Making Time For UCAT: Eat That Frog!
3 months ago by Rob
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"Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day." — Mark Twain |
In his book Eat That Frog!, productivity expert Brian Tracy presents a time management strategy that has changed many people's lives (including mine!). He frames it in a workplace context, but it applies just as well to UCAT and high school or university study. This blog summarises the key ideas.
Your frog is your biggest, ugliest task. The one you're most likely to procrastinate on, but also the one that, when completed, will have the greatest positive impact on your life right now. UCAT frogs might include working through practice guides, completing a full-length trial exam under timed conditions, building a study timetable, or finishing an assignment in a subject you dislike. The principle is simple: do that task first, and everything else feels easy by comparison.
The ABCDE Method
You should start each day by writing a ‘to-do’ list. This should preferably be made the night before or first thing in the morning. Then use the letters ‘ABCDE’ to prioritise each task:
- Must do. This is a task that you must do. It has serious consequences if you don’t do it. These are your frogs, and you have to eat them first. Examples of ‘A’ tasks include submitting an assignment before its due date or registering to sit the UCAT. If you have multiple A tasks, rank them them A1, A2, A3 and so on.
- Should do. This is a task that you should do, but there are only mild consequences if skipped. Never start a B task if you have an A task left undone. An example would be checking your email.
- Nice to do. This is a task that is nice to do but there are no real consequences either way if you don’t do it. Interestingly, most people spend 50% of their time on C tasks.
- Delegate. This is a task you can (and should) delegate to someone else, so you can free up time for an A task that only you can do. For example, consider enlisting the help of your parents for researching university admissions applications, key dates and requirements.
- Eliminate. Cut it all together. This is a task that you can eliminate and it won’t make any difference. Often you will continue to do these tasks out of habit or enjoyment, but time spent here is time taken away from doing A tasks that genuinely make a big difference to your life.
Arranging your day this way takes real discipline. It's probably much more enjoyable to knock off B, C, D, and E tasks first. But starting with your A tasks, and staying with them until they're done, is what separates high achievers from everyone else. Done consistently, this method can double your productivity and dramatically improve your school, university, and UCAT results.
Give it a go tonight! Before you go to bed, write tomorrow's to-do list and identify your single most important UCAT task. That's your frog. Eat it first — and the rest of the day will take care of itself.
