Yesterday you found your PUSH goal and reverse engineered it (courtesy of Chalene Johnson). Today, you’re going to find out what to do with that information.

Using your CAN (Catch-All-Notebook – click to see the post), you will make an action plan that will allow you to fulfill your goals. Every day it is important to make a to-do list. Only put on your list what you must do each day. Pick 3 tasks from your PUSH goal and 3 tasks from your fitness goal, then include any other tasks that must be done.

This means you have no less than 6 items to complete every day. How can you possibly get it all done? This is when it’s important plan out your day beforehand and to eat your frog. Brian Tracy’s book Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time explains:

The good news is that every minute spent in planning saves as many as ten minutes in execution. It takes only about 10 to 12 minutes for you to plan out your day, but this small investment of time will save you up to two hours (100 to 120 minutes) in wasted time and diffused effort throughout the day. You may have heard of the Six-P Formula. It says, “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.”

He goes on to explain:

Your “frog” is your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it. It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment. The first rule of frog eating is this: If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first. This is another way of saying that if you have two important tasks before you, start with the biggest, hardest, and most important task first. Discipline yourself to begin immediately and then to persist until the task is complete before you go on to something else.

Tracy, Brian (2007-01-01). Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time (p. 15). Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Kindle Edition.

While it is certainly unpleasant to do any dreaded task first, imagine that time that you’ll save by just getting it out of the way. On many occasions this task will help you accomplish other tasks so much faster simply because it’s not hanging over your head anymore. Or you might have tasks that can’t be completed until this frog is eaten. Up to two hours of time added to your day. Just imagine.

It’s also important to make your list at the same time every day. Some people find it easiest to do it right before they go to bed because it allows them to organize their thoughts and mentally prepare for the next day. Others prefer to make their lists in the morning as they begin their day. Do what works for you, but make sure you do it at the same time so that it becomes a habit.

Monday we’ll talk about creating a Home Organizing Binder.

For now, make your list for the day and eat that frog. Happy Munching!