Advice for handling an overwhelming schedule

[futureIDdoc]

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Between the end of this semester and mid-july, I will be running a clinical research project autonomously.

8AM to 4PM I will see patients.
4 PM to 6:30 PM (approx) I will do all the paperwork, spreadsheet updates, and filing for the patients I saw that day.
6:30PM-9:30PM I will screen all the patients coming into the clinic the next day to get ready to see patients again in the morning.

I have also agreed to help teach a physician to use EMR's to screen for another study, and agreed to help the physician create spreadsheets for her study.

I was planning on pre-studying biochemistry (I take that July 15 to August 25) and pre-studying a course I need to get an A in this fall, which I will be taking with MS1's.

I also wanted to write my secondaries (or at least get a good look at the prompts and draft initial responses) one year early (applying 2011 for 2012).

I have to teach tennis for a couple hours on weekends too. And I guess I'm going to cut out lifting, which I've been doing 2 out of 3 days.

I know I have to do what I can handle and sacrifice what I can't; I'm posting this in case someone might have some insight/recommendations that I may not think of that would help me be efficient and/or help me make decisions.

Also, inb4 cool story bro

 

[epsilonprodigy]

Multi-task, muliti-task, multi-task! Don't ever underestimate what you can get done in 5 minutes, or even 2 minutes. Budget in your downtime when you are doing something else. For instance, right now I'm eating breakfast and reasoned that yeah, I could study during breakfast, but realistically I have 10 minutes and a bowl of cereal in my lap. Might as well use those 10 minutes to poke around online. After that, I will go straight to the gym and then the library where I will study all day, then come home to do some laundry and work on my son's costume for his play.

I have been working full time and going to school along with being married with a child for the past few years. I have learned that little tricks that sound stupid/OCD-ish really work. For example, I rarely feel that I have time to clean, so I keep Clorox wipes on every floor of my house, so that way I can clean up a small mess in like 2 seconds on my way out the door, rather than getting sucked into a big cleaning ordeal. Be smart about necessary things like going to the grocery store, when you do go, make sure you get enough necessities to last you through your busiest periods.

Also, I pretty much do ALL my phone stuff- work related as well as talking to friends-in the car. I know, I know... but this is HUGE time-saver.

If you live in a heavy-traffic area, be wise about when you choose to travel, if possible. Sitting in traffic for 2 hours is obviously a huge and frustrating time-sucker. Avoid rush-hour travel like the plague.


Be honest with yourself about the silly stuff that doesn't matter. I for one, have not scrubbed my shower tiles in.... gawd, who knows how long. This drives me nuts, because I am a neat freak. My fridge is also stocked with portable food like single yogurts, etc.. even though I kind of cringe at how bad all that packaging is for the environment. But whatev. I know that's not the stuff I'll remember when I'm graduating 😀 So as applies to most things in life, K.I.S.S: Keep It Simple, "Stupid"

Good luck!

 

[DrArete]

Between the end of this semester and mid-july, I will be running a clinical research project autonomously.

8AM to 4PM I will see patients.
4 PM to 6:30 PM (approx) I will do all the paperwork, spreadsheet updates, and filing for the patients I saw that day.
6:30PM-9:30PM I will screen all the patients coming into the clinic the next day to get ready to see patients again in the morning.

I have also agreed to help teach a physician to use EMR's to screen for another study, and agreed to help the physician create spreadsheets for her study.

I was planning on pre-studying biochemistry (I take that July 15 to August 25) and pre-studying a course I need to get an A in this fall, which I will be taking with MS1's.

I also wanted to write my secondaries (or at least get a good look at the prompts and draft initial responses) one year early (applying 2011 for 2012).

I have to teach tennis for a couple hours on weekends too. And I guess I'm going to cut out lifting, which I've been doing 2 out of 3 days.

I know I have to do what I can handle and sacrifice what I can't; I'm posting this in case someone might have some insight/recommendations that I may not think of that would help me be efficient and/or help me make decisions.

Also, inb4 cool story bro

 

[OrangeTree]

Take a break periodically.

 

[chrisski]

Start each morning with by pouring a libation to Minerva, followed by a calf for Jupiter. Trust me, it helps.

 

[IHeartSleep]

I was planning on pre-studying biochemistry (I take that July 15 to August 25) and pre-studying a course I need to get an A in this fall, which I will be taking with MS1's.

I also wanted to write my secondaries one year early (applying 2011 for 2012).

I didn't know people like this existed. And I thought I was the master of being on top of things.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Doesn't seem to bad to me. You have plenty of time for the gym and prestudying. The secondaries are a waste of time. You have all year for those. Maybe as a traditional student this is overwhelming, but for the nontrads with kids, this is the norm. So just prioritize your time. Turn off the tv and stay off the internet. You'll be fine.

 

[MilkmanAl]

The first step would definitely be to cut out the pre-studying and secondary writing. Those things just aren't good uses of your time, with the latter being a complete waste. Plus, if you're booked from 8-9:30 every day, how do you plan on doing all that other stuff?