Single Handle Every Task

Eat that frog! Every bit of planning, prioritizing and organizing comes down to this simple concept.nnEat that frog! Every bit of planning, prioritizing and organizing comes down to this simple concept.nnYour ability to select your most important task, to begin it and then to concentrate on it single mindedly until it is complete is the key to high levels of performance and personal productivity.nnThe Requirement for Every Great AchievementnEvery great achievement of mankind has been preceded by a long period of hard, concentrated work until the job was done. Single handling requires that once you begin, you keep working at the task, without diversion or distraction, until the job is 100% complete. You keep urging yourself onward by repeating the words "Back to work!" over and over whenever you are tempted to stop or do something else.nnReduce Your Time By 50%nBy concentrating single mindedly on your most important task, you can reduce the time required to complete it by 50% or more.nnIt has been estimated that the tendency to start and stop a task, to pick it up, put it down and come back to it can increase the time necessary to complete the task by as much as 500%.nnEach time you return to the task, you have to familiarize yourself with where you were when you stopped and what you still have to do. You have to overcome inertia and get yourself going again. You have to develop momentum and get into a productive work rhythm.nnDevelop Energy and EnthusiasmnBut when you prepare thoroughly and then begin, refusing to stop or turn aside until the job is done, you develop energy, enthusiasm and motivation. You get better and better and more productive. You work faster and more effectively.nnNever Waste TimenThe truth is that once you have decided on your number one task, anything else that you do other than that is a relative waste of time. Any other activity is just not as valuable or as important as this job, based on your own priorities.nnAction ExercisesnEat That Frog! Take action! Resolve today to select the most important task or project that you could complete and then launch into it immediately.nnOnce you start your most important task, discipline yourself to persevere without diversion or distraction until it is 100% complete. See it as a "test" to determine whether you are the kind of person who can make a decision to complete something and then carry it out. Once you begin, refuse to stop until the job is finished.nnEat That Frog 2nd Editionnn