Finding a Balance

With everyone doing more and more these days, it almost seems as if you're also being pressed to do the same just to keep up. This is exactly how I felt especially in undergrad juggling a heavy research commitment, classwork, volunteering, extracurricular involvement, and trying to find personal time for myself among all of this. Now as a medical student, I still continue to feel this pressure at times when studying takes up much of my day especially during the week leading up to an exam while still needing to find time to complete certain professional requirements along the way.

Finding a balance is an ever changing process as your schedule may change from day to day but keeping these things in mind have really helped me feel less overwhelmed especially during the weeks when it seems like everything is due.

1. Figure out what works best for you through trial and error and start this process early. When I first began classes as an M1, I thought I had to spend much of my time in the books to be successful. I definitely didn't exercise as much, didn't take much time off during breaks, and didn't feel as energized as I did the summer before. While the workload was slowly increasing, I quickly realized that this was probably the most "relatively free" I was going to be for a while and if I wanted to learn how to manage my time more effectively to still fit in the things I loved to do, I should start now by making small changes every week. By doing this, I became more comfortable with prioritizing things like going on a run for an hour, taking Friday evenings off, and learned how to put my work down to focus on myself. I knew I would be able to pick up right where I left off when I was ready to go again and eventually helped me find time to relax even if just for a bit during the busiest of weeks too.

2. Work hard during your most productive hours and be efficient with your time. Studying is draining and planning to finish "x amount" of lectures in 13 hours the next day to get ahead sounds great, but in reality, you might feel your productivity slowing down as you go through your day. Are you better at focusing in the morning? Maybe at night? Or maybe right after lunch once you've completed your errands in the morning? Find a block of hours during which you feel yourself being the most productive, put down all distractions, and focus on the work in front of you. You'll be surprised at how much you can get done then and how much more free time you now have available in your day.

3. Prioritize your most pressing tasks and stay organized by writing down the things you need to accomplish for each day. Every morning before getting started for the day, I like to take a sheet of paper and write down the lectures, errands, tasks, and things I need to complete by the time I go to bed. Rank these tasks in order of priority and as you go through them one by one, check them off your list. This allows you to visualize all the things you finished for the day and reorder your priorities based on the tasks you shift over to the next day.

4. Know when to step away and take a break. It is perfectly alright to feel like you need to put absolutely everything down and just do anything else. Take time away from your notes to do the things you enjoy. Go on a walk, exercise, make yourself a meal, paint, take a nap, spend time with friends, go grab a nice cup of coffee at your favorite cafe, watch a tv show - the list is endless! Even if you just close your eyes, sit, and breathe for 10 minutes, you'll come back refreshed and energized to start back up again.