Alright here’s the deal. I’m in grade 10 and I need to get a 90 average I don’t know how to study, I’ve always just winged it and done great. But it’s starting to pile on and it’s affecting my grades. I have no motivation, but I know I want to be a doctor it’s just what I’ve always wanted to do. But I don’t know how. All of my friends get 90s and I’m here not knowing what to do. I’m afraid everyone else is moving ahead while I’m stuck. Help please
Ok so,
You’ve hit the barrier that we all, at one point or another reach - where we need to supplement our natural talent with discipline and work.
And that’s ok! That’s normal! This is not a crisis. This is real life!
The best advice I can give you is to study smart. That means targeting your time/ effort to the things you are going to be examined on. This starts with looking over your course syllabus (or what topics you’ve covered in class), and becoming familiar with the structure of your exams.
and then leaving the rest to one side.
So what does studying smart mean?
Here’s some other resources that might help:
Studying smart, not hard (specifically for semester finals)
Study smart - aka affordable losses
How I stay motivated
General high school tips
What to do after getting a shit grade
Time Management
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, that may also be a time management issue. Now, we’ve all got the same number of hours in a day - it’s how we choose to spend them that makes the difference.
Some resources on time management
This comic by @solar-citrus
Managing Time and Tasks (originally by meredithdraper, via working link @elkstudies)
This amazing post on Time and Task Management by @pensandmachine
@theorganisedstudent FAQ
Finding your best time of the day by @eatwellstudyhard
this list by @joolshallie
this masterpost by @study-well
On being a doctor
It’s great that you know that you want to be a doctor. I think a good way to motivate yourself is to ask why you want to be a doctor. Not only for short-term motivation, but for long term motivation.
This is important because the road to being a doctor (and a lot of ‘traditional’ professions) is much longer than just ‘completing high school and completing med school’. A lot of students don’t realise that it takes, in some instances, decades of hard work.
Not to mention the financial, emotional and mental sacrifices that you will need to make.
A good way to make an informed decision about your career choices is to ask people who are already in the field and people who are studying medicine. To that end I’d recommend:
@studydiaryofamedstudent
@dxmedicalstudent (FAVOURITE. seriously.)
@verymedical
@medicalstate (no longer active, but his posts were always a deep dive into practice, amongst other things)
On feeling left behind
Here’s the thing.
You’re not.
You are not falling behind.
I understand why it feels that way. High school is a pressure cooker. For your entire academic life to date, you’ve been working in this competitive environment. Where success feels like a zero sum game.
It’s not.
You have your own route to success. The battles you win, the results you receive, the progress you achieve - the value of these things are not diminished just because “your friends are doing better.”
Its natural to judge your performance against everyone else. What they got for an exam, how much they wrote, what answers they got, how they solved a problem. Don’t give too much weight to what people say they’ve done. In the end you can only control your own performance.
You don’t need +90 to ‘move ahead in life’.
Just because someone does it first, whether it be graduating high school, graduating uni, getting a job first, getting their first kiss, going on a first date - all these ‘coming of age markers’ - doesn’t mean that you won’t get to achieve them yourself.
But if you feel like you’re falling behind, and you use that feeling to stop yourself from working, then you will be holding yourself back from success.
So, stop focussing on the ‘race’. Instead, look to where you’re running to. And where you final destination is.
Highly recommend reading these wise words from @niuniente.
And if you’re feeling stuck? Reach out for help.
All the best anon.
