When to take a break? When to NOT take a break?

[19122063]

Hey guys,

I'm a first year med student, and sure enough the first few months of med school have me wondering about whether or not im studying too much or too little. I've become extremely busy; its literally the case that on certain days, if I'm not studying, attending student club meetings, attending lectures or other sessions then I'm either moving from one of them to the next, or eating lunch/dinner. I know that I can't keep this up; things are beginning to feel like a blur at times, and I'm having a hard time retaining information I'm learning without being able to step away from it at least for a moment.
Would it be appropriate for me to take out ~1 hour during a day for example, to just not do anything? The type A in me would say this takes away 1 hour from my time to finish all my work/studying, but maybe I would benefit more from this than just trying to keep working.
On that note, how do you guys differentiate between stepping away from work and resetting, and knowing you need to get work done and powering through what needs to get done

Thanks!

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[Goro]

Dump the clubs, for starters.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Stop going to lecture if it's not required.

Set a concrete, realistic, obtainable goal for the day and finish your work when it's done. If you finish a few hours early, don't start doing more things-- enjoy the time off.

 

[differentiating]

1 hour off a day is not unreasonable- in fact, it’s more so that you’re giving yourself no time to relax. It’s possible that you will find that you study more efficiently when you limit yourself to more reasonable hours, or maybe you’ll need to cut back on other commitments.

 

[ciestar]

This is a recipe for disaster and crazy burn out. IMO, an hour isnt even enough per day

 

[Schwifty]

Hey guys,

I'm a first year med student, and sure enough the first few months of med school have me wondering about whether or not im studying too much or too little. I've become extremely busy; its literally the case that on certain days, if I'm not studying, attending student club meetings, attending lectures or other sessions then I'm either moving from one of them to the next, or eating lunch/dinner. I know that I can't keep this up; things are beginning to feel like a blur at times, and I'm having a hard time retaining information I'm learning without being able to step away from it at least for a moment.
Would it be appropriate for me to take out ~1 hour during a day for example, to just not do anything? The type A in me would say this takes away 1 hour from my time to finish all my work/studying, but maybe I would benefit more from this than just trying to keep working.
On that note, how do you guys differentiate between stepping away from work and resetting, and knowing you need to get work done and powering through what needs to get done

Thanks!

Stop going to all the club meetings, skip lectures if it’s not mandatory, and if you really aren’t retaining info while studying (like when everything starts to blur) you are starting to burn out, don’t be afraid to take a few hours or a night off from studying, you’d be suprised how much it can help in the long run.

 

[jurassicpark]

First of all, you ABSOLUTELY need some down time, whether it's an hour or more. Do not burn yourself out. Second, as someone already pointed out dump the clubs. The clubs are a luxury and quite frankly if you're using it to try to pad your resume I don't think anyone really cares unless they lead to research, etc. If you're using them to pick up on the opposite sex I whole heartedly endorse your involvement then.

And it doesn't necessarily have to be an hour block, can be broken up. Whatever you need to reset to get through some more information. Everyone is going to be different in what they need to R&R on a study day. Personally, I used dinner to take some relaxation. Watch an episode of a show or something while eating, or maybe a quick funny youtube video between powerpoint slides. Do some superficial anatomical research on the internet or something!

Once again, it is all individual as to when you have to know to power through or relax. If you're behind, not getting the material, a test or quiz coming up. You'll have to learn how to pace yourself. The key is not to burn out, otherwise everything else will be moot.

 

[Tenk]

Sleep and food > school > exercise > time to relax >>>>>> clubs and other crap

 

[takeurmeds02]

Do some superficial anatomical research on the internet or something!

10/10, would recommend as much research as you can handle both in the field and from the comfort of home