A good book which emphasises the power of tackling your most important tasks and projects first, and focusing single mindedly on one task or project at a time to achive ultimate success in life. Eat That Frog! is not a long read, but did a good job of emphasising good habits I’ve read about in other books.

My notes

Throughout my career, I have discovered and rediscovered a simple truth. 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, achievement, respect, status, and happiness in life.

There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants and a burning desire to achieve it. NAPOLEON HILL

Here is a great rule for success: Think on paper.

Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now. ALAN LAKEIN

…you are always free to choose the task that you will do next. Your ability to choose between the important and the unimportant is the key determinant of your success in life and work.

Every great man has become great, every successful man has succeeded, in proportion as he has confined his powers to one particular channel. ORISON SWETT MARDEN

The clearer you are about your future intentions, the greater influence that clarity will have on what you do in the moment.

Successful people are those who are willing to delay gratification and make sacrifices in the short term so that they can enjoy far greater rewards in the long term. Unsuccessful people, on the other hand, think more about short-term pleasure and immediate gratification while giving little thought to the long-term future.

Thinking continually about the potential consequences of your choices, decisions, and behaviors is one of the very best ways to determine your true priorities in your work and personal life.

Make time for getting big tasks done every day. Plan your daily workload in advance. Single out the relatively few small jobs that absolutely must be done immediately in the morning. Then go directly to the big tasks and pursue them to completion. BOARDROOM REPORTS

You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue lower-value activities.

Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, was once asked his secret of success. He replied, “Simple. I just say no to

The first law of success is concentration—to bend all the energies to one point, and to go directly to that point, looking neither to the right nor to the left. WILLIAM MATHEWS

When every physical and mental resource is focused, one’s power to solve a problem multiplies tremendously. NORMAN VINCENT PEALE

Persons with comparatively moderate powers will accomplish much, if they apply themselves wholly and indefatigably to one thing at a time. SAMUEL SMILES

Concentrate all your thoughts on the task at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary. THOMAS EDISON

As Viktor Frankl wrote in his bestselling book Man’s Search for Meaning, “The last of the human freedoms [is] to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

First, optimists look for the good in every situation.

Second, optimists always seek the valuable lesson in every setback or difficulty. They believe that “difficulties come not to obstruct but to instruct.”

Third, optimists always look for the solution to every problem

Fourth, optimists think and talk continually about their goals.

Schedule large blocks of time for task completion into your calendar, as if they were appointments.

All of life is the study of attention; where your attention goes, your life follows. JIDDU KRISHNAMURTI

Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all of your energies on a limited set of targets. NIDO QUBEIN

…nothing will help you more in your career than for you to get the reputation for being the kind of person who gets important work done quickly and well. This reputation will make you one of the most valuable and respected people in your field.

Elbert Hubbard defined self-discipline as “the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.”

My note Read these principles often