually direct your focus on accomplishing a given task. It is no secret that focused attention is an important tool for highly performant and successful people. Having this ability to keep distractions at bay is something that can be developed and which directly assists focusing one’s attention.
Resolutions: Think of what I need to do for success while maintaining efficiency and before starting any task, ask myself “Is this helping me achieve my goals or is it just a mere distraction?” Turn off any devices that I don’t require at the time.
18. Slice and dice the task
Psychologically, any task that is both important and big seems large and complex on first glance. Once you break it down to smaller components, it becomes more digestible and easier to tackle. Developing the compulsive nature to close these smaller components will ultimately enable you to complete the huger task at hand. Now, think about a time that you completed a huge task, what did you feel? That feeling of relief, joy, excitement and everything else in between increased your energy at that point right? The bigger the task you complete, the greater the “reward” feedback you feel. This enhances your inner drive and allows you to complete similar tasks with the same ease because you know you completed something in similar difficulty or size in the past. Doing one small thing, no matter how small, is better than doing absolutely nothing at all.
Resolutions: Always break down large tasks into their simplest components and become action oriented. Don’t delay, just start doing it.
19. Create large chunks of time
I prefer setting aside blocks of time on my calendar to actually do work; I call these focus blocks. These focus blocks help me enter a “flow” state where my brain is clear and is operating in an optimal fashion to solutionise on a given task at hand. This allows me to focus on key tasks that need to be completed in a certain day without being disrupted by constant meetings that may take my concentration away. We also need to make every minute count, sometimes during commute or working on smaller chunks of important tasks so as to ease into them once you approach your large chunk of time.
Resolutions: Think continually of ways I can save/schedule large chunks of time to do the most important tasks I need to do. Make every minute count when at work, don’t slack off or misuse the time. Rather, aim to finish what I need to do so I can free up my time for other personal tasks.
20. Develop a sense of urgency
One of the most identifiable qualities of highly performant individuals is that they are action-oriented aka Drivers, check out Deloitte’s Business Chemistry Infographic. They are in a hurry, to drive their tasks to completion. They are logical in thinking, planning and setting priorities and as a result, are able to power through gigantic tasks with relative ease to someone spending their time on low-value activities.
Resolutions: Develop a sense of urgency in everything that I do. Proactively select an area that I am prone to procrastinating and make a self-conscious decision to act urgently with respect to that area. Aim to move rapidly in every facet of my life.
21. Single handle every task
To single handedly do something implies to do it without the help of anyone. Obviously, when working as a team, it is important to collaborate and contribute collectively to a given task/project, however, it does mean that you should single handedly give all your concentration and effort towards whatever tasks you deem most important for success of the project. Once you start, keep at it and work on the completing the most important task and this can only be achieved through self discipline. Self discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. The “feeling” part is important as sometimes you may lack the motivation, but through self discipline, you train yourself to do it anyway. By doing so, you master yourself.
Resolutions: Take action on any important tasks I have singled out. Once I start on something, perservere and take it to 100% completion.
Nike, coined the slogan “Just Do it” and it makes a lot of sense. Sometimes when faced with a difficult, uncertain or insurmountable task you need to Just Do It.