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Eating Your Frogs and Getting The Worms

According to renowned author Brian Tracy, your FROG is the hardest thing to do, but also the thing that will like earn you the most money.

Frog

For many of us, our biggest FROG is prospecting. What are your frogs? Are you using your Results Time to 'Eat Your Frogs' and do the most difficult thing first?

I've found that I had to revamp my morning schedule. What's working for me is to give myself a cut-off time for checking email, then dive into the frogs. Because email is constantly coming in, and you hear the alert, it's so easy to get distracted and toggle to the email window, check the email and respond. All of a sudden, you're distracted and of course.

Also, turning off my office phone and cellphones have made a dramatic impact on getting important things done! Checking voicemail and returning calls during specific times gives me the control that I need to get important things done without distraction.

I used to think that because everyone that I work with is 'techy' that I had to respond right away to everything. It's funny now, because more of my voice mail messages start with, 'Hi Tamara, I know you're busy but...'

How are you eating your frogs? Have you found that you are more productive during certain times of the day, or even certain days of the week? How have you overcome procrastinating and propelled yourself into noticeable productivity?

Posted by Tamara Inzunza, Realtor Alexandria, VA on 09/27/2007 08:36 AM

Comments (13)

results, prospecting

Post is included in group: RE Systems Integration

13 Comments on Eating Your Frogs and Getting The Worms

Tamara, I just had to read this post because of the title. Excellent points. I set a timer for 15 minutes for each task - answer emails, then do some updates on my websites, return phone calls, make a few dozen phone calls, try to visit AR for only 15 minutes a day (that last one is really hard.) I guess I get my frog stuck in my throat.

09/27/2007 08:47 AM

by Phillip Cross, ePRO REALTOR® - Relo Specialist (RE/MAX 1st Advantage - CROSS HOME TEAM)

Tamara...first things first--I've got to say good for you for finding such an eye catching headline...I was more than curious to find out about eating frogs and getting worms! The one big time consumer I've found lately is being able to drag myself from the blogs on ActiveRain--I get soo caught up with all the info here...I now set a timer on my cell to let me know when it's time to log off!

09/27/2007 08:47 AM

by Faith LaRosse (Coldwell Banker Hearthside)

Phil: The timer is a great idea. Are you using just a regular kitchen timer? I had time blocked in Outlook, but just got annoyed with so many reminders that I had to disable them all.

Faith: Thanks! There is a lot of information here on ActiveRain. I also get caught up on RealtyTimes too, there are so many great articles there..

09/27/2007 09:28 AM

by Tamara Inzunza, Realtor Alexandria, VA (McEnearney Associates, Inc.)

thanks for the good information

i need to be organized and get busy

09/27/2007 09:29 AM

by Jo Lynn

I love proactivity...thanks for the inspiration

09/27/2007 09:31 AM

by Larry Bettag - Cherry Creek Mortgage

Tamara, My wife is a "FlyBaby" - she bout a timer from FlyLady.net for me as well as for herself. They can work well. Quote from FlyLady "You can do anything for 15 minutes!" It is a simple way for me to "try" to stay on top of things.

09/27/2007 01:21 PM

by Phillip Cross, ePRO REALTOR® - Relo Specialist (RE/MAX 1st Advantage - CROSS HOME TEAM)

Hi Tamara. I've set specific times to return phone calls, but I've still got to work on the whole email thing. Thanks for the reminder.

09/27/2007 11:04 PM

by Ilyce N. Powell, CMPS™ - Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist (Envision Lending Group)

Email is definitely a BIG distraction. The only way to prevent the alerts is to close email completely. When I see the alert...I can't help but to check the email.

Phil: Thanks for the info, I'll check out FlyLady!

09/28/2007 07:51 AM

by Tamara Inzunza, Realtor Alexandria, VA (McEnearney Associates, Inc.)

Tamara, I use the concept of the egg timer to limit reading and responding to email and surfing the Net to 30 minutes to an hour.

Time block your time during the week and that will earn respect from your coworkers and clients. When you are triple booked for a time on your calendar select the one that is most important. Most important can be items that are non urgent like time with family.

Do the difficult task first thing in the day and get it out of the way.

10/16/2007 08:29 PM

by Gary Woltal - REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty)

Thanks Gary! That's just what author Brian Tracy recommends, do the difficult task first. Looks like the egg timer is a common thing to use to help stay on track.

10/16/2007 08:44 PM

by Tamara Inzunza, Realtor Alexandria, VA (McEnearney Associates, Inc.)

My biggest frog is scheduling/calendaring my time. Each day I have a general idea of things I need to accomplish, however I know I could be more productive and have more free time if I was consistant in doing things at a predertimed time.

10/26/2007 09:55 PM

by Carolyn Gjerde-Tu Davis Real Estate (Lyon Real Estate)

And don't forget, you shouldn't look at the frog or think about it very much either.

I love that book, the silly frog analogies are just fun with the serious subject.

10/26/2007 10:20 PM

by Jayne Dodgson (Prudential Preferred Realty)

Jayne, you're right, if you look at the frog or think about it...you'll end up procrastinating, and doing nothing. That's why you should get the ugliest one out of the way first, it will give you a sense of accomplishment! And all of the other tasks will seem a lot easier and more doable.

11/10/2007 07:01 PM

by Tamara Inzunza, Realtor Alexandria, VA (McEnearney Associates, Inc.)

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