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There is a difference between scheduling yourself, and pacing yourself.
You can easily schedule yourself - study 3 hours before school, and 3 hours after.
And this can grind you down over the long run.
The challenge is to PACE yourself - to attend to your internal cues, and adjust accordingly.
You schedule 3 hours of studying, and when there's 30 minutes left you say:
“30 more minutes and then I'll take a 20 minute break.”
And two months later, you lose focus sooner, and you're forcing yourself to stay with the
books for the last 45 minutes of your scheduled time.
And then it will be an hour, and then two hours,
and eventually you will be burnt out for the full three hours and hate every minute of
it.
It is better to drink BEFORE you are thirsty.
It is better to take a break BEFORE you start glancing at the clock.
If after 3 hours you start “making deals” with yourself for a 20 minute break,
Next time, study for two and a half hours and then take a 10 minute break.
Like a runner in training, once you know your comfortable pace, you can start challenging
yourself to increase that pace.
See if this is right for you. If not, try something else.
The most important thing to learn in M1 is NOT “the intermediates of glycolysis.”
The most important thing to learn in M1 is “What is the best way for YOU to learn all
this stuff.”
Because in M1: for every “one thing” you learn about how things are supposed to work,
in M2: there are TEN things to learn about how it can go wrong and how to treat it.
This does NOT mean “When you don't feel like studying - don't study!”
Just like a marathon runner must keep running when tired,
you will have to study when you don't feel like it.
The challenge is to learn YOUR cues for “running when tired”
compared to “running so hard that your muscles will cramp midway.”
You start M1 full of enthusiasm, so use that to get a good strong foundation.
But decide after the starting, that you will adjust as you get more data about YOUR best
pace.
Imagine you're the teacher of med students.
Question: How do you decide what to talk about during your class?
Answer: You read the EXACT same review books that med students use, and plan your lectures
around that.
If there's 20 minutes of stuff in “Prime Aid” , you cover that, and then ramble for
30 minutes about semi-related details. And since you want to test the “important stuff,”
your questions will probably overlap with Prime Aid.
This is why, after the exam, it's faster to look up the answer to question #48 in “Prime
Aid” than to wade through the teacher's powerpointz.
So buy Prime Aid and other review books. Memorize overlap, not just for your future
board exam, but for your current M1 test. DO NOT make the mistake of saying “I'll
worry about Prime Aid next year, when I study for Step 1”
because Prime Aid should be surprisingly predictive of M1 questions as well.
Our first two “secrets” were about academics - time and content.
This secret is about everything non-academic, namely, do stuff.
Exercise. Sing in a choir.
Play video games.
Whatever makes you happy, keep doing it. If you give up everything you enjoy to study,
you will regret it.
And people. Talk with your non-med school friends and family.
You will NOT believe how refreshing relationships are,
until you're “beyond tired” and get an unexpected “second wind” from a caring
relationship.
Finally, make friends with your fellow students.
Twenty years from now, even after the longest of hospital work days,
if you get a call from “Dr. So and So”.... and you were in med school together?”
You are guaranteed to pick up that phone.
So those are our three biggest secrets to succeeding in med school.
Others are encouraged to comment if they have questions, or to contribute additional advice.
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