I found neglecting studying to be extremely tempting, especially when you know the test is ~5 months away. I am naturally very easily distractible as well, so I made sure to have a very specifically laid-out schedule. On week days, I put aside 7am-11am every Mon/Wed/Fri for MCAT stuff (i am a morning person, but choose the time of day that works best for you) and scheduled all of my undergrad lectures, research, volunteering etc. around that. If you're like me, you can't just tell yourself "i'm gonna study three hours per day", because that isn't structured enough and you'll be tempted to put it off until 9pm (the last 3 hours of that day) and be more likely to blow that day off altogether. getting a structured routine is really important to staying on track.
I did allow myself a little fluidity on weekends, just because they are less predictable (for me) than my week days. I did 4 hours across the whole weekend-- I tried to do 2 hours per day , but if I was particularly ambitious and got say, 3.5 hours done on saturday I only had to do .5 hours on sunday, which felt like a (small) reward.
For break down of what I studied and when-- since I did M/W/F, I used one day to study Physical sciences, one to study Biological sciences, and the other to "study" Verbal (and by study, I mean take practice section tests ANDDD go back and review wrong AND right answers-- may seem obvious, but some people neglect this part. reviewing practice tests is key to improving). Obviously, with the new MCAT, you will have to adjust how you organize your study topics, but again, routine and structure is important. otherwise I would have probably studied general chemistry and biology only and never glanced at orgo. I was also in an MCAT prep course, which helped because I coordinated my week day studying to the class syllabus. although that does depend on how condense of a course you take (I took a 3.5 month long course. But I know some people take like a 20 day course, which I would not want to do)
I used weekends to review material from the week that I did not feel I had as strong of a grasp on (which was usually orgo). Once I reached about 2 months out from the test, I used saturdays to take full lengths and sundays to review them-- I highly suggest that you do not review answers right after you take the full lengths. you will already be tired of testing and trying to do this right after will just become more disinteresting and you won't gain as much from it. Also, take full lengths at the same time you would take the real thing, and try to simulate the same kind of environment-- wake up at the same time you will have to for your commute, eat a good breakfast before, don't play music during breaks, etc. I felt this gave me a greater sense of comfort and ease going into the real thing, which likely helped my performance.
I also used a "don't break the chain calendar" (google search has many). I'm never usually big on calendars but it did help to have a graphic showing me exactly how far away my test was.
I was also very fortunate to have a roomie/best friend who kept a watchful eye on me and wasn't afraid to get strict (in a loving way) if she saw I was starting to slip a bit.
I hope this helps!!
I'm a little embarrassed about how anal this whole post sounds, lol. but it really did help me stay focused and on track. best of luck!
