It's easy to think that you need to complete everything on your to-do list. But the reality is that some things simply don't need to be done. Other things are better delegated to others. That's a big reason why you need to define your goals, break them down into tasks, and work on one goal task every day. When you don't, you end up spending all of your time on 80% tasks—small, low-value tasks that fail to get you closer to meeting your goals. What one skill, if I did it in an excellent manner, would have the greatest positive impact on my career?” Salesperson: prospecting, building customer relationships, making offers, handling objections, closing sales, and getting referrals

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.” Single handling every task means fully dedicating yourself to one task at a time until it is completed. This technique reduces distractions and encourages focus on the task at hand, leading to more efficient and high-quality work. Real-Life Applications Time Management Many people focus on their number of tasks and amount of activity, rather than the importance of the tasks or the achievements. The Pareto Principle or 80/20 Principle says that 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results.Tracy says that we each have unique skills we can employ that let us "eat specific frogs faster and better than others." Optimism is the most important quality you can develop for personal and professional success and happiness. Then, your to-do list will be filled with smaller, more manageable tasks like "write a summary for my LinkedIn profile,""ask coworkers for recommendations," and "document my responsibilities and accomplishments for my current role."

Author Brian Tracy argues that the key to success is developing the habit of getting your most important task done first. It’s like eating a live frog—if you do it right away, everything after that is easy by comparison. Slice and Dice the Task: Break large, complex tasks down into bite-sized pieces. And then just do one small part of the task to get startedKeep asking: What’s the one thing which, if I did really well, could create the biggest positive impact in my work and life? Apply this question to find the best thing to do every hour, starting right now. Eat That Frog: 21 Steps Each subsequent list pulls from your master list. You plan your monthly list at the end of each month, your weekly list at the end of each week, and your daily list at the end of each day. By planning your tasks for the next day at the end of the previous workday, you'll know exactly what your frog is when you arrive at work in the morning and can get started on it immediately. Once you are clear about your major goal, ask yourself, “What sets the speed at which I achieve this goal?”

You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue lower-value activities.”Whatever you choose to do, over and over, eventually becomes a habit that is hard to break. If you start your day on low-value tasks, you’ll develop the habit of always starting on low-value tasks.

To prevent these things from derailing you, you need to understand what Tracy calls your "key result areas." What were you hired to do? What results are you supposed to deliver? By understanding what you're truly accountable for, you can justify delegating and deleting tasks that aren't related to your job-specific tasks and goals.Practice these principles every day until they become second nature to you. When these habits become a part of your personality, your future will be unlimited. The more you work non-stop on a single task, the more you move down the “Efficiency Curve.” You get more and more high-quality work done in less and less time. Getting Things Done” by David Allen: Both books emphasize the importance of prioritizing tasks and organizing one’s workload to increase efficiency.