005 - Studying During Christmas
Have a look at this week's tips on studying during Christmas and having a guilt-free holiday! Merry Christmas to all! 🎄🎄
Topics discussed are:
🎄 Studying during the holiday
🎄 Guilt-free time off
Welcome to the fifth newsletter!
If you are new to this newsletter, welcome! You can have a look at the previous posts so you don’t miss anything!
If you're a returning reader, welcome back!
I am happy to say that we’re doubling in number!
Christmas is finally here so I am keeping this week’s newsletter short and simple! We are deferring from the usual newsletter plan this week as it is Christmas break! 🎄🎄
The plan for this week's newsletter:
1- Productivity tips: Studying during the holiday
2- Productivity tips: Guilt-free time off
Let's begin!
Productivity tips - Studying during the holiday
So you have some time off for Christmas yet you still have things to study? You’re not alone! Many of us have courseworks, upcoming exams or projects to do! The Christmas break provides quite a good number of days off but also brings about family obligations and celebration (if you’re one of the lucky ones who made it to a family-filled Christmas this year!)
How do we make sure that we keep our studies as up to date as possible while still having fun? Here are some tips that I’ve read about and used throughout the years:
1- Step 1- Write your list
Write down your post-Christmas break deadlines and the things you have to study during the break. Don’t worry if you feel your list is endless, you’ll work through it and break it into smaller chunks. Bit by bit you’ll get these things done and it won’t feel so overwhelming anymore.
2- Step 2- What’s the consequence?
So what? You have things to do, you don’t do them, what will happen?
Next to each point in the list that you made (in step 1) - write down what the consequence will be if you don’t get it done within the holiday break.
3- Plan A & B: These vary on how you normally study
Plan A: Short bursts of study are better than none
If you study only 30-45 minutes of full focus per day, thats a good number of study hours in a week! Depending on how much you have to study, you can even have two or three sessions of 30-45 minutes and that will end up so rewarding for your post-Christmas-break self.
Plan B: Study days + off days
Make sure to set aside days which have no studying in them. Keep those days for relaxation and just chilling at home (now that we’re in lockdown) and do anything that you find fun and helps you relax.
You can divide your days into hardcore working days, off-days and add a few buffer days for when things don’t go according to plan.
Usually it is more effective to have intensive revision days and a few off days than trying to do everything everyday. It breaks up the routine.
4- Reward yourself
You deserve it. Especially because you’re studying during the holiday. Mid-study and you feel you want a nice cup of hot coco and melted marshmallows? Why not?!
Productivity tips - Guilt-free time off
Relax and enjoy the season
We all had a challenging year. So this is the right time to relax and enjoy the festivities without feeling guilty. Think of it as a way to refresh and re-charge for the next year.
Your health matters
Identify what you need to do rather than everything you can do. Don’t forget that this is a holiday season and that your health and wellbeing must also be prioritised.
Connect with friends and family
If you didn’t get the chance to have a normal Christmas this year, call your friends and family and watch movies over Zoom or through Teleparty (previously known as Netflix Party). It will be a good change of pace!
Do you have any specific surgical topic that you want to read about next week? You can always make suggestions as I plan to make this newsletter as useful to you as possible. Feel free to contact me at scrubsandsutures@gmail.com or on twitter and I will try to tailor the next one for you.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s newsletter, shortly after Christmas and New Year we’ll resume the usual surgical information-filled newsletter plan!
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more topics next week!
Stay tuned for next week!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
