Does keeping a strict daily schedule help?

[Radon XP]

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I'm talking about planning ahead for things like study time, working out, eating, breaks, "errand" time, etc

Maybe writing it on a whiteboard/making a spreadsheet

Do you think that is a good thing to do? Methinks establishing study time in advance will go a long ways to keeping me "on track".

 

[Jepstein30]

I'm talking about planning ahead for things like study time, working out, eating, breaks, "errand" time, etc

Maybe writing it on a whiteboard/making a spreadsheet

Do you think that is a good thing to do? Methinks establishing study time in advance will go a long ways to keeping me "on track".

Establish study time but god damn, you don't need to carve out every single minute of your day.

 

[cloudzz]

Yes it definitely helps, but only if you follow it....
I personally LOVE making plans, as well as adjusting it (major changes lol) as I go.....

 

[Mavs88]

Well don't go over the top with it, but for me what works best is a keeping a planner and writing down when everything is due and when i will plan to study...it helps to visualize it. Being in college, you never know when some event or something comes up, so stay flexible but still keeping a study habit going. Give yourself goals perhaps along the way.

Btw Radon, did you see my reply in your thread about clinical work in College Station?

 

[pathologyDO]

I'm talking about planning ahead for things like study time, working out, eating, breaks, "errand" time, etc

Maybe writing it on a whiteboard/making a spreadsheet

Do you think that is a good thing to do? Methinks establishing study time in advance will go a long ways to keeping me "on track".

Only way to live brotha

 

[sworzeh]

Do you also need to plan out when you use the restroom? What about time to call your mother?

 

[kmp0410]

Setting aside a time to study maybe. But past that I wouldn't. I mean alot of that is personality type though.

Try to focus on studying content rather than just time. That way if you have something specific you want to review, read, learn, etc then you can accomplish that in however long you need. Saying "I'm gonna study for 5 hours" never worked for me. Treat the mini goals such as completing chapters as the goals and the grades should generally take care of themselves.

 

[BABSstudent]

I'm talking about planning ahead for things like study time, working out, eating, breaks, "errand" time, etc

Maybe writing it on a whiteboard/making a spreadsheet

Do you think that is a good thing to do? Methinks establishing study time in advance will go a long ways to keeping me "on track".

Personally, I did it when I was under a lot of pressure. However, my fixed schedule was only for a few days. When I studied for the MCAT, it was the longest I was going on a super fixed schedule and it lasted for a month of strictly following the schedule and then a month of pseudo-following the schedule.

 

[bigdogrob4284]

It's a good idea for some people. Similar to what BABSstudent said, I did this when something important was coming up.

 

[Long Way to Go]

I did it all freshman year for anything scheduled for >30 minutes. I didn't necessarily stick to it 100% of the time, but I would log any changes in my Google Calendar. Helped keep me on track when I went back to review the past week's work.

Then I realized I was being crazy and stopped doing that. But it did help while I did it.

 

[Dr.Forssmann]

I recommend google calendars. Sync it with your iphone. Its pretty cool.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Just go with the flow, dood.

 

[plumhill]

I find it more beneficial to list out tasks that I am going to accomplish for the day, rather than # of minutes/hours I'll spend doing X. I think it makes more sense to make it a goal to read, take notes on, and quiz myself on Chapter ____ in a bio class rather than blindly study bio for 4 hours.

 

[NeverMeetAgain]

Personally, I find it easier to just live life and not schedule every minute of every day. Sure I keep track of major test dates, projects, etc., but I don't really plan out my days beyond "I need to be here and get this done." No time schedules or anything like that... it wouldn't work for me personally.

 

[Radon XP]

Well don't go over the top with it, but for me what works best is a keeping a planner and writing down when everything is due and when i will plan to study...it helps to visualize it. Being in college, you never know when some event or something comes up, so stay flexible but still keeping a study habit going. Give yourself goals perhaps along the way.

Btw Radon, did you see my reply in your thread about clinical work in College Station?

Ya, thanks for the reply! I will probably bump that thread.

 

[JohnQuincyAdams]

I have a lot of personal experience with this.

I spent so much time doing this throughout college. I would plan each hour for a week. I would very rarely follow it, though. I just made the schedule because it made me feel good- like I was going to be productive- and was easier than actually doing the work I needed to. I think to do lists are good, but I strongly recommend against this practice, unless you can follow it very closely.

Try it for a little, and ask yourself what you are getting out of it and are you following it.

 

[deleted407021]

Monitor everything!! No. Just make time to study and relax when your work is done. Please do not schedule every activity of your day.

 

[thisandthat]

Definitely depends on what works best for you. Personally, I love making a really great study schedule. I use study breaks to exercise, run errands, eat and do chores so generally speaking, yes they do get scheduled into my day. But if I am not doing a full day of studying, then I just schedule what/when to study and make check lists of other things I want to get done. Basically, I love schedules and checklists.
(I always sounds like the nerdiest version of myself when I post on SDN... geez.)

 

[Arkaine]

See how it works for you OP, you may be one of those people who responds really well to having a strict, fixed schedule. Personally, I find those kind of schedules really overbearing and promote unnecessary anxiety. Rather than worrying about important things, like studying or working out or being social, you're intentionally making every task on a given day another opportunity to disrupt your schedule.

 

[silverturtle]

I'm talking about planning ahead for things like study time, working out, eating, breaks, "errand" time, etc

Maybe writing it on a whiteboard/making a spreadsheet

Do you think that is a good thing to do? Methinks establishing study time in advance will go a long ways to keeping me "on track".

I think you should only do it for study times. Otherwise, if something spontaneous comes up, you'll be anxious about it messing up your so carefully planned schedule. It adds too much stress. As long as you're diligent with your studying you should be fine.

 

[Radon XP]

How many hours per week did/do you guys put into pre-req classes? Is 7-10 hours/week enough time per pre-req (of course there will be variation, but in general)?

 

[Toss]

I'm talking about planning ahead for things like study time, working out, eating, breaks, "errand" time, etc

Maybe writing it on a whiteboard/making a spreadsheet

Do you think that is a good thing to do? Methinks establishing study time in advance will go a long ways to keeping me "on track".

lift.do is the best.

 

[silverturtle]

How many hours per week did/do you guys put into pre-req classes? Is 7-10 hours/week enough time per pre-req (of course there will be variation, but in general)?

That sounds about right generally. Though that easily got bumped up to 15+ hrs per prereq around exam times.

 

[Mosa]

Depends on who you are. Im a very organized person, but when I tried a schedule with times, i found that it just wasn't for me. What I do now is make a to do list for everyday and just write down everything I need to get done on that day. When I do that task, I cross it off. This way if something came up or something took more or less time than I thought, it doesn't mess up my day. This style gave me more freedom while still requiring the discipline to complete every task for each day.

 

[The Milkman]

That sounds about right generally. Though that easily got bumped up to 15+ hrs per prereq around exam times.

I guess I'm an outlier then at about 1-2 hours max..

 

[Radon XP]

I guess I'm an outlier then at about 1-2 hours max..

And you got A's?

 

[The Milkman]

And you got A's?

All A's except an A- in Orgo II... The only time I spent per week was an hour or two on homework assignments, and then studying was about an hour or two the night before the exam or the morning of.

 

[Black Mamba24]

All A's except an A- in Orgo II... The only time I spent per week was an hour or two on homework assignments, and then studying was about an hour or two the night before the exam or the morning of.

+1 more or less

Figuring out how to study in med school is gonna be fun 😎

 

[487806]

Depends on who you are. Im a very organized person, but when I tried a schedule with times, i found that it just wasn't for me. What I do now is make a to do list for everyday and just write down everything I need to get done on that day. When I do that task, I cross it off. This way if something came up or something took more or less time than I thought, it doesn't mess up my day. This style gave me more freedom while still requiring the discipline to complete every task for each day.

👍

This helps a lot.

All A's except an A- in Orgo II... The only time I spent per week was an hour or two on homework assignments, and then studying was about an hour or two the night before the exam or the morning of.

Similar strategy used here 😎

 

[Radon XP]

All A's except an A- in Orgo II... The only time I spent per week was an hour or two on homework assignments, and then studying was about an hour or two the night before the exam or the morning of.

Did you find physics hard (algebra based)?

 

[def1]

I didn't study in college much but I do study a lot now.

I honestly find it hard to plan a strict study schedule. My study schedule is pretty much once my last class ends until I finish all the readings for the day.

The only real schedule I try to follow is that I try to get all my studying done before 6 pm, which never really happens lol

 

[The Milkman]

Did you find physics hard (algebra based)?

To me it was pretty easy, I took Calculus so that allowed me to see some of it better, and when it was just algebra based, it was even easier. Math comes easy to me, and figuring out which equation/combinations of equations to use was easy, I just had to study the conceptual stuff more

+1 more or less

Figuring out how to study in med school is gonna be fun 😎

Can't wait for this culture shock! (if accepted to med school)

 

[The Milkman]

But more on subject, I usually just get an idea of what I want to accomplish during the day, and a rough idea of when I want to get it done. If I succeed in not procrastinating, this usually works pretty good for me.