Every student that enters medical school has a general idea of how they are going to structure their day, study for classes efficiently, and make time to "live a life". As much as I support such a plan, some weeks, it is very difficult to stick to a plan and very often students find themselves falling behind. While I was going through term 1, I realized that I had to manage my time better because I simply was not getting enough sleep. I would stay up late, wake up early, drink coffee, and still be behind. It was about this time last term that I re-strategized my study plans and found ways to be more efficient. Here are a few methods that I used to become more efficient.
1) If you have read our previous posts, you can probably tell I am an advocate of meal prep. Does it actually save time? Yes, it does. Instead of venturing out to eat or cooking every night, if I cook once a week, I find my week a lot more productive. Typically by Sunday nights, I have finished grocery shopping and cooking. Then I know that my meals for the week are relatively planned out. For example, this week, I wanted both a family favorite dish (an okra dish eaten with flatbread/tortilla/naan) and some pasta. So, I made both. I made one dish on Sunday night and one on Monday night. Did it take a lot of time from studying? No, I devoted about 1 hour per night to make each dish. Now, I have more than enough food for the rest of the week. If I hadn't cooked earlier this week, I probably would have spent about an hour cooking or picking up food from a local restaurant per night. So, it would have taken more time away from studying.
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| Don't know what I do differently, but my mom's version of this dish tastes so much better! |
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| Delicious! |
2) Don't dedicate too much time to one lecture. I try to stick to a 2-3 hour maximum for reviewing each lecture. Some of my friends set an alarm. When the alarm goes off, they must move on to reviewing another lecture. This also motivates students to focus on the material for a set period of time and try to beat the alarm. If I see myself not understanding the concept and just wasting time, I simply skip the slide and make sure I return to it over my weekend review. That way, I can move on to the other lectures/labs that I need to review for the day.
3) Remember to sleep. There are several studies that have found that sleep is associated with memory and focused attention. With minimal sleep, sitting in lecture may turn into a perpetual nap session, which is simply unproductive.
4) If you don't finish reviewing all the lectures of the day, it is ok. At the beginning of the term, I struggled with this concept. I would try to review every lecture as soon as it was taught. That is an ideal situation and what students should strive for, but may not happen over every weekday. Just make sure that the lecture is reviewed and understood over the following weekend.
5) Schedule breaks during the week. Whether it is having dinner with a friend or talking to family or taking a walk, these breaks help me clear my mind before I get back to studying. Typically, I am a lot more productive after these breaks compared to if I study for several hours in a row. Plus, Grenada has some of the most picturesque beaches and waterfalls in the world. So, definitely take advantage and explore the island that you call home for about two years. I understand that doing well in school is important, but spending an hour at the beach/waterfall over a weekend is not a crime.
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| Grand Anse Beach 2015 |
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| Annandale Waterfall 2015 |
6) Try to finish labs and small group discussion preparation work over the weekend and leave reviewing lectures for the weekdays. Especially during Term 1, I used to finish histology lab preparations and most of my anatomy lab preparation while I was reviewing the associated lectures over the weekends. It made my life a little easier during the week.
I am no expert in time management, but these tricks helped me during medical school and hope it helps you too!
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