I was a top achiever and competitive in school. I was also interested in learning about anything, no matter what. Once I got into med school, it was a bit of a slow start the first semester, but once I got a hang of things, I worked harder and harder, and improved over the year, until I considered myself not really one of the top, but "above average". I never studied 10 hours a day like some people do. The max I can manage for an average day is up to 3 hours at home (I don't study in coffee shops or libraries). If exams are close, I could increase my study time to 5-6 hours a day for a week or so.
By the end of 2nd year, I was a top achiever. I put a lot of effort in.. worked my ass off on research papers, without stressing myself, because I started off early and gave myself ample time. I found the work enjoyable and interesting. But **** happens, and you can't always guarantee you'll stay like that. I had hoped or thought that since I'm in the mood to work hard and find it enjoyable that it'll always be like that and I'll breeze through the next years. It didn't work that way.
I had some personal stuff going on like close relatives dying or getting sick and other crazy stuff that all occurred after each other and that sucks big time, especially for a student. A student should have a clear mind.. because his/her job is to receive, process, and save information. How can you concentrate when you've got other stuff to worry about?
It's difficult to adjust, especially if you used to have a routine before and were aiming high. Some people can be stimulated to work harder when these things happen to them, and I did that for a while, but then it just gets messed up again. And it can be very disappointing when you find yourself unable to study, and transforming into a slacker.
So, what's the study strategy for people who're not really feeling their best? I have no idea.. LOL. Thankfully, I passed a test I had a while ago (I dunno how).. but there's still a lot more work to be doing. I think one of the advantages of putting in some effort when you can, is that it could help you if you unexpectedly ran into some hurdles later on.
I think it's great that some people study a lot, but from experience with my class at least, I find that most of the top achievers have a lot of extracurricular activities. When they study, they make the most of it, but it's more about quality rather than quantity (as someone else already mentioned). I also prefer getting the most I can from text in a short session, rather than going over it and writing everything down and repeating it again over a longer session.
I don't write when I study. I just read like I'm reading a magazine, and it works for me, because I usually remember things I read in magazine articles and talk about them later, so I do the same with the textbook. I try to make it a fun and interesting activity. It also helps if you imagine that you have to be lecturing someone about this very topic later. To be able to explain it, you'd have to know it very well first. It also helps to break up your studying into 45 minute sessions, or make a list of topics to be covered and tick them off one by one. You shouldn't get up from your seat unless you've finished a certain number of topics which you decide on before you start. I also like to make "countdowns" sometimes, where I count pages I have to go through so I know how much remains and whether I've reached half. Treat yourself to something at the end of the day, like going out for a meal, or watching a movie.. etc. Having something to do at the end of the day makes you work faster and harder to be able to get it. Also think about the important things you have to know in the material you're studying. There's no point in spending ages over the introduction or an unnecessary part of the book. If you haven't got much time, get straight to the point and try to summarise everything by highlighting or whatever, so you can skim over it later. Sometimes little drawings can help you, or if you associate something with something else. When I read about certain common disease conditions, I try to think of someone I know with the same thing. It helps me remember symptoms and signs and become more interested in it.
Eating well and sleeping well also helps your concentration and study. Try taking some vitamin and mineral supplements. Exercise is great. I never drink coffee, so I won't recommend it, but a lot of people in med school seem to be hooked to the stuff and they can't function without it. I don't really know if that's a good thing, but I think addiction doesn't help much and could stress you out especially near exam time. Learn to be calm at all times and don't freak out.
That's what I can think of for now.. I wish you the best of luck in your studies, esposo, and thanks for the great topic. You've been acting like a good host asking people for their opinions, LOL, but I think you were a bit too harsh on SarahGM, she meant no harm really. She was just saying that people can study and go out.. Anyways, if it makes any difference, I transformed into a hermit (literally) over the past 2 or 3 weeks. I haven't spoken to anyone and only went out of the apartment a few times to throw trash and once to buy groceries.. and I'm not even studying a thing even though I've got exams coming up soon.. So there goes the theory about people who study 24 hrs being socially inept. There are slackers like that too 😀
