by Brian Tracy
"The ability to concentrate single-mindedly on your most important task, to do it well and to finish it completely, is the key to great success."
Eating your frog refers to tackling your most valuable, and usually most difficult task, without deliberating about it, or procrastinating onto something else.
We want to get into the habit of doing this first thing, and not relenting until that task is complete.
Start the day by working on your most important task — eat the ugliest frog first thing.
RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO CLEAR UP SMALL THINGS FIRST
You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue lower-value activities.
The truth is that once you have decided on your most important task, anything else you do other than that is a relative waste of time.
[Think 80/20 rule - 80% of impact is from 20% of tasks]
Stop working on low impact tasks when high impact tasks need doing. PRIORITIZE!
This will be difficult at first. Beginning a habit is delicate - a thread, but over time it becomes a cable, unable to be broken.
You might have to 'start' a few times in the same day, or hour. Gently bring your attention back to the task at hand as you would during meditation. Develop the skill of overcoming inertia and learn how to get started.
Use Inertia. It takes tremendous effort to get started, but once we're started, keeping going is easy.
Start on the smallest facet of a task, Force yourself to read for 5 minutes, or take the first steps toward a project. More detail on this in [Minihabits]
You have to develop momentum and get into a work rhythm
Adopt a long time horizon.
Make sure todays actions are consistent with your long-term desires.
What are the potential consequences of doing or not doing this task?
Delay gratification and make short-term sacrifices. Long term thinking improves short-term decision making.
Take it 1 step at a time.
Your job is only to go as far as you can currently see.
Once there, you will be able to see further - your next step will become clear.
Leap, and the net will appear.
Limiting factors.
Identify the bottlenecks holding you back and focus your energy on eliminating them.
Refuse to allow lack of ability to hold you back. Everything is learnable, and what others have learned, you can learn as well.
In this vain, you really must prioritize your biggest hurdle and dedicate time and energy to overcoming it.
Your self-esteem is the reputation you have with yourself.
You increase your self-esteem whenever you go beyond the point where the average person would normally quit.
Don't wait for others to instruct you or apply pressure - Continually put pressure on yourself to perform.
Workspace.
Make it comfortable, attractive, and conducive to working for long periods of time.
Practice minimalism on your desk and desktop.
Leave it the way you found it and prepare it the night before.
Many tasks get quit or never begin due to an untidy space and mind.
Control your technology
"What's important here?" - Ask yourself this when you're browsing youtube/twitter for hours on end.
Unchain yourself from the computer. Unsubscribe from the junk in your email.
To get more done of higher value, you need to stop doing things of lower value.
A few quotes;
- The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.
- Concentrate all your thoughts on the task at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
- Where your attention goes, your life follows!
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