Hey guys, I'm taking boards sometime in June, both Comlex and USMLE step 1. Over winter break I looked over a lot of different ways to approach and tackle boards but now that I'm back in school I feel complete lack of motivation. I want to do great on boards, I want to work hard, but I can't get myself to do anything. Anyone else experience this? Any advice would be appreciated. I also have a full course load up until May, studying while trying to focus on school work is also tough, any suggestions about how to balance both?
Same here! It's just so overwhelming, it's hard to motivate yourself to get started. You're definitely not alone.
Things that help me, I'm trying to set small reasonable goals. Like, I really want to try and start doing some Uworld questions, I don't know if I'll have time to do many with classes but even a few just to get the ball rolling. I'm not thinking about boards, but just trying to look at the week ahead and what I want to do. Mentally, I feel it's just easier to get started on things if you try to keep it manageable and aren't overwhelmed.
Also, giving yourself a break...I ended up taking the whole weekend off and feel more ready to hit the ground running this week. I also notice going to the gym or working out has been helpful. The days I do that I just feel better, and more focused when I work.
Lastly, mindset is huge. Believe in yourself, and know you can do well.
🙂 If you don't really believe you can crush it, then it's hard to push yourself...it feels pointless otherwise. But if you can truly believe in yourself and know the effort will show, you get this extra motivation.
Whenever I lose steam, I call my dad. He always has something encouraging to say to get me pumped.
Parents and friends are such as amazing source of encouragement. My dad has given me some great pep talks in the past too.
🙂
It's nice, since our family and friends aren't in med school, they can bring you back to the real world and out of this med school microcosm, you get a renewed and fresh sense of perspective again after talking to them.
