Procrastination to Productivity: Lessons from Eating Frogs

“I’ll do it tomorrow!”

Hi, I’m Rupesh, and I’m a SUPER procrastinator. Am I the only one who wakes up thinking tomorrow’s version of me will be a productivity ninja, magically tackling everything I avoided today? When a mentor suggested I improve a skill by reading a book, I thought, "Sure, why not?" (truthfully, I thought, "Fine, whatever," but let's keep it positive).

When I first read Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy, my inner skeptic was in full swing. The advice seemed so banal, it practically begged for an eye-roll. But then I stopped myself. If it’s so straightforward, why was I still struggling to get things done? I had to reconnect with why I picked up the book in the first place. That realization made me go back, reread, and engage with the book differently.

Here are the key lessons I’ve taken away and how I’ve made them work for me:

1. You Will Never Be “Caught Up”

The idea that you can finish everything on your to-do list is a fantasy. There will always be more tasks demanding your attention. Tracy’s message is simple but powerful: Tackle your hardest, most important, most impactful task first. Eating that “biggest, ugliest frog” not only provides a sense of accomplishment but also creates momentum for the rest of your day.

Tracy offers 21 techniques to "Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time." Each time I read it (don't worry, it’s short, and yes, I read it three times), different techniques popped out at me. This book is the kind of book you’ll actually want to revisit whenever procrastination sneaks back in.

2. Make It Fun

One technique I use daily is from Chapter 6: Use the ABCDE Method Continually. It’s all about writing out your tasks and prioritizing them. Groundbreaking, right? I know. But wait, there’s more! The magic happens when you break tasks into different groups based on the consequence of not doing:

• A tasks: Must be completed and have serious consequences if not done.
• B tasks: Should be done but have only mild consequences.
• C tasks: Nice-to-dos with no consequences.
• D tasks: Can be delegated.
• E tasks: Should be eliminated.

To further prioritize, you can assign numbers within each category, like "A-1," "A-2," and "A-3." Then, discipline yourself to complete your A-1 task before moving on to anything else. My engineering and organizational mind absolutely LOVED this. Knowing I was tackling my most important task of the day meant the other items on my list didn’t get to steal my focus or guilt-trip me into multitasking. I disciplined myself to not move on until a task was done (or good enough hello, 80/20 rule).

I added my own twist by creating a color-coded system with my favorite 0.38mm gel pens:

As someone who loves acronyms and alliteration, I created the “5 S’s” to remember them. Yes, I spent a little too much time perfecting the formatting, but it made the process enjoyable, and it worked!

After practicing this method for a month, I’ve discovered that my ugliest frogs are never as bad as they seem. Completing them gives me a boost of motivation and helps set the tone for the day.

3. Kickstart Your Team First

When I stepped into a leadership role, a boss at the time gave me this advice.

“Get others working first.”

As an individual contributor, I was used to diving straight into tasks, only to hit a wall when I needed input from others. This would often occur near the end of the deadline. Cue the frustration and unnecessary chaos.

So, I learned to spend the first 10% of my time figuring out what my team needed to start or where I’d need their help later. This simple shift gave them maximum time to work, and saved me from unnecessary stress.

In Chapter 4: Consider the Consequences, Tracy poses the question:

“What can I and only I do that, if done well, will make a real difference?” This is a great reflective question.

I also like asking, "What tasks can others do to free up my time?" Delegation isn’t just about offloading work. It’s about empowering others and creating space for you to focus on high-value activities.

4. Master Technology, don't let it Master you

In the past, I used OneNote to write out my to-do list. It allowed me to reprioritize, spell-check, and yes, color-code without worrying about my handwriting. But what I didn’t realize was that using my computer for task planning made it too easy to get distracted.

Notifications or simple tasks like “quickly” answering an email would interrupt me. Before I knew it, an hour had passed, and I still hadn’t prioritized my day.

Switching back to pen and paper helped me stay focused. There’s something deeply satisfying about physically crossing items off a list. It delivers a small but powerful dopamine hit that a digital checkbox can’t replicate.

In Chapter 17, Get Out of the Technological Time Sinks, Tracy discusses how technology can hinder productivity instead of helping it. This chapter hit home for me. Put your phone away, turn off ALL notifications, plan your day in advance, and only check emails three times per day. Whatever it takes, don’t let the computer become your master, get to work.

5. Questions for Reflection

Throughout the book, Tracy suggests reflective questions that are great for personal productivity and for helping your team if you’re a leader. I plan to incorporate these into my one-on-ones to help my team identify their “biggest, ugliest frogs”:

Chapter 4: Consider the Consequences

• What are my highest-value activities?
• What can I and only I do that, if done well, will make a real difference?
• What is the most valuable use of my time right now?

Chapter 5: Practice Creative Procrastination

• If I weren’t already doing this, knowing what I know now, would I start doing it again today?

Chapter 7: Focus on Key Result Areas

• What one skill, if developed and executed excellently, would have the greatest positive impact on my career?

Chapter 8: Apply the Law of Three

• If I could do only one thing all day long, which task would contribute the greatest value to my career or company?

Final Thoughts

At its heart, Eat That Frog is a wake-up call.

You can’t do it all, so focus on what really matters.

By embracing prioritization, turning the process into something I actually enjoy (hello, color-coding obsession), and getting my team involved, I’ve transformed these so-called "basic" principles into my secret weapons for productivity.

The simplest advice is often the hardest to follow, but when you nail it? Game changer.