Wow, thank you so much for this post! How much time would you say you typically spend per day on all of these activities? I'm having a very difficult time picturing how this can possibly not add up to a very busy day.
My issue is mainly with having a smaller set of activities, but a set that I dedicate a considerable amount of time to per week. My path is nontraditional in the sense that it will require a considerable amount of time in GPA repair, so the courses will definitely be my main focus.
It's difficult to not be a bit worried by what seems like a lack of activity, compared to everyone else's efforts! I must admit I really enjoy the volunteering opportunities I have, and it is sometimes difficult for me to prioritize what I realize medical schools would prefer to see (grades). Organization sounds so simple in practice, but I have a difficult time with unstructured time when the schedule gets a bit sidetracked--I suppose I need more flexibility in my plans!
NeuralNetwork, music is a fantastic idea. I tend to forget how motivational it can be.
Well, I graduated Saturday (WOOT!), so I'm not in class right now. School is like anything else: insanely busy some weeks, smooth sailing other weeks. My husband can attest to the fact that I was a wreck the last 3 weeks of the semester. I routinely worked on 5 hours of sleep a night, was a perpetual grump, and was generally not fun at all to be around. Those weeks I asked for help when I needed it. I did everything I could, but asked another parent to coach soccer or lead a Girl Scout meeting when I couldn't get around needing to get work done.
On average, I'd say I spend 20 hours per week in class and studying, and another 20 hours per week doing volunteer work, research, etc. Soccer, Girl Scouts, and domestic violence work shakes out to about 10 hours per week. Managing Girl Scout cookie stuff is another one of those things that ebbs and flows. This week people are picking up the prizes the girls earned for selling, so I probably spend 2-4 hours A DAY dealing with that (I can't wait until that's over). Like I said before, research ebbs and flows. If I'm in a crucial week, you can bet that it will monopolize huge swaths of my time. Other weeks there's nothing happening at all that requires my immediate attention. I dig the autopilot weeks.
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I spend the balance of the time sleeping and doing stuff with my kids. I do best on 8-10 hours per night. It pays in dividends to sleep: you feel better, think more clearly, work more productively, and can go harder for longer if you get plenty of rest. Right now, there's nothing I love more than nuzzling my baby. I'd spend all day staring at him, hugging him, and showering him with kisses if I could. As it is, I keep him next to me as often as I can. It's *almost* as good.
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I also got a lot less compulsive about my grades when I was pregnant last year and once the baby was born. I figured out that I made the same grades whether I spend 20 hours in class/studying, or 80 hours in class/studying. So I cut way, way, way back on that. This month I'm spending lots of time working on my AMCAS application, hence the fact that I've been spending a fair amount of time reading here.
I'd also like to re-emphasize that there's plenty of stuff I don't get done. I am a compulsive list-maker (if I do something that's not on my list, I add it to the list so that I can cross it off and credit for it
😳). I also sort the to-do list. Every item is categorized as one of the following: do it, dump it, delegate it, defer it. That helps me make sure that the most important things always get done.
Yes, I have been known to put things like "brush teeth," "shower," and "get dressed" on my to do list. But I think that's more a function of having a little baby than anything else.
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Overheard just now: giggle fits from the diaper changing station. Husband, "NO! DON'T POOP ON ME! BUDDY--COME ON!!!" Giggle fits continuing.
I love my life.
Bananas. 
