I think the hardest part of transitioning to online education is keeping a routine. Here are a few ways I’ve kept myself on track:
- I make sure I start studying before 8 am everyday, if I start later I feel like I am playing catchup all day.
- I make a “must accomplish” list in the morning… I list everything I have to study for the day. Then I make a list of “would be nice to get done” extra study topics.
- I limit my distractions– I don’t use my phone until after I’ve studied for at least 3 hours and I leave my phone in a different room when I am studying. I play rain sounds on Spotify if I am getting distracted by noise.
- After every 2 hours of studying at my desk I go outside and take a walk. Depending on how dense the material I covered was… sometimes I take a break, call a friend, or do flashcards. Knowing that I will get outside helps motivate me to finish each study block.
- I workout at 5 pm everyday. I’ve been doing at home HIIT, yoga, and resistance training!
- Everyday after my workouts I go watch the sunset from the park. It’s something I look forward to and it helps me slow down.
- I plan study groups over zoom in advance. The only “scheduled” meetings we have through school are a few 2 hour zoom meetings per week to do PBL. Scheduling zoom study sessions with friends holds me accountable to learn the material that we will review together.
So far online med school has been going just fine 🙂