How do you force yourself?

[alwaysaangel]

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I know its a dumb question because everyone is different. But procrastinating which worked in undergrad won't cut it anymore - I need to force myself to study all day instead of playing on the internet/taking naps/talking to friends.

So what are you guys' methods to inspire yourselves to study? How do you make yourself study when you don't want to.

 

[sendwich]

hey OP,

i'm a fellow M1 here as well. so far, fear of not passing has been the main motivating factor for me. As well as the preparedness of my fellow classmates (i know it's not good to compare, but i guess it's working to my advantage here).

 

[DoctorFunk]

Fear may be bad for Jedi, but it does wonders for the successful med student.

 

[Blade28]

Fear of doing poorly in class. Fear of bombing Step 1.

 

[peace zealot]

the fear of failing exam is one of the most important thing that motivates us to study.i stop procrastination especially during exam by setting a task and after that a little reward.so that reward makes me motivated for say 4hrs. or so......
its like if i have to do a unit of physio in 3 hrs. and after that i will be listening to my favourite song.to me it works marvellously.

 

[Twitch]

While I too have a fear of failing but I wouldn't call that a motivating factor. Also is it really a good idea to force yourself and how much do you really get out of a session like that? I'd rather just take a break work out and get back at it.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

Losing my dream I have worked so hard for
Fear of doing poorly, even failing
No need to force yourself to do this stuff, it's what we have chosen to do...and we like it, if medicine is for us.

I find myself choked up recently that I'm finally here, in medical school. Don't screw it up, it's a chance of a lifetime.

 

[Ambs]

My school has an Honors/Near Honors/Satisfactory/Fail grading system, so I was motivated by wanting to shoot for Honors. But most importantly I was motivated because I wanted to learn the material well the first time and be prepared for Step 1.

Third year is different.... I really need more motivation this year ... I come home from clinic/the hospital pretty tired and call it a day after working out and having dinner... I really should be doing a lot more reading up on my patients and studying... And I'm on family right now, so the weekends are mine and most evenings are mine... and yet I'm realllllly lazy...

 

[Reimat]

I know its a dumb question because everyone is different. But procrastinating which worked in undergrad won't cut it anymore - I need to force myself to study all day instead of playing on the internet/taking naps/talking to friends.

So what are you guys' methods to inspire yourselves to study? How do you make yourself study when you don't want to.

You are not going to be able to force yourself to study all day. But, you shouldn't be wasting tons of time either. When you need to get down and dirty with the studying, shut down the computer, put it away and read. And make sure you're getting enough sleep, otherwise you wont be able to keep yourself awake.

 

[Law2Doc]

It's not just fear of failing. It's fear of having to pay back $30k+ per year with no job if you fail.

 

[menaniac]

It's not just fear of failing. It's fear of having to pay back $30k+ per year with no job if you fail.

Amen to that! 😀

 

[alwaysaangel]

You are not going to be able to force yourself to study all day. But, you shouldn't be wasting tons of time either. When you need to get down and dirty with the studying, shut down the computer, put it away and read. And make sure you're getting enough sleep, otherwise you wont be able to keep yourself awake.

Yeah I take notes on my computer so I study off it too. I need to just shut my wireless card off so I can't get on the internet.

I'm sure I will in due time. I keep hoping I'll just fall into a schedule but its not working - I've managed to waste TONS of time.

I guess I'm just not scared enough of failing and we only have one class atm - Biochem. I remember most of it from undergrad and am just not feeling motivated to go memorize little pointless details.

Oh well, I'll get to it tonight, tommorow and over the weekend - I have plenty of time before the test. Then after that I can start anew and actually go over lectures day of (didn't work out last week with all the social events my class was doing).

 

[lilnoelle]

Mostly I study just because it needs to be done. Theres a lot of things I do for this reason.... waking up long before my hubby on the weekends to feed my kids breakfast as soon as they wake up, waking them out of a dead sleep if we've arrived home from a trip to brush their teeth before they go to bed, waking up in the middle of the night to get my daughter a drink, etc. etc.

I also like to avoid stressful situations if possible, and I know if I don't do it now I'm gonna have to do it later and will be more stressed and more pressed for time.

I also enjoy knowing the material I'm learning, although I don't really realize that until the exam is over. Once it all starts coming together at the end of each block, I really enjoy my newfound knowledge.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

The intense self loathing I feel if I don't live up to my own impossibly high standards motivates me. Oh, the lonely life of a gunner...

 

[makeitstop]

okay, it's cute for everyone to say "fear" and everything..but seriously, that is not an adequate motivator for me 3 weeks before a test....3 hours before, sure, but not more than a week. first year i got away with this, but second year is a different beast all together. one thing that works for me is going to the library or a coffee shop where i don't have my tv/kitchen/roommate to distract me. i study off my computer, so that's a constant battle, but i try to muster up the will-power to turn off the wireless. another great study tactic: study with people who are smarter than you. find that group of NICE gunners, that stays on task, really wants to do well, but are too darn nice to turn you away from your study group. seriously, that is the best way to succeed, hands down. of course...if all your gunners are honest to god, gun down the competition gunners...well...don't know what to tell ya!

 

[blz]

So i'm in 3rd year now and did well my first two years and destroyed step1. I've now lost all motivation to do anything and am reverting back to my old procrastinating ways. can I get away with just being a bum again? I wanna do ENT and i got the grades for it and im taking a year off to do research - so do I really need to try to honor all these stupid rotations or can i just get away with getting through my rotations without being a tool? I have no problem functioning on the wards and get along with people well - i just have no motivation to study for these stupid shelf exams. I got my medicine shelf next week and i have a feeling its not going to go well since i basically only started studying for it last week.

 

[Law2Doc]

So i'm in 3rd year now and did well my first two years and destroyed step1. I've now lost all motivation to do anything and am reverting back to my old procrastinating ways. can I get away with just being a bum again? I wanna do ENT and i got the grades for it and im taking a year off to do research - so do I really need to try to honor all these stupid rotations or can i just get away with getting through my rotations without being a tool? I have no problem functioning on the wards and get along with people well - i just have no motivation to study for these stupid shelf exams. I got my medicine shelf next week and i have a feeling its not going to go well since i basically only started studying for it last week.

Rotations actually count more than your pre-clinical year grades, so if you tank now, you will have wasted the previous two years. Sort of like dribbling up to the basket with no one to beat, but then not taking the shot.

 

[Northerner]

Rotations actually count more than your pre-clinical year grades, so if you tank now, you will have wasted the previous two years. Sort of like dribbling up to the basket with no one to beat, but then not taking the shot.

Actually, it's more like dribbling up to the basket with no one to beat, not taking the shot, but then deciding to take the shot once it's too late, then you get fouled and have to make the two free throws, missing the first, then banking the second off the backboard so your tall gentleman closest can put it in for two. Then, making sure to get back on "D" because no one likes a ****ing lollygagger. Let's see some hustle, boys!

 

[Northerner]

Actually, it's more like dribbling up to the basket with no one to beat, not taking the shot, but then deciding to take the shot once it's too late, then you get fouled and have to make the two free throws, missing the first, then banking the second off the backboard so your tall gentleman closest can put it in for two. Then, making sure to get back on "D" because no one likes a ****ing lollygagger. Let's see some hustle, boys!

...and then, going man-to-man in the defensive zone until they start running iso's and screens, then switching to zone defense. Make sure you get that hand in the shooter's face! Then drawing the charge in the lane, and being helped up by a teammate.

That's what it's like.

 

[Law2Doc]

...and then, going man-to-man in the defensive zone until they start running iso's and screens, then switching to zone defense. Make sure you get that hand in the shooter's face! Then drawing the charge in the lane, and being helped up by a teammate.

That's what it's like.

Yeah, but your teammates are the Grizzlies, so it's pretty much all up to you on either side of the court.

 

[randhail]

Rotations actually count more than your pre-clinical year grades, so if you tank now, you will have wasted the previous two years. Sort of like dribbling up to the basket with no one to beat, but then not taking the shot.

I'd like to think of it as a Leon Lett type move. You've made the play, recovered the fumble, rumbling towards the endzone, you start celebrating a tad too early, slow down, and oh my you've lost the ball and will always be remembered as a huge jackass.

 

[blz]

Rotations actually count more than your pre-clinical year grades, so if you tank now, you will have wasted the previous two years. Sort of like dribbling up to the basket with no one to beat, but then not taking the shot.

yea blah blah i know first year grades < clinical grades

what about the combo of good first year grades, great step1 score, a year off for research and OKAY (pass-highpass) clinical grades? is it so wrong to lighten up a bit (thats part of the reason why i tried so hard on step1- i wanted to ease up a bit) . I probably wanan go into ENT and with my last shred of motivation, i'll try to honor surgery. other than that, i dunno. I'm doing pretty well in medicine only because I remember everything from the boards since i took them recently. we'll see how this shelf goes first though. i guess if i can somehow honor this rotation i can continue the trend. but damn, im eating away my youth chasing the glory. anyone else ever feel the same? or maybe im jaded now because i started with medicine and i dont know if i can survive another 80+hr/week rotation. i should have probably posted this in the rotations forum since all the motivated MS1s around here wont understand.

 

[Law2Doc]

yea blah blah i know first year grades < clinical grades

what about the combo of good first year grades, great step1 score, a year off for research and OKAY (pass-highpass) clinical grade?. is it so wrong to lighten up a bit (thats part of the reason why i tried so hard on step1- i wanted to ease up a bit)? . I probably wanan go into ENT and with my last shred of motivation, i'll try to honor surgery. other than that, i dunno. I'm doing pretty well in medicine only because I remember everything from the boards since i took them recently. we'll see how this shelf goes first though. i guess if i can somehow honor this rotation i can continue the trend. but damn, im eating away my youth chasing the glory. anyone else ever feel the same? or maybe im jaded now because i started with medicine and i dont know if i can survive another 80+hr/week rotation.

If you end up with pass-highpass you probably are still fine, but doing even better takes the "probably" out of the sentence. If you have it in you to get honors, I would go for the honors.

 

[Blade28]

or maybe im jaded now because i started with medicine and i dont know if i can survive another 80+hr/week rotation.

You know that you may be doing 80 hours/week throughout all of residency, right?

 

[ubcredfox]

You know that you may be doing 80 hours/week throughout all of residency, right?

Shhh, man, the children...

 

[blz]

You know that you may be doing 80 hours/week throughout all of residency, right?

the hardest part for me is not working in the hospital 80+hrs a week, its coming back and trying to get yourself to stay up all night reading harrisons, stepup, FA, mksap, qbook, prepare for presentations then doing stupid writeups and essays. also, becuase you're a lowly student you have to keep a smile on your face all throughout this torture.

 

[Law2Doc]

also, becuase you're a lowly student you have to keep a smile on your face all throughout this torture.

The lowly residents really don't seem to have it much better in this respect. The ones I've seen still seem to have stuff to read, presentations to make, and smiles to maintain. It's actually true for every career -- until you are the boss.

 

[blz]

The lowly residents really don't seem to have it much better in this respect. The ones I've seen still seem to have stuff to read, presentations to make, and smiles to maintain. It's actually true for every career -- until you are the boss.

the residents/interns i work with in medicine go home and sleep. i'm not saying they dont have to do all that busy work but they chose that field so they shoudn't mind it.

thats why i wanna go to into a guaranteed residency, like a 5 year ENT program where you're set once you get it. that way you're not constantly trying to bust your ass off to get that competitive fellowship or impress some attending. i just wanna finish my business and get on with my life.

maybe i should continue busting my ass and consider derm knowing the way i am.

 

[baylormed]

In undergrad I procrastinated a lot (A LOT) because I didn't have as much time pressure on me, and I work better under pressure, or so I say.


In medical school it hasn't been hard to motivate myself, and there are primary pressures that have to remind myself of in order to study:

1. Fear of failing
2. Step 1
3. The fact that material keeps coming to me at the speed of light, so I have to keep up or I'm toast.

It's actually been sort of surprising that procrastination seemed to go out the window pretty soon.

 

[Law2Doc]

thats why i wanna go to into a guaranteed residency, like a 5 year ENT program where you're set once you get it. that way you're not constantly trying to bust your ass off to get that competitive fellowship or impress some attending. i just wanna finish my business and get on with my life.

maybe i should continue busting my ass and consider derm knowing the way i am.

Well, I'm not sure you are being realistic if you think you never have to impress anybody once you land your residency -- there's always going to be someone and some reason to impress. In every residency someone gets to be chief, there are always cool fellowship options you'd like to be offered even if they are years down the pike, and ultimate job prospects tend to be better when you have the reputation of being the best. That you can know where you will be for 5 years is nice, but certainly won't be your final destination and you can bet others in your program will be cognizant of and posturing for the ultimate targets, even if it seems remote. "Finishing your business" doesn't really happen by choice in a competitive professional career.

As for busting your ass -- you don't need to just be interested in derm to do it -- I suspect within ENT there is a range of programs worth considering, and that making yourself competitive helps give you choices along that range. So change your focus from "I just want to get ENT and don't care where" to "I want to get ENT at XYZ". Coasting now probably means kicking yourself later.

 

[45408]

The lowly residents really don't seem to have it much better in this respect. The ones I've seen still seem to have stuff to read, presentations to make, and smiles to maintain. It's actually true for every career -- until you are the boss.

Odds are that few of us will escape the fact that someone else is signing your paycheck (and it's probably going to be Medicare 😛)

 

[45408]

Yeah I take notes on my computer so I study off it too. I need to just shut my wireless card off so I can't get on the internet.

I'm sure I will in due time. I keep hoping I'll just fall into a schedule but its not working - I've managed to waste TONS of time.

I don't even bring my laptop with me anymore. Bringing the wireless card was only an option in the first week or two of a block when there wasn't *that* much to study anyways. I know lots of people who can crush the books for 10-14 hours straight, even with the wireless card enabled, but I sure am not one of them.

 

[Blade28]

the hardest part for me is not working in the hospital 80+hrs a week, its coming back and trying to get yourself to stay up all night reading harrisons, stepup, FA, mksap, qbook, prepare for presentations then doing stupid writeups and essays. also, becuase you're a lowly student you have to keep a smile on your face all throughout this torture.

The lowly residents really don't seem to have it much better in this respect. The ones I've seen still seem to have stuff to read, presentations to make, and smiles to maintain. It's actually true for every career -- until you are the boss.

Very true. Don't forget that many fields have a yearly in-service exam that you have to study for - this is in addition to the usual textbook/journal reading you have to do. Then there are conferences and presentations to prepare for.

Many residents routinely go home and read after dinner, or hit the coffeeshops on early days or weekends.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

My class hasn't started yet, or even had orientation but I'm going to hazard the following guesses:

1.) Fact that you shelled out 30K+ for this year. It's like buying a Mercedes and then never driving it if you don't study/go to class.

2.) Fear of being "the one that dropped out."

3.) Fact that people wrote recommendations and made calls to help me along the way, to fail is not just letting myself down, but also them. It'd be like you wasted their time.

4.) Fear of parents beating me. Might be an Asian thing, but even now after I've outgrown spankings, and could easily take my dad in a fight, that early childhood negative reinforcement to bad grades is still well and alive in my subconscious.

5.) Fear of ending up like Becker, M.D. Desire to end up like Dr. McCoy, ship's chief medical officer.

 

[sprinkibrio]

Because I know how horribly awful it is to do bad and then have to get all A's your last two years of college and a crazy MCAT score to even get into medical school. Which I do NOT want to happen again.

Because I've been given this great opportunity that has almost been taken away from me, and I won't let it almost be taken away again.

Because I can't see myself doing anything else.

Because the material is actually interesting.

Because I have no other choice!

 

[ubcredfox]

Because I have no other choice!

That's the spirit. I mean seriously, what the hell else am I supposed to do with myself? I'm just hoping that I find that special something in medicine that interests and motivates me enough to make a career out of it...

 

[shantster]

I'm good about motivating myself to get stuff done when I have any free time by telling myself that if something is going to be going on that night or later in the week I'd be able to go out without feeling guilty or not going out at all.

 

[mudphudwannabe]

At some point, you do have to just get past the distractions and study - there's not really any trick to it. But if you're not in the mood/tired/etc and not studying efficiently, it's not worth it. It's much better to take a break, do something else for a few minutes (or hours, or days depending on the timeline), in my opinion, rather than be miserable while trying to study but not really retaining anything. I'm all about quality rather than quantity.

As for what worked in undergrad..well, you might be surprised. In undergrad, I hardly ever studied but went to every class every day. I crammed a bit for exams and did very well. In med school, I tried skipping class during first year and my grades took a dive. I found that as long as I went to class, I didn't have to study much on my own day to day and could just review the weekend before the exam and do well. It's not all that different -- just a bit more information to learn, and the bar is set a bit higher since all your classmates were honor students, 3.9 GPA's, etc too. So, while I'm not advocating procrastination, don't assume that what you did in undergrad isn't going to work in med school. You might have to kick it up a notch or two, but chances are you won't have to completely overhaul your study strategy.

And if you'll allow me to give another sage word of advice - it's probably better to start off with a little too much studying in the beginning rather than too little. You can always cut back a little later and reevaluate, but it's hard to bring those grades up after you're used to slacking! Good luck, I'm sure you'll do great!

 

[anon-y-mouse]

Guilt. I think of my parents working really hard to financially support me. Usually does the trick.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Guilt. I think of my parents working really hard to financially support me. Usually does the trick.

See none of these things work for me. I'm not afraid because I know I can do well-enough by sort of studying - but deep down I want more than that its just hard to find motivation.

I'm not guilty because I've financially supported myself since I graduated high school, so while I'd love for my parents to be proud of their daughter doctor - I don't feel I owe them anything.

I think I'm just going to have a really strict schedule for myself to get x, y, and z done everyday - so theres never any catching up or cramming.

Its just been a while since I've been in school and it would seem I still have a nasty case of senioritis.

 

[Blade28]

Well there's always the humiliation and shame after your first crappy grade on a big test...and believe me, most med students experience this. 🙂

 

[ScootDoc]

After all you have gone through to get where you are (i.e. Medical School) if you have to FORCE yourself to study, then maybe you shouldn't be in medical school. Time to check yourself. How badly do I want to be a physician??? I'm sure that is enough motivation for most medical students. Best of Luck to ya OP!!! You want it? Go get it!!!!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

After all you have gone through to get where you are (i.e. Medical School) if you have to FORCE yourself to study, then maybe you shouldn't be in medical school. Time to check yourself. How badly do I want to be a physician??? I'm sure that is enough motivation for most medical students. Best of Luck to ya OP!!! You want it? Go get it!!!!

got to say I disagree with this. If you've started school yet or studied for a test yet, maybe you'll have more insight and find that yes indeed sometimes it feels like forcing yourself. And that doesn't mean you're a bad person or that you don't really want to be a doctor.

To the op, it doesn't work when you're telling yourself you have to study all the time. You don't, and that's just a depressing thought. Set reasonable goals like studying a minimum of 4 hours every week day. Then ramp it up when you need to, but sometimes 4 hours is all it takes. And 4 hours surely beats nothing. Not saying it specifically has to be 4 hours, but you do have to pick something that's at least somewhat doable for you.

 

[lilnoelle]

After all you have gone through to get where you are (i.e. Medical School) if you have to FORCE yourself to study, then maybe you shouldn't be in medical school. Time to check yourself. How badly do I want to be a physician??? I'm sure that is enough motivation for most medical students. Best of Luck to ya OP!!! You want it? Go get it!!!!

Good luck with that.

Have you noticed how many students here who have had to force themself to study sometime during their journey in med school? I'm guessing nearly everyone has to force themself somewhere along the way. Heck, theres not a day that goes by that I don't have to force myself to study.

 

[alwaysaangel]

After all you have gone through to get where you are (i.e. Medical School) if you have to FORCE yourself to study, then maybe you shouldn't be in medical school. Time to check yourself. How badly do I want to be a physician??? I'm sure that is enough motivation for most medical students. Best of Luck to ya OP!!! You want it? Go get it!!!!

Yeah not the best motivation when I'm studying some minute detail of glycolysis that even physicians have told me - I'll never use again.

I love the concepts but studying stupid pointless details for the sake of them testing us is just not inspiring.

Thanks for the opinion though.

I'm just gonna opt to make a more realistic schedule and turn off my wireless card when I'm studying. And if I keep up that will make it easier too.

 

[Medica2010]

It's all about how you spin it...
I pretended to like studying at first, and then I actually started to like it for real.. I would say to myself "Wow, this is so relaxing! I have a nice cup of coffee and a book with new-book-smell and my notes with the pretty pretty highlighting in it."

Then there's always the "i better get used to not having a lot of free time now because if you think med school is hard try residency" angle...

I try to never complain, because to me, that is a waste of (negative) energy...

 

[45408]

It's not all that different -- just a bit more information to learn, and the bar is set a bit higher since all your classmates were honor students, 3.9 GPA's, etc too.

And by "a bit higher," you'll want to keep in mind that half of med students are going to be below average. Studying really hard for an exam (much harder than you ever studied for an undergrad exam) and then getting a score that's below the average is a let-down. I would always take my low scores to heart, but I never really enjoyed my high scores very much (except for the two finals I crushed at the end of the year in order to move up a grade by a razor-thin margin).

 

[45408]

But if you're not in the mood/tired/etc and not studying efficiently, it's not worth it. It's much better to take a break, do something else for a few minutes (or hours, or days depending on the timeline), in my opinion, rather than be miserable while trying to study but not really retaining anything. I'm all about quality rather than quantity.

AGREED. If you're not learning, then it's pointless! There were days that I'd pack all my stuff up, head to school, lay everything out, open the book, and nothing. It just wasn't happening. I'd usually try for an hour at least, but if I wasn't in "study mode," then I would just head home. This usually happened only 10% of the time, if that, but when it does, don't bother forcing it.

 

[sprinkibrio]

See none of these things work for me. I'm not afraid because I know I can do well-enough by sort of studying - but deep down I want more than that its just hard to find motivation.

Is this really possible in medical school? Serious question.

 

[ubcredfox]

See none of these things work for me. I'm not afraid because I know I can do well-enough by sort of studying - but deep down I want more than that its just hard to find motivation.

Ya, I agree. How can you be like this? Are you perpetually unsatisfied no matter what you do? Does nothing make you happy? Are you here looking for some sort of pity?

If you can do well enough by "sort of studying" than feel satisfied with that, get outside, and live life man! Relax.