The HR Juggler

I have recently read Eat That Frog, a book by Brian Tracy that promises to provide “21 great ways to stop procrastinating and get more done in less time.” I was already familiar with the concept of eating your frog, i.e. tackling the most difficult and dreaded tasks first and getting them out of the way, but am always open to ways of managing my time better.

I’m not sure I could say the book has entirely changed my working life, but it does have some good tips and useful reminders, some of which I have implemented and thought I would share –

1) Written goals are powerful – identify what you want to achieve, which of these goals will make the biggest difference to your life  and what the steps are to making it happen…and write it down!

2) Plan your day in advance, ideally the night before. Identify which of the tasks are the high value ‘frogs’ with real consequences for you and the business. Always do these first.

3) Understand where the true value of your ‘to do’ list lies – its usually 20% of your activities that account for 80% of your results.

4) Its OK to creatively procrastinate and choose not to do low-value tasks

5) Bite-size chunks are fine on the most complicated, difficult tasks; the trick is to get moving and keep moving on them in a systematic way

6) Work with a sense of urgency, be optimistic about the positives and when you can, structure your day so that you tackle your toughest tasks at the times when you have most mental and physical energy

7) Use technology to maximise your efficiency, but don’t be ruled by it. Turn the phone, laptop, blackberry off…and enjoy the silence, for at least one day a week

8 ) Prioritise relentlessly.

9) Focus while you are at work, so that you can fully switch off while you’re at home

10) Going to bed early is often the most effective thing you can do to have a productive day at work the next day

So, I’m resolving to eat a few more frogs and create some good habits which last.  And I’m quite proud to have written this post within a day of finishing the book 🙂

How about you – any tips to share?