Eat That Frog

Eat That Frog! Take a good look at your desk or office, both at home 
and at the office. Ask yourself, “What kind of a person works in an 
environment like that?” 
 
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The cleaner and neater your work environment, the more positive, 
productive and confident you feel. Resolve today to clean up your 
desk and office completely so that you feel effective, efficient and 
ready to get going each time you sit down to work. 
 
 
 
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Chapter 9 - Do Your Homework 
 
“The only certain means of success is to render more and better service than 
is expected of you, no matter what your task may be.” 
(Og Mandino) 
This is one of the most important personal productivity principles of 
all. Learn what you need to learn so that you can do your work in an 
excellent fashion. The better you become at eating a particular type of 
frog, the more likely you are to just plunge in and get it done. 
A major reason for delay and procrastination is a feeling of 
inadequacy, lack of confidence or inability in a key area of the task. A 
single area where you feel weak or deficient is enough to discourage 
you from starting the job at all. 
Continually upgrade your skills in your key result areas. Remember, 
however good you are today, your knowledge and skill is becoming 
obsolete at a rapid rate. As Pat Riley, the basketball coach said, "If 
you're not getting better, you're getting worse." 
One of the most helpful of all time management techniques is for you 
to get better at your key tasks. Personal and professional 
improvement is one of the best time savers there is. The better you 
are at a key task, the more motivated you are to launch into it. The 
 
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better you are, the more energy and enthusiasm you have. When you 
know that you can do a job well, you find it easier to overcome 
procrastination and get the job done faster and better than under any 
other circumstances. 
One piece of information or one additional skill can make an 
enormous difference in your ability to do the job well. Identify the 
most important things you do and then make a plan to continually 
upgrade your skills in those areas.
Rule: “Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success 
in any field.” 
Refuse to allow a weakness or a lack of ability in any area to hold you 
back. Everything is learnable. And what others have learned, you can 
learn as well.
When I began to write my first book, I was discouraged because I 
could only use the “hunt and peck” method of typing. I soon realized 
that I had to learn to touch-type if I was ever going to write and 
rewrite a 300-page book. So I bought a touch-typing program for my 
computer and practiced for 20 to 30 minutes every day for three 
months. By the end of that time, I was typing 40-50 words per 
minute. With this skill, I have been able to write a dozen books that 
have now been published all over the world. 
 
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The best news is that you can learn whatever skills you need to be 
more productive and more effective. You can become a touch typist if 
necessary. You can become an expert with a computer. You can 
become a terrific negotiator or a super salesperson. You can learn to 
speak in public. You can learn to write effectively and well. These are 
all skills you can acquire, as soon as you decide to and make them a 
priority. 
Read in your field for at least one hour every day. Get up a little 
earlier in the morning and read for 30-60 minutes in a book or 
magazine that contains information that can help you to be more 
effective and productive at what you do. 
Take every course and seminar available on key skills that can help 
you. Attend the conventions and business meetings of your 
profession or occupation. Go to the sessions and workshops. Sit up 
front and take notes. Purchase the audio recordings of the programs. 
Dedicate yourself to becoming one of the most knowledgeable and 
competent people in your field. 
Finally, listen to audio programs in your car. The average car owner 
sits behind the wheel 500-1000 hours each year while driving from 
place to place. Turn driving time into learning time. You can become 
one of the smartest, most capable and highest paid people in your 
 
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field simply by listening to educational audio programs as you drive 
around. 
The more you learn and know, the more confident and motivated 
you feel. You better you become, the more capable you will be of 
doing even more in your field.
The more you learn, the more you can learn. Just as you can build 
your physical muscles through physical exercise, you build your 
mental muscles with mental exercises. And there is no limit to how 
far or how fast you can advance except for the limits you place on 
your own imagination.