How often do you all take a day off of studying?

[tealeafexplorer]

I dont know if yet so far (M1) I have taken a complete day off of studies. I take about 2 half days off a week (usually weekends), but study at least 4-6 hours during those days from the morning till early afternoon. Wondering if this is sustainable. I am not burnt out in any way yet, but i would like to avoid burnout towards the end of M1. I am not sure how vulnerable I am to burnout.

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[ciestar]

At least once a week, even during third year I still give myself a rest day

 

[Espressso]

Total believer that you have to give yourself breaks. During m1 I took almost every friday night off. And often many Saturday nights (when there wasn't a big exam that Monday). I think those nights/evenings you take off... as long as you're productive in the morning and during the day, it's not a bad thing at all.

 

[Black Coffee 24/7]

I always take a day/week off regardless.

 

[FistLength]

dang, I thought this question was for dedicated board studying.

 

[Espressso]

I feel like in the beginning of first year a lot of students get so wrapped in studying non-stop 24/7. Don't be that student.

 

[tealeafexplorer]

Thanks for the responses guys, I just have a hard time not making myself feel guilty when i dont study hard.

 

[Espressso]

Thanks for the responses guys, I just have a hard time not making myself feel guilty when i dont study hard.

Yeah, remember you're not alone in feeling that way. You have to remember that medical school is very fluid. Depending on how you're doing in classes, how you're feeling about the material, you're going to shift things up and change the amount of hours, type of hours, etc. etc., I think as long as you're doing well you have to give yourself nights off. It's just not sustainable, especially once you hit second year

 

[fldoctorgirl]

If it's not a weekend before a test, my studying only consists of doing new + review Anki cards for the day. I try to be caught up on all the material from during the week, this way that's all I have to do on the weekend. It takes me ~2 hours, and then I'm free. If there's something I'm unclear on or confused about, I may do some reading from a textbook or watch some Youtube videos for clarification, but that's about it.

 

[Magus5454]

I just took 5 days off(went to California for family/convention) If you dont have self days you are going to go insane

 

[BorntobeDO?]

I dont know if yet so far (M1) I have taken a complete day off of studies. I take about 2 half days off a week (usually weekends), but study at least 4-6 hours during those days from the morning till early afternoon. Wondering if this is sustainable. I am not burnt out in any way yet, but i would like to avoid burnout towards the end of M1. I am not sure how vulnerable I am to burnout.

I technically take 24 hours off a week, but it is spread between two days, so I do something every day. Its good to feel the need to study, thats the med school survival mechanism.

 

[Giovanotto]

First year: one 1/2 day off per week, maybe 1 day off/month
Second year (including dedicated): One day off/week
Third year: very different, lots more time off, at least one day off/week.

I should clarify that throughout years 1&2, almost everyday I took a "1/3 day" off, since I didn't normally study past 6:30 pm.

 

[NotYou20]

I rarely took a whole day off second year. I almost always at least did anki cards. First year maybe once or twice per month. Third year I take more days off than I spend studying and I've killed all my comats (surgery, psych and im). Im a firm believer working hard the first 2 years keeps paying off down the road.

 

[KeikoTanaka]

I don't take a "day off" from studying - but my fiancé and I are in school together and we spend our evenings after long days playing League of Legends together and/or Super Smash Bros / Scrabble / Netflix. I love it but I am motivated to work extra hard the next day cuz Ik once 9:30 pm roles around I don't wanna do anything anymore.

 

[Jack Package]

Friday evenings and all day Sunday off. Worked well for preventing burnout.

 

[Redpancreas]

1 day off, 1 day on sounds crazy but it worked during some of my most trying times. I would wake up on my work day, work out at like 5am, do questions, caffeinate, continue, and then work late until 1-2 am and then the next day I'd get up at 12 PM watch YouTube until 5 PM, work till 9 PM, and then fall asleep early wake up the next day. Sustainable during M2 with less required stuff. I wasn't the greatest student, but it worked.

 

[Maskchamp]

I always take Saturdays off, no matter what, even during exam sessions. Actually forces you to manage your time a bit better. But I never study on Saturdays.

 

[kelminak]

I don't take full days off, but that usually means I'm never studying a ton on any particular day (not including the day before a test to review). I like everything broken into small amounts over time even if that means never having a complete day off. It also helps in getting a decent amount of sleep every night!

 

[SpartanDOnoharm]

I'm one of the out of the ordinary people that normally takes 2-3 days off a week. I also studied a lot of this before and figured out what methods work best for studying (for me). My background allowed me to do this, but I understand how people have to study every day. I do encourage everyone to not overdo it and take breaks. Pomodoro technique as well.

 

[MrTaco92]

I really feel like a lazy sack of sh** nowadays as a third year. Compared to years 1 and 2 it's been extremely chill. But then again I went very hard during years 1 and 2. I'm sure things will change as I start to study for step 2 though

 

[alprazoslam]

Third year is so easy if you rock the first two

 

[deleted707454]

3 days a week off.

 

[labtech312]

I don't take a "day off" from studying - but my fiancé and I are in school together and we spend our evenings after long days playing League of Legends together and/or Super Smash Bros / Scrabble / Netflix. I love it but I am motivated to work extra hard the next day cuz Ik once 9:30 pm roles around I don't wanna do anything anymore.

This is the best thing I have ever heard the Dr. League Dream Team

 

[KeikoTanaka]

This is the best thing I have ever heard the Dr. League Dream Team

Haha yes, we got bot lane together! He plays Nami support and I go whatever ADC