by Brian Tracy
8/10
Key Ideas:
Do the most difficult task first – begin each day with the task that can make the greatest contribution to your life. Stay at it until it is complete.
Single handle every task – set clear priorities and start immediately on your most important task. Work without stopping until the job is 100% complete.
Eliminate anything that fails the test of “zero-based thinking”:“if I were not doing this already, knowing what I now know, would I start doing it again today?”
Other interesting notes:
Set your goals. Do this exercise alone or with your boss. Don’t stop until you are crystal clear about what is expected of you and in what order of priority.
Plan every day in advance. Think on paper.
Slice and dice the task: break large, complex tasks down into bite-sized pieces. And then just do one small part of the task to get started.
Apply the 80/20 rule to everything. Organize your tasks by value and priority, and Concentrate your efforts on the 20% of your activities that will bring 80% of your results.
Put the pressure on yourself. Imagine that you have to leave town for a month. Work as if you had to get all your major tasks completed before you left.
Develop a sense of urgency. Make a habit of moving fast on your key tasks. Become known as a person who does things quickly and well.
Create large chunks of time. Organize your days around large blocks of time. Use them to work for extended periods on your most important tasks.
The first rule of frog eating is this: If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.
The second rule of frog eating is this: If you have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn’t pay to sit and look at it for very long.
Thoughts on the book:
Great practical tips. Try them and keep the ones that work for you. Good as a boost after you setup a productivity system.
Longer summary/notes: DS, SD, Z
If you like this, you’ll probably like: A simple productivity system, Motivation hacker, Zen to Done, GTD, Do it tomorrow, books
Leo :) 