study. motivate. repeat.

A tough puppy with a pink bow has something to say to you! 🎀 You’re doing great for making it through all those days!

only one week until spring break, i’m so excited!!

It’s so important to keep a healthy body and mind! 💛 It’s not worth it to continuously sacrifice your health for productivity.

I always have people telling me, “I wish I could study like you do, I don’t have that kind of dedication”, or “I wish I was as smart as you.” REMINDER: I work really hard for my grades, and it isn’t something I was born with. So, for anyone telling themselves that they aren’t capable of having that kind of dedication, here are some tips that I used to go from an average student to exceptional:

Don’t compare your progress to anyone else’s. Those pictures you see on Instagram, those people talking about studying for hours and hours, they started right where you are. So don’t worry about what other people are doing, and just focus on your own goals and improving a little bit every day.

The most important step is telling yourself to just do it. I would say about 70% of my study sessions start out with me procrastinating and watching Netflix, before I get down to work. The hardest part is always starting, and sometimes you just have to force yourself to start. Tell yourself you’ll just study for five minutes, then ten. Small progress is still progress.

Find a routine that works for you. That being said, don’t become a slave to your routine. This year, I made the mistake of sometimes becoming so consumed with my studies that I didn’t have a balance. Find what works, set time aside for the things that are important to you, and commit yourself to success.

You have to be patient to see results. Don’t expect to suddenly be able to sit down and study for hours, or have perfect handwriting. You have to stay focused,  make goals, and work towards them. Don’t get discouraged and don’t give up, the results will come.

Make goals. Not just big, long-term, I-want-to-be-a-doctor goals, but things like studying 3 hours on Friday for an exam the next week, or finishing all the little busy-work items on your to-do lists. Sit down and make a list of your big life goals, and then make a list of your smaller goals to help you get there.

9/100 Days

Is it 은/는, 을/를 or maybe 이/가? 🤷

| 10.02.2018 | i was having a kind of blegh day so i bought a few new skincare products and have arranged a little workspace nest in my bed ☁️ there should be a new bullet journal video up on my youtube channel in the next few days as well!!

Because I struggle bussed too hard to come up with a solid 10. Regardless, I made it this far, so I must have done something right(ish), or not completely wrong. 

Set the scene. Not necessarily in the Tumblr studying aesthetic kinda way. They’re definitely #deskgoals, but let me tell you, my desk never looked like any of the pictures you see here. What I mean, make your space a productive place to study for you. I preferred my study space to be separate from my sleep place, so my desk wasn’t in my bedroom. Not being locked up in a cave was important to me, so I put my desk by a window. Light a candle, Bath and Body Works got all my loan money. Get a natural sunlight lamp. Play some music, preferably without lyrics – classical, EDM, whatever keeps you focused without being distracting. Just make an optimal space for you. 

Stay hydrated (and caffeinated). I’m 100% a coffee addict, but water is so incredibly important. It helps you to not feel like shit, both physically and mentally, or look like shit #skincare.  Drink your morning coffee, but chug water throughout the day. Your mind and body will love you. I discovered flavoring packets that contained caffeine (Crystal Light, Mio, etc) at the beginning of MS2, and let me tell you, life-changing for those mid-afternoon slumps. And all those pee breaks you have to take? Much needed and well-deserved! You don’t want a DVT from studying all day. 

Sleep! I honestly cannot stress this enough. I don’t know how I ever pulled all nighters in college and I don’t know how my friends did it in medical school. It’s important for your mental health and physical health. Studies have shown sleep enhances memory retention and you’ll study more productively. I became a “my brain doesn’t function after 10pm” person in medical school, so I went to sleep early-ish and woke up early, but if you’re a night owl, then let yourself sleep in! You’re not taking away precious study time if you’re sleeping, I promise. And for that night before the test, that extra hour of sleep is way better than staying up an extra hour to read your notes one more time, I pinky promise. 

Move, stretch, dance, anything not hunched over a desk. Sitting for 12 hours straight is simply not sustainable. Take a couple minute break every hour to give your brain a rest. A lot of people use the Pomodoro technique with success but I never got into it. I downloaded the Forest app and timed myself for an hour, then took a 5-10 minute break between study sessions. You’ll feel refreshed and rejuvenated for another round of studying! 

Repetition, repetition, repetition. Repetition is key when it comes to learning and memorizing. Figure out your best way of learning and stick with it. Whether it be reading, re-writing notes, listening or watching lectures, recording yourself reading the notes, flashcards, etc. Find it and stick with it. Repeat it until you can do it in your sleep. I would literally wake up sometimes reciting notes in my head and I it was annoying, but it meant I had studied effectively. 

Questions. Always reinforce your knowledge with questions. You can memorize every page of a textbook but it doesn’t mean much unless you can apply it. And the more questions you do, the faster you get at test-taking, which is key once you get into 8 hour board exams. But I digress. Take practice tests, buy review books, invest in question banks. Some professors provide old exam questions for review. Do as many as you can. And if explanations are provided, read them! They’re just as much of a learning tool as any other resource! As I reviewed the questions, I’d take notes, simple one-liner facts, for review later. 

One pagers. This one may not be for everyone, but they came in clutch for me. My study method was a combination of re-writing notes and reciting things out loud as if I’m teaching it to a class. I talk to myself a lot. The more comfortable I got with the material, the more I condensed my notes until I had whole lectures or topics down to one page. This page would contain things that I thought were super important that I needed to make sure I knew, or those pesky facts that would not commit themselves to my memory. Because I’m a firm believe in not re-reading something you know you already know. This also held me accountable to always be actively studying. Then I would review these pages the day before and the morning of exams. 

Above all else, remember to trust yourself. Don’t panic. You put in the time and work, you will do great. If you have anxiety issues, don’t be afraid to seek help so you can learn how to get your anxiety under control because school is hard enough without that added obstacle. 

forgive yourself : it’s okay if you didn’t wake up early, go for a run, or finish that assignment. you’re only human

start slow : don’t set your expectations too high when you’re just starting off

keep learning : getting to where you want to be is a process. don’t expect perfection overnight