HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR STUDYING SCHEDULE: 

Hey guys!! Since some of you asked me how I organized my studying schedule for this summer, I thought it would be best to make a post about it. It’s the first time I make a post such as this, and I’m sorry for the poor quality of my photos, but my mobile phone has the only camera I have at hand, so let’s get down to business! 

KNOW YOUR DEADLINES: It’s important to know when do you have your exams, when is that essay due and so on. This way you’ll keep track of time and you’ll know how much time you need to commit to each task. I would advise color coding each one, as I did with the subjects which exams I have to retake in september. This way, you’ll have your goals and needs always in mind. 

KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO STUDY: It’s important to be sure of all the things you need to study. As you can see in this image, I wrote down every unit I need to know for my anatomy exam, and I did the same for the other subjects as well. I also added a little checkbox beside each unit in order to keep track of all the times I revise each one so I can know at a glance how I’m doing and where I need to improve. 

USE ADDITIONAL TOOLS: Getrevising is a webpage that can help you create a schedule if you don’t know where to start. It gives you the opportunity to, completely free, add your classes, appointments, subjects and deadlines to create a schedule. You can also give a priority to each subject so they can assign more study hours to those subjects you find more difficult or where you need to invest more time. I used it as a reference, because it is not perfect, and I don’t know if it’s possible to change the study blocks from 1 hour sessions to longer or shorter ones, but it helps you to make an idea of how many hours you should invest in each subject. Anyway, this tool is completely unnecessary, but I used it because my study schedule is for the whole summer (that’ll be two months of holidays) and so I felt a bit overwhelmed by how many things I needed to tackle. 

EDIT AND WRITE YOUR OWN SCHEDULE ATTENDING TO YOUR NEEDS: The most important thing when you write your study schedule is to know your strengths and limits. I printed a weekly schedule from my laptop iCal to see at a simple glance how many things I had going on in a week and how many hours I could dedicate to study. You can find simple weekly calendars anyway or you can even make your own. The first thing I wrote down were all those unavoidable things such as birthday parties and weddings and medical appointments as well as those things I want to do daily such as running, bathing, walking the dog or reading a bit at night. Once this is done, I can see how many free hours for studying I have, and if I feel like they are not enough, I cut down some things that aren’t completely necessary, because sometimes what is necessary is to make some sacrifices. But remember to always leave some free time for yourself, because it’s good for you to relax and get some strength back. Then, looking at your get revising schedule or simply knowing your needs, write down every day which units you are going to study. Try to be realistic, and don’t cram things in every study session. If you can only study tree units in one morning, then do that. Otherwise you’ll feel stressed and you won’t keep up with your schedule, which can make you feel bad and think that it’s not being useful at all. I’d also recommend highlighting your subjects with the same colors you used for your deadlines calendar, because it’ll help you make an idea in your head of your week. 

TRANSFORM YOUR WEEKLY SCHEDULE INTO A DAILY ONE: I find it better to, once a weekly schedule is prepared, write it down as a daily one, to the hour. Some people may think this is a bit obsessive, but it makes me less stressed knowing what I should be doing in every study session. Moreover, it makes me feel satisfied crossing out things I have already done, and crossing them out of my list! If you’ll feel stressed watching the things you have to do every hour using just the weekly schedule may be fine for you. I used a simple lined notebook and wrote the hours myself. 

PLUS:KEEP TRACK OF YOUR PROGRESS: If you don’t want to make a daily schedule, or if you’re not accustomed to follow a schedule this thick, you may find useful keeping track of your progress. You can write down what you do every hour your dedicating to studying, or maybe you can write down things as “I planned to study for 3 hours with two 10 minutes breaks and I managed to study just 2 units when I planned to study 3”. This may help you know your weaknesses and analyze what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong. When you realise things as this, you’ll find it easier to make a reliable and realistic schedule that is up to your needs and strong points. This way you’ll know if you work better in the mornings or the afternoons, if you get distracted easily… But remember that the most important thing is to take things easily and bit by bit. Everyone works differently, and what may work for others may not work for you. Analyze and know yourself, and then no one or anything will stop you. 

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Tutorial: how to make organized notes.

Read the objectives of the lecture. If there aren’t any, flip through the lecture slides and make an outline. This puts into perspective what you need to be learning and what you should get out of this lecture.

Skim the book to get familiar with how the information is divided compared to your outline or objectives. While doing this, you’ll figure out whether or not you need the extra details from the book. Sometimes the lecture is enough and you could keep the textbook just as a reference to things you don’t get.

Write down the first objective and flip to the page in the book that has the information pertaining to that objective. Read the lecture slide then refer to the book for details.

Combine your lecture notes with the textbook information. Do this by rewriting the information in your own words and try to be as concise as possible. 

Keep doing this for every objective. Paste things if it helps.

Make sure that you’re not just copying information. Use visual aids as much as possible. Put the information in a table, flowchart, diagram, etc.. (refer to this post to see how I make my flowcharts).

When you’re done with all your objectives, go through the lecture and your notes to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

General tips on how to keep them organized:

Be systemic. Making objective-oriented notes is one way to do that. 

Use two (or more colors). Color-coding information helps me remember it + it doesn’t look that bad.

Section your objectives according to the topic. Then make sure that when you’re writing out the information, it’s in a sequence that’s understandable.

Disclaimer: this is the way I’ve been making my notes since I started med school. By no means am I claiming it’s perfect or that everybody should follow it.