Eat That Frog

Question 1

How do you become successful?

Answer 1

Ask successful people in similar positions what they do and apply it

Question 2

What do successful people do with their time?

Answer 2

They use their time far better than the average person. Successful people aren’t better than me, they just do things differently

Question 3

What’s the key ability of successful people?

Answer 3

To concentrate single-mindedly on their most important task, do it well and finish it completely

Question 4

Why are people always going to be overwhelmed?

Answer 4

There have never been more possibilities and opportunities to achieve goals. People are drowning in tasks with too little time to do them. The ability to be selective is the critical determiner of success - more than any skill you have

Question 5

What is your frog?

Answer 5

The biggest, most important task , the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it. It’s also the task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment

Question 6

What’s the first rule of frog eating?

Answer 6

If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first. Begin immediately and persist until completed. Think of it as a test, a personal challenge - resist the temptation to start with the easiest task. Repetition of this skill will make it a permanent and easy part of your behaviour. It’ll release positive endorphins, and become addictive

Question 7

Remember not to

Answer 7

Confuse activity with accomplishment

Question 8

What are the three Ds of habit formation

Answer 8

Decide to develop the habit, discipline to practice and be determined until the habit is locked in

Question 9

What should you visualise?

Answer 9

Visualise becoming the highly productive, effective person you want to be - think about the rewards/benefits, and see yourself as the kind of person who gets important jobs done quickly and well on a consistent basis

Question 10

What do only 3% of adults do?

Answer 10

Have clear written, goals. They accomplish 5-10 as much as people of similar education and ability

Question 11

What are the 7 steps to setting goals?

Answer 11

1) Decide exactly what you want and in order of priority
2) Write it down
3) Set a deadline
4) Make a list of everything you can think of that you will need to do to reach the goal
5) Organise the list into a plan - tasks in order to be done. Lay the plan out visually (boxes and arrows) showing the relationship of each task to the goal
6) Take action immediately - do something, anything
7) Resolve to do something every day to get to the goal eg: read a specific number of pages on each subject. Review your goals every day and take action on the most important task to achieve your most important goal

Question 12

How do you write down a goal?

Answer 12

Write it down in the present tense, positive voice, first person singular - eg: I earn X number of pounds by this date/I drive such and such a car by this date/I weigh x KG by this date

Question 13

How long does 10-12 minutes planning your day save you?

Answer 13

100-120 minutes

Question 14

Always work from a…

Answer 14

…List - this increases your productivity and output 25% or more. Make your list the night before as your subconscious mind will work on it while you sleep and you’ll wake up with great ideas

Question 15

What kinds of lists should you have?

Answer 15

1) Master list: everything you can think of
2) Monthly list
3) Weekly list (take a couple of hours at the end of each week to plan the coming week)
4) Daily list

Question 16

What should you ask yourself before beginning a task?

Answer 16

Is this task in the top 20% of my activities or in the bottom 80%?

Question 17

Resist the temptation to…

Answer 17

…do the small things first

Question 18

What’s the key determinant to success in life and work?

Answer 18

Your ability to choose between the important and the unimportant

Question 19

Long-term thinking improves…

Answer 19

…short term decision making. Studies have shown those who have a 5-10 year horizon of thinking achieve far more as they are better able to organise the present as a result. Successful people are those willing to delay gratification and make sacrifices in the short term so they can enjoy far greater rewards in the future

Question 20

Losers…

Answer 20

Try to escape from their fears and drudgery with activities that are tension-relieving. Winners are motivated by their desires towards activities that are goal-achieving

Question 21

What’s the Law of Forced Efficiency?

Answer 21

“There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing”. You will never catch up with all the work/reading etc. you need to do, but you can be on top of your most important responsibilities. The rest can wait

Question 22

What are the key questions for maximum efficiency?

Answer 22

1) What are my highest value activities?
2) What can I and only I, do that if done well, will make a real difference?
3) What is the most valuable use of my time right now?

Determine the most important thing you could be doing at each hour of the day.

Question 23

What is creative procrastination?

Answer 23

Procrastination on the smaller tasks - you can’t do everything, so deliberately procrastinate on the smaller tasks

Question 24

What’s Warren Buffet’s secret?

Answer 24

He says no to absolutely everything that is not vital at that moment

Remember that you have no free time - your life is full. Cut down on things like TV and internet searching and do the things that are work related or enhance the quality of life (family, reading, gym)

Question 25

What is zero based thinking?

Answer 25

Asking yourself “If I were not doing this already, knowing what I know would I start doing it again today?”. If not, abandon or delegate

Question 26

What is the ABCDE method?

Answer 26

Ranking tasks from A-E. If there are more than one for each section, add a 1,2,3etc. to it. A1 is your most important task and should be done first

A = very important, must do
B = should do but only has mild consequences. Never do a B task when an A task is left undone
C = nice to do but there are no consequences to not doing (eg: coffee with a coworker)
D = something you can delegate
E = eliminate

A1 = must start immediately and stay on it until complete

Question 27

How do you focus on key result areas?

Answer 27

1) Get clarity - what are the key results of my work, ie: The essential activities needed to meet my goals. Eg: hiring the right people, delegating effectively, negotiating a bank loan
2) Once decided, myself 1-10. The weakest key result area sets the height at which I can use all my other skills and abilities

Question 28

What is The Great Question?

Answer 28

What one skill, if I developed excellently, would have the greatest impact on my career?

Question 29

What three core tasks add the most amount of value to the company?

Answer 29

Identify them - 1, 2, 3 - and focus on them in that order. It usually makes up 90% of the value. Concentrate on them single mindedly all day

Question 30

Work All the Time You…

Answer 30

Work. Start a little earlier, finish a little later, don’t chitchat. By not working I cause unnecessary stress and keep myself away from my family

Question 31

How do I prepare thoroughly?

Answer 31

1) Prepare the workspace - move all papers to one side so it’s only the task at hand. Have all relevant papers to hand in sequence. A tidy desk means a foucused mind
2) Launch IMMEDIATELY
3) Assume the body language of a high performer - bolt upright, motivated

Go play!

Question 32

What’s holding me back?

Answer 32

Focus my mental energy on solving this. Eg: is it a person I need to speak to to have the context to be able to do this? Or a weakness in one part of the organisation, such as the marketing? Or a single objection on the part of customers to part of our booking process (such as an application form)? Or a bad recruitment process bringing in poor staff?Or a poor staff member not being fired? Ask “what is in me that’s holding me/the organisation back?”

Often, removing the constraint is the most important frog I can eat at that moment

Question 33

Put pressure on myself

Answer 33

Only 2% can work without supervision, and we are called leaders. Put the pressure on myself and don’t wait for someone else to do it for me.

Start earlier, finish later, look for ways to go the extra mile. Go beyond the point where the average person would quit

Question 34

Create imaginary deadlines

Answer 34

Work as though I only have one day to get my most important jobs done. Imagine each day I’ve received an emergency phone call and have to leave town for a month at the end of the day. What jobs would I do?

Question 35

Be an OPTIMIST!

Answer 35

• It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you respond to it
• My version of events largely determines whether these events motivate or demotivate me
• Self-esteem is key - say “I like myself” over and over until I believe it and behave like a person with high-performance personality
• Always motivate myself - “I can do it!”
• When people ask me how I feel, say “I feel terrific!”
• Ed Foreman: “never share problems with others - 80% don’t care and 20% are kind of glad you have problems”