There is no doubt that this month has been the busiest and most stressful for me in 2024, if not, the past whole year. Piling deadlines, work, volunteering, clubs, e-boards, midterms, undergraduate research forum preparation, and the MCAT have all taken over my life, attacking at once and it is barely halfway through the month. Focusing on all these alone is enough to drive me mad, so I came up with a system to minimize the stress.
1. Make an organized schedule each week
I talk about this in my other articles frequently, but it is worth repeating. Taking five minutes on a Sunday to sit down with your planner for the week is a serious game changer for your time management skills. I usually fill in my exam/quiz dates and due dates. I then fill in obligations and their times, such as work, volunteering, and meetings. Looking at that, I see what I should prioritize and when I should be working on tasks. I will then fill in the free time with social obligations, working out, and other hobbies.
2. Contacting a support person when needed
Sometimes, I can get flustered or overwhelmed with how much I have going on or with a certain assignment. I need to get up and walk away from what I am doing and need to switch my mind to something else. Instead of scrolling through social media, I call my parents or sister to vent or talk about the situation at hand, or just talk about our days, or what our plans are that weekend. If that option is not viable, I will usually go to my roommate’s room to hang out with her and play with her ferrets. I found this method works to keep me on track and not waste too much time.
3. Make studying a game
On especially exhausting days, I struggle to find the motivation to study, as I am sure most of us do. I found that making Quizlets and using the game features over flashcards has been a game changer in how I retain and apply information. Looking forward to beating your own high score gives the final push needed to find that motivation.
4. Find things to look forward to
I found that doing this increases my productivity and drive. Whether it is as big as a weekend trip or as small as buying a coffee, it lets you know at the end that you are doing what you need to do and rewards you for pushing yourself.
College and other obligations beyond that can get overwhelming, especially in the middle of the semester. Hopefully, you can use these tactics to help you get through your own March madness.