Planning in Dental School

[prettypinguina]

Starting my first year soon and just curious about how people plan and stay organized.

In undergrad, I used a vertical Erin Condren which was quite efficient (and I also found the decorative aspect to be very therapeutic). I'm worried with the amount of work, quizzes, exams, practicals, etc a vertical planner will not allow enough space for everything.

I'm not a fan of electronic planning. I get a notification, and dismiss it without reading it most times! I like being able to physically check something off of my to do list. Those of you who still plan the old school way, what have you found to be the most efficient?

I'm looking into another Erin Condren or perhaps Kikki K or Filofax.

Please share what you've found to be the most efficient for planning. Pictures of your setup would also be greatly appreciated!

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[jsm458]

8.5" x 11" sheet of paper and a pen

 

[deleted696582]

I do things electronically, but not in the way you described. I use the note app in Android and type in a to-do list. Once I finish an item, I delete it from the list.

 

[Polkadotfan]

Not in D-school yet, but I can't electronic plan either.
I'm just going to use my planner. I use Happy Planner which has 3 spaces for each day (I get the medium size, but there are larger ones!).

 

[Garett24]

2nd Year- I use Google Calendar; I color Code and time everything from workouts, study time, chill time (Red, Green, Yellow). Works great and I used to be very unorganized.

 

[DrJeff]

Get used to some type of digital, auto syncing calendar of whatever type you find you like. Trust me when I say that it will eventually make keeping your life in order SO much easier!!! Heck, I can get updates of my personal events schedule, my wife's events schedule, my kids events and school schedule as well as get quick access to my office patient schedule now, and while initially I thought this was a bit of overkill, typically multiple times per week now I find myself appreciative at having all of that scheduling information just a few touchscreen taps away!

If it was just myself keeping track of my own schedule, I'd probably be okay with a more traditional time organization system. When you start talking about trying to stay on top of multiple peoples schedules, then the added layers that a digital scheduling planner can offer you become highly beneficial!

 

[DOC YANKEM]

In all four years of my undergrad, I used a physical, generic planner and wrote everything down by the hour. I allowed extra time for mistakes and procrastination. Some time in my Junior year, I got into the routine in executing every task before the end of specific day. This was only possible due to the fact I carried my only backpack with the planner every day.

During my gap year, I have a more lax schedule in experimenting with a digital calendar. The only benefit I find is the ability to set the notification any time. This takes some of the stress away from constantly checking the physical planner. With that said, I would sync the calendar with your laptop.

As for dental school, I will be using both methods. The digital calendar will be used for more generic events such as classes, eating, working out, studying and sleeping. Where as the PASSION planner will be used for providing details about certain events. For example, Thursday 5-7 PM Study for Head and Neck Anatomy Chapter 12 and 13.

Off Topic: If you have time to watch a movie, then I would recommend one of my favorite movies Chaos Theory (Ryan Reynolds in it).

 

[Snowmead]

Starting my first year soon and just curious about how people plan and stay organized.

In undergrad, I used a vertical Erin Condren which was quite efficient (and I also found the decorative aspect to be very therapeutic). I'm worried with the amount of work, quizzes, exams, practicals, etc a vertical planner will not allow enough space for everything.

I'm not a fan of electronic planning. I get a notification, and dismiss it without reading it most times! I like being able to physically check something off of my to do list. Those of you who still plan the old school way, what have you found to be the most efficient?

I'm looking into another Erin Condren or perhaps Kikki K or Filofax.

Please share what you've found to be the most efficient for planning. Pictures of your setup would also be greatly appreciated!

as first yr student... you don't even have time to use planner. lol u use google doc and try to keep up with exams and practicals...