Jan 2, 2023 2 min read Dedicated

Day 7 - Lessons Learned: First Week At A Glance

Here are the lessons I learned this week summarized:

Day 1: Give yourself enough time to review. This is the most important part of taking a practice block/exam, where the learning happens. I found the ideal amount of time for me to be about 3 hours for a 40-question UWorld Block.

Day 2: Recognize that your time is more valuable now. Although you might plan specific break times, understand that the weight of your time has changed. If you don't have explicit (reachable) goals to meet, you risk feeling guilty even in your "rest" time.

Day 3: Trying to balance Medicine is a never-ending battle. Even though I have placed a massive emphasis on the importance of this in my own life, I constantly go through phases of doubt. Learn to trust your abilities, and what you can control.

Day 4: n/a

Day 5: If you don't feel like doing anything: try an Anki Walk. I have been doing them for the past few months, and am always surprised at how effective they are at picking me up from a slump. Don't hate it before you try it.

Day 6: Surprisingly, a day off is exactly what you need to break the unproductivity cycle. Don't let the cycle of being unproductive make you feel guilty about even your marginally good days.

Week At A Glance

The first week of Dedicated was quite the journey. Lots of ups and downs but I have learned a lot from it.

I've learned that as much as I had imagined "dedicated" to be a series of no fun, no rest, grind, grind, grind days. It really wasn't. Maybe that was what's required for me to do well, and I'll learn that more going forward.

This past week wasn't derailing from the amount of work I had to do but from the expectations I had for myself. I intentionally didn't put a very specific schedule for myself (will talk about it in a different post), but I feel... fine?

I dreaded the series of unproductive days but when I went through those old posts today, I recognize I don't feel that way anymore. The day off yesterday really was a great rest.