Spring semester is in full swing now (already have one exam done!), and I want to be sure that this semester is a good one. Looking back on my summer and fall semesters, I've come up with a list of things that helped me do well. Probably should try and stay on track with these things, hey?
1. Have a consistent sleep-wake pattern.
Forgive me for sounding like a grandma (okay, I'm kind of a grandma), but I totally reworked my sleeping habits and it has really made a difference. Not only does it help me prioritize getting enough sleep (which is so vitally important, omg), it allowed me to break up my studying.
I find that studying for long stretches of time is hard. I get distracted easily. So instead, I wake up real early (like, alarm starts going off at 4:55am and it's a** in desk by 5:15) so I can study for 1-1.5 hours before I go to work. Then when I'm done with work, I have about 3 hours of study time in the evening, and I'm in bed by 9:30, leaving me with 7-7.5 hours of sleep each night.
This is a big change for a person who would have never thought she'd be a morning person, but here we are! And consistency is key. Even if I don't work, I try to get up at the same time which I think is part of why 4:55am alarms don't feel so terrible -- it's just what I do every day.
2. Fuel your brain properly by eating well.
You eat junk, you feel like junk. It can be so easy when you're feeling stressed or too busy or whatever to eat crappy foods. I get it. It's quick, it's comforting. But being a dietitian, I firmly believe in the power of healthy foods. I'm far from perfect (hello, Trader Joes frozen meals), but I try.
Have fresh fruit around. Buy baby carrots and cherry tomatoes (no prep needed!). Salad kits for life. Whole grain cereal. Low sugar yogurt. I'm not talking complicated stuff here. I'm just saying, I bet you'll feel better eating this kind of stuff than grabbing fast food on your way home.
3. Do little things to make yourself happy.
For me, this was long walks with Milo (when the weather was nicer...) while listening to a favorite podcast. I also thoroughly enjoy winding down for 10-15 minutes before bed by reading a book. These aren't big things and they don't take much time away from studying but they make me feel good.
Heck, it's why I have this blog. Sure, it'd be cool if people read this and learned something, but for me it's a wonderful creative outlet.
4. Give yourself grace to be imperfect.
This is definitely still a hard one for me (and probably deserving of a post all its own), but the sooner you accept that you can't do it all, the better. You have to say "no" to friends and family, you will will eat a whole frozen pizza while buried under blankets on the couch, you will have moments of failure. You will have a running list of all the things you "should" be doing more (more flashcards, more family time, more exercise, more cooking, more attention for your dog, more practice questions ... you get the hint).
But you can't. And that's fine. That's life. For now. Not forever, but for now. Focus on your successes, take it day by day, and give yourself a break every now and then. You can't do everything but you can do anything.
5. Find a way to keep your focus.
Set timers (50 minutes to study, 10 minute break, repeat). Hide your phone in the other room. Stay off social media. Find some good studying music. Go to the library, a coffee shop, lock yourself in your office. I don't really have the answer here (still working on this one!) but figure out the right combination of factors that allow you to really focus in.
PA school studying is a marathon, not a sprint. You're not cramming the night before -- you're cramming all the time. We're not in undergrad anymore, so be prepared to find new ways to get in (and stay in) the zone.
It's nice to take a step back and take stock in what has gone well in the past. I can already see a few tune-ups I could use as the spring semester really picks up steam (namely, still going on long walks with Milo even if it is cold, and staying the heck off of social media while I'm trying to study!).
Thanks for reading,
Olivia
1. Have a consistent sleep-wake pattern.
Forgive me for sounding like a grandma (okay, I'm kind of a grandma), but I totally reworked my sleeping habits and it has really made a difference. Not only does it help me prioritize getting enough sleep (which is so vitally important, omg), it allowed me to break up my studying.
I find that studying for long stretches of time is hard. I get distracted easily. So instead, I wake up real early (like, alarm starts going off at 4:55am and it's a** in desk by 5:15) so I can study for 1-1.5 hours before I go to work. Then when I'm done with work, I have about 3 hours of study time in the evening, and I'm in bed by 9:30, leaving me with 7-7.5 hours of sleep each night.
This is a big change for a person who would have never thought she'd be a morning person, but here we are! And consistency is key. Even if I don't work, I try to get up at the same time which I think is part of why 4:55am alarms don't feel so terrible -- it's just what I do every day.
2. Fuel your brain properly by eating well.
You eat junk, you feel like junk. It can be so easy when you're feeling stressed or too busy or whatever to eat crappy foods. I get it. It's quick, it's comforting. But being a dietitian, I firmly believe in the power of healthy foods. I'm far from perfect (hello, Trader Joes frozen meals), but I try.
Have fresh fruit around. Buy baby carrots and cherry tomatoes (no prep needed!). Salad kits for life. Whole grain cereal. Low sugar yogurt. I'm not talking complicated stuff here. I'm just saying, I bet you'll feel better eating this kind of stuff than grabbing fast food on your way home.
3. Do little things to make yourself happy.
For me, this was long walks with Milo (when the weather was nicer...) while listening to a favorite podcast. I also thoroughly enjoy winding down for 10-15 minutes before bed by reading a book. These aren't big things and they don't take much time away from studying but they make me feel good.
Heck, it's why I have this blog. Sure, it'd be cool if people read this and learned something, but for me it's a wonderful creative outlet.
4. Give yourself grace to be imperfect.
This is definitely still a hard one for me (and probably deserving of a post all its own), but the sooner you accept that you can't do it all, the better. You have to say "no" to friends and family, you will will eat a whole frozen pizza while buried under blankets on the couch, you will have moments of failure. You will have a running list of all the things you "should" be doing more (more flashcards, more family time, more exercise, more cooking, more attention for your dog, more practice questions ... you get the hint).
But you can't. And that's fine. That's life. For now. Not forever, but for now. Focus on your successes, take it day by day, and give yourself a break every now and then. You can't do everything but you can do anything.
5. Find a way to keep your focus.
Set timers (50 minutes to study, 10 minute break, repeat). Hide your phone in the other room. Stay off social media. Find some good studying music. Go to the library, a coffee shop, lock yourself in your office. I don't really have the answer here (still working on this one!) but figure out the right combination of factors that allow you to really focus in.
PA school studying is a marathon, not a sprint. You're not cramming the night before -- you're cramming all the time. We're not in undergrad anymore, so be prepared to find new ways to get in (and stay in) the zone.
It's nice to take a step back and take stock in what has gone well in the past. I can already see a few tune-ups I could use as the spring semester really picks up steam (namely, still going on long walks with Milo even if it is cold, and staying the heck off of social media while I'm trying to study!).
Thanks for reading,
Olivia
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