Mark Twain once said that if you woke up every morning and ate a live frog, that would most likely be the worst thing that would happen to you all day, giving you the confidence to know that you had that behind you already!
Internationally acclaimed author and speaker Brian Tracy serves up a helping of “frog” in this easy-to-read time management guide that helps you overcome procrastination and grow more successful in managing your priorities.
For most school leaders, time management issues come from a number of things, including having more tasks to accomplish than are reasonable to complete. (More on that next week at Principal Matters!) In addition to having a lot to do, there is also ground to be gained by being more efficient and effective in completing tasks.
That’s where Eat That Frog! comes in. Tracy has written a number of books on leadership and efficiency and in Eat That Frog! he seeks to lay out a set of 21 ways to “stop procrastinating and get more done in less time.”
Tracy’s 21 principles are great for principals, and assistant principals. A few of the key principles that will help you in your work as a school leader include (1) setting the table (getting your day ready before it takes you instead); (8) prepare thoroughly before you begin (be ready to do the work and not lose time; and (21) single-handle every task (it’s easy for us to handle things multiple times in school work; we’re much more effective with strategies to touch email, tasks, and concerns once and only once.)